Abstract :
Byline: Scott R. Ziehm, CACN President-Elect 2010-2012 and 2016-2018; CACN President 2018-2020 [srziehm@usfca.edu] (a,*), Judith F. Karshmer, CACN President 2010-2012 (a), Philip A. Greiner, CACN President 2016-2018 (b), Cindy Smith Greenberg, CACN President 2012-2014 (c), Audrey Berman, CACN President 2014-2016 (d), Patricia McFarland, CEO Association of California Nurse Leaders (e) Keywords Political activism; Statewide; Policy; Nursing education; Leadership; Nursing dean/director; Legislator; Nursing organization Highlights * California Associate of College of Nursing (CACN) is the voice for baccalaureate and graduate nursing education in California. * CACN works in strategic collaboration with other nursing educators and community partners. * The knowledge and sphere of influence CACN deans possess make them ideal for engaging in political activism to lead change and advance health. * As an organization, CACN has initiated a model for state-wide political action that can support similar work across the USA. Abstract The California Association of Colleges of Nursing (CACN) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan nursing organization whose members are the universities' Schools of Nursing that offer baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in California. The nursing deans and directors are the individuals who attend scheduled statewide meetings and actualize the mission, vision, and governance of this organization. Starting in 2011, CACN began a journey toward greater political activism that was initiated by strategic planning. During the Spring 2017 meeting, forty-four California nursing deans/directors advanced their advocacy by attending prescheduled visits with California legislators. The goals for meetings with California policy makers included: 1. Inform them about CACN as an organization and its sphere of influence and 2. Educate them about CACN's perspective on current bills in the California legislature. This manuscript details a process to assist other state organizations to move toward political activism in support of the nursing profession from the academic nursing leadership perspective. Author Affiliation: (a) University of San Francisco, USA (b) San Diego State University, USA (c) California State University, Fullerton, USA (d) Samuel Merritt University, USA (e) Association of California Nurse Leaders, USA * Corresponding author at: 2130 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA. Article History: Received 23 July 2017; Revised 12 December 2017; Accepted 5 January 2018