Honoring the Life & Legacy of Mary Ann Nihart
Mary Ann Nihart, MA, APRN, PMHCNS-BC, PMHNP-BC, a visionary force for psychiatric-mental health nursing and former APNA President, passed away in December following a 3-year battle with ovarian cancer. On behalf of the APNA community, we extend our heartfelt condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.
Nurses who had the good fortune to work with Mary Ann will remember her warm smile, infectious laugh, and ability to provide thoughtful insight grounded in both science and compassion. With a practical outlook and an energizing presence, she made people feel valued and nurtured their potential.
In her APNA Award for Distinguished Service profile, Mary Ann captured the essence of her career in psychiatric-mental health nursing:
“My passion is PMH nursing; it’s in my soul. The very center of my work has always been to further advance the ever-evolving role of the PMH nurse and help provide connections and new opportunities for the professionals who choose this complex specialty. PMH nurses are my family and APNA is my home.”
Many within APNA can attest that Mary Ann lived these words: She made each of us feel like part of that family. Over her 30-year career, her impact spanned clinical practice, education, leadership, and public service.
As APNA President, Mary Ann empowered APNA members to see themselves as leaders capable of creating meaningful change. And her transformational leadership extended beyond APNA. Among her many accomplishments, she established the San Francisco VA’s first PMHNP residency program with the University of California, San Francisco and served two terms as Mayor of Pacifica, California.
As Chair of the APNA Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute Program Committee for many years, Mary Ann shaped how psychiatric-mental health nurses understand and apply psychopharmacology in practice. With her characteristic warmth, practicality, and clinical acumen, she translated cutting-edge science into clinically meaningful insights that advanced care for individuals with mental health needs.
In recognition of her extraordinary contributions, Mary Ann received the APNA Psychiatric Nurse of the Year Award in 2012 and the APNA Award for Distinguished Service in 2023, among numerous other honors. Her legacy of service will be carried on in the countless nurses she mentored, the programs she shaped, and the communities she built.
To learn more about Mary Ann’s life and her extraordinary impact, please see her obituary.
Those who wish to honor her memory may consider a donation to the APNA Memorial Fund, which funds scholarships for members to attend the APNA Annual Conference.
Mary Ann will be deeply missed and remembered as a psychiatric-mental health nursing leader, mentor, and cherished member of the APNA family.
