David Keepnews is Executive Director of the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA). He has devoted the past three and a half decades of his professional career to advancing the nursing profession in roles as a policy analyst, advocate, educator, and union leader. He has backgrounds in nursing, public health, law, and health policy. He has held professional staff positions in nursing and health care organizations, including the American Nurses Association. He has also served in leadership positions in state and national nursing organizations, including the American Academy of Nursing, where he served as a Board member for 6 years. He edited Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, a nursing journal focused on nursing and health policy, for a decade.

He is a Vice President of both the Washington State Labor Council and AFT, a national union representing professionals in education, health care, and public service.

Dr. Keepnews previously served in faculty roles in New York, Massachusetts, Washington state and Washington, DC. He has worked as a staff nurse in inpatient psychiatry, psychiatric emergency, and community mental health settings and as a staff attorney for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. He has published and spoken widely on nursing and health policy, including workforce, payment, and advocacy issues. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the Academy of Nursing Education. He is board-certified as a Nurse Executive – Advanced by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is an alumnus of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellows program.