The Academy of Forensic Nursing (AFN) and The DAISY Foundation™ have announced the recipients of the third annual DAISY Nurse Leader Award in Forensic Nursing.

Each year, this award highlights the value and vital importance of leaders within the forensic nursing community. Nominees embodied the mission of AFN, which is to link research to practice through the dissemination of scholarship, education, and service to those affected by and responding to trauma, with an ultimate vision of responding to trauma with care. A national panel of forensic nursing experts selected representatives of two nomination categories: Clinical Forensic Nursing Pathfinder and Forensic Nursing Scholar.

The recipient for Clinical Forensic Nursing Pathfinder is:

·      Amy Smith, DNP, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC, NY-SAFE, has been a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner since 2009, as she had just completed her Emergency Department Nursing Fellowship. She was trained by the NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault (NYCAASA) and provided care at North Shore University Hospital’s SAFE Center of Excellence. Smith has worked at Lenox Hill Hospital Emergency Department and Lenox Health Greenwich Village where she started NYC’s newest SAFE Center of Excellence and served as the Program Coordinator. She is a dual board-certified nurse practitioner as an Adult Gerontologic Acute Care NP and Family Nurse Practitioner.

She currently cares for the community at Northwell GoHealth Urgent care as well as several emergency departments within Northwell. Smith has been working with the Hofstra-Northwell School of Nursing as the SANE Program Director to further Sexual Assault Education through a HRSA grant. Through this grant, Smith has collaborated with Northwell Health and Stony Brook University Hospital to increase the number of culturally diverse SANE nurses to provide services to NYC and Long Island.

Smith has presented on the National Stage at the IHI conference speaking about Human Trafficking and the Intersectionality of Sexual Assault. In 2022, Smith was appointed the Program Director of Family Nurse Practitioner at the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and PA Studies and accepted a clinical role at Northwell's Emergency Medicine Service line as an Advanced Care Provider Firefighter where she supports 21 emergency departments in the Northwell Health System.

Her nominator for the DAISY Award noted, “Across all roles, Amy has prioritized compassionate, trauma-informed care while maintaining the integrity of forensic practice. Amy's work ensures that patients receive respectful, comprehensive care that supports both healing and justice.” Read Amy’s full nomination submission here.

The recipient for Forensic Nursing Scholar is:

·      Stacey A. Mitchell, DNP, MBA, MEd, RN, AFN-C, SANE-A, SANE-P, DF-AFN, FAAN, is a Clinical Professor at the Texas A&M University School of Nursing and Program Coordinator for the Forensic Health Care Program. She teaches in the Master of Science in Nursing program in the Forensic Nursing track as well as provides SANE education for the state of Texas in collaboration with the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Mitchell is also the Director of the Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing at Texas A&M Health.

Her nursing career spans over 30 years, with experience in leadership, critical care, emergency nursing, forensic nursing, risk management, and patient safety. She is a founding Board Member of the Academy of Forensic Nursing, and past-president of the Forensic Nursing Certification Board and International Association of Forensic Nurses. Since 2020, Mitchell has served as treasurer on the Board of Directors for End Violence Against Women International. In 2016, she was appointed by Houston Mayor Annise Parker to the Board of Directors of the Houston Forensic Science Center where she served until 2024. Recently, Mitchell was appointed by Governor Abbott to join the Texas Forensic Science Commission.

Her nominator for the DAISY Award noted that “Dr. Mitchell’s influence is felt not only through her direct patient care and program development, but also through her mentorship, research, and advocacy.” Read Stacey’s full nomination submission here.

The Honorees will be presented with their awards at the AFN Tucson Forensic Nursing Conference, September 22–23, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona.

About The DAISY Foundation

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family.  Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.)  The care Patrick and his family received from Nurses while he was ill inspired the creation of The DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurses, an evidenced-based means of providing Nurse recognition and thanking Nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in over 7,400 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition programs that honor and celebrate Nurses, Nurse-led Teams and Nurse Leaders, in whatever role they serve, throughout their careers from Nursing Student through Lifetime Achievement and through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects and Medical Mission Grants. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. 

About AFN

The Academy of Forensic Nursing was founded in 2018 by visionary forensic nurses who wanted to expand and inform forensic nursing practice, link new and existing research to clinical care, promote education, and advocate for policy at the federal and local levels. Core to our mission and our values is integrating equity and trauma-informed approaches into all our work in an inclusive manner. 

The Academy, a 501c3, seeks to collaborate and build partnerships while transforming and informing how we respond to those impacted by all forms of trauma—individual, interpersonal, collective or structural. We believe that "we are stronger together" and that our collective and unique lenses are what will advance the field in meaningful and impactful ways. We believe not only in centering the services we provide, but also centering the individuals who provide those services. More information is available at https://www.goafn.org/