2023 TNP OF THE YEAR
CINDY WESTON
A longtime nurse and nurse practitioner, Weston began her nursing career at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital/Texas Heart Institute caring for infants, children, and adults after cardiac surgery and transplantation. She was appointed the Betty Baker Distinguished Professor in Cardiovascular Nursing at Stephen F. Austin State University in 1996.
Throughout her career, Weston has been recognized for her ability to implement innovative programs and establish new healthcare service lines and has served in multiple leadership positions in clinical and academic settings.
A rising star in the Texas nursing community, in 2023 Weston was selected as the founding dean at the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s new College of Nursing. In this new role, she will work closely with regional stakeholders to develop nursing programs that will meet the unique regional workforce opportunities and growing healthcare needs of North Texas. Before that she served as the Associate Dean for Clinical and Outreach Affairs and Associate Professor at the Texas A&M University School of Nursing. She is a co-recipient of more than $20 million in funding to implement nurse-practitioner-led cancer prevention and screening services, innovative clinical simulation, and integrated behavioral healthcare and rural school-based clinic models to improve health outcomes in vulnerable populations. Her research focused on cardiovascular disease, health and wellness, innovative pedagogy in family nurse practitioner curriculum, access to health care in vulnerable populations, patient safety, and interprofessional education.
Weston is completing service as President of Texas Nurse Practitioners, the largest state association of nurse practitioners in the country. She was recognized as Nurse of the Year in 1998 by the American Nurses Foundation, Texas Nurses Association, District 22, and holds the prestigious distinction of Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and will be inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October of this year.
She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas Medical Branch, her Master of Science in Nursing from UT Health Houston, a Post-Master’s Family Nurse Practitioner certificate at Texas Tech Health Science Center, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from UT Health San Antonio.
