Janice K. Lanier (Class of 2020)

Janice K. Lanier held various positions as a registered nurse in cardiology, pediatrics and community health (1966–1989) before pursuing a law degree and combining both professions for the remainder of her career. She was selected as a Legislative Service Commission (LSC) intern for the state of Ohio, and in this capacity she worked with two future governors of Ohio (Kasich and DeWine) while they were still members of the Ohio Senate. Lanier then became the director of government affairs for the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA). This began her long and successful involvement in state and local nursing associations where she advocated for safe practice changes to the law regulating nursing practice.

As a leader of the Ohio Board of Nursing (OBN) from 1995–2002, Lanier served as regulatory specialist, associate executive director and interim executive director. During this time, she reviewed all rules, drafted new rules, testified before the General Assembly, and oversaw regulation and education within the organization. Lanier developed the first standards for delegation that became rules adopted by the board. She also initiated the Nursing Education Assistance Loan Program (NEALP) that helped so many central Ohio nurses complete their nursing education. Lanier initiated the Nurse Education Grant Program (NEGP) that made it possible for nursing programs to expand their student nurse capacity and accommodation.

Upon returning to the ONA, Lanier served as director of health policy and deputy executive officer from 2002–2010. She oversaw health policy activities, developed position papers and testified before the General Assembly. She oversaw extensive bylaws and strategic plan revisions and led the redesign of Ohio Nurses Review. She worked closely with the Mid-Ohio District Nurses Association (MODNA) to establish effective communications with local elected officials, establishing candidates’ night at MODNA, and ONA’s Nurses Day at the Statehouse.

Lanier spearheaded the Nursing 2015 Initiative that brought the ONA, OBN and the Ohio Organization for Nurse Executives together to successfully develop strategies which addressed issues such as hospital staffing levels, nurse education and practice issues including workplace violence and similar potentially controversial matters. This initiative and collaboration became the subject of a presentation to congressional staff members on Capitol Hill. Additional legislative and regulatory work included issues surrounding health care reform, advance practice nursing, nurse shortage reporting and other areas of nursing practice.

For the past decade, Lanier has served as consultant, lecturer, legislative and regulatory analyst, board member and author. In 2015, Lanier was named one of 20 Outstanding Women in Columbus.

Lanier earned her nursing diploma in 1966 from St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing (Springfield, Mo.), Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1981 and Juris Doctorate in 1994, both from The Ohio State University.