Cynthia A Kuehner RDML (ret), USN, DNP, NEA-BC, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
Dr. / Rear Admiral (ret) Kuehner served as the 26th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps from 2020-2023 and retired from the Navy, completing nearly 34 years of active naval service. She commanded the Navy's largest overseas Naval Hospital in Okinawa Japan from 2017-2019, following her Executive Officer tour at Naval Medical Center, San Diego, a complex healthcare delivery system of over 6.400 military, civilian and contract staff members serving more than 125,000 beneficiaries. She was the Family NP consultant to the Navy Surgeon General on all policy and practice issues from 2007-2011. Enhancing the leadership visibility of FAMILY NPs, she was instrumental in increasing the number of family NPs serving, NP deployment opportunities, DNP education authorizations, and viable leadership roles for NPs in Navy Medicine. Through leadership expertise in two distinct combat zones with unique mission objectives, RDML Kuehner impacted the medical care for over 3,000 war-wounded casualties and led the partnership with Afghan health officials to positively influence the health conditions of a Province of nearly one million vulnerable residents. In her retired capacity, she is serving as the Chair, Board of Trustees for the non-profit organization, Project Healing Waters (February 2025 - present).