Vaughn, Jill, PhD(c), ACNP-BC
Biography
Jill Vaughn, PhD(c), ACNP-BC, is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Husson University and a doctoral candidate in Population Health and Health Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Rhode Island.
Vaughn brings more than fifteen years of advanced clinical practice across medicine, surgery, and critical care. She is board certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ANCC) and holds active licensure as both a nurse practitioner and registered nurse in the State of Maine. Her clinical background spans coronary and intensive care at Brown University Health, plastic and craniofacial surgery at Brown University, college health, urgent care, and medical-surgical nursing at the Veterans Affairs Hospital.
At Husson University, Professor Vaughn developed and leads the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGAC-NP) graduate program, a collaboration with Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center to address the shortage of acute care providers in rural and underserved areas in Maine and nationally.
Professor Vaughn currently serves as President of the American Nurses Association–Maine (ANA-Maine), representing more than 27,000 nurses at the state and national levels. In this capacity, she leads initiatives on healthcare policy, professional advocacy, and education. In 2026, she served as Healthcare Provider of the Day for the Maine State Legislature.
Her scholarly interests center on population health, substance use disorder policy, healthcare access, and translational nursing science. Professor Vaughn serves as Principal Investigator on a Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation Grant ($10,000) focused on expanding oral health access for individuals in recovery, in partnership with a dental hygiene program, and a recovery center. She is also Principal Investigator on a Women's Philanthropy Council Faculty Scholar Enhancement Fund Award ($1,000) to advance graduate NP education and procedural training in collaboration with a recyclable medical supply non-profit, along with state and national healthcare leaders.
Vaughn presented at the Eastern Nurses Research Society Conference in Boston on employment policies and access to treatment for individuals with substance use disorders- a cross-sectional secondary data analysis utilizing findings from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). More recently, she presented at the Sigma Theta Tau International Conference and the University of Southern Maine on nurses as health policy experts and advocates.
Professor Vaughn is also a founding co-sponsor of the South Portland Age-Friendly Resource Fair, a community health initiative supported by grant funding and community partners to improve access to health and social services for older adults. Additionally, she founded the ANA-Maine Scholarship Fundraiser, raising $18,000 for undergraduate and graduate nursing education from 2023 to 2025.