Peggy Sellers Benson -

Executive Officer

MSN, RN, MSHA, NE-BC

Peggy Benson has served as the Executive Officer for the Alabama Board of Nursing (ABN) since 2014 and as the Alabama Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) Commissioner since 2020. She has been a nurse for nearly 45 years, working in executive nursing, human resources, and healthcare leadership roles throughout her career. In addition to being a board-certified nurse executive, her varied work experience includes service as the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), System Director of Critical Care and Medical Surgical Nursing, over a five-hospital system, Director of Nursing and Vice President of Human Resources, Educator, ABN Legal Nurse Consultant, and as the first Deputy Director for the ABN. Peggy continues to lead at the state and national level through her work on numerous entities, including:

Current member of the Governor’s Healthcare Workforce Taskforce
Current member of the Policy and Procedures Committee of the National Licensure Commission (NLC)
Current member of the Finance Committee of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)
Current member of the National Governors Association Healthcare Workforce
Former member the Standards of Practice Committee of the NCSBN
Former member Nursing Model Rules and Model Act Committee of the NCSBN
Former member Governor’s Task Force on Healthcare Improvement and Chair of the Infrastructure Committee
Former board member and President of the ABN
Former board member and President of the Alabama Organization of Nurse Executives
Former board member and Secretary for the Central District Alabama Organization of Nurse Executives

Natalie R. Baker -

Executive Officer Designee

DNP, CNE, GS-C, FAANP, FAAN

Natalie R. Baker, DNP, ANP-BC, GNP-BC, CNE, GS-C, FAANP, FAAN, has enjoyed a distinguished career as a registered nurse, a nurse practitioner, and a nurse educator in the state of Alabama. A native of Adamsville, Alabama, Dr. Baker became an RN upon earning a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in 1985. In 1990, she earned a Master of Science in nursing (MSN) degree from UAB and began practicing as a nurse practitioner, five years prior to the codification of the nurse practitioner role into the Alabama Nurse Practice Act. In 2010, she earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from UAB.

As one of Alabama’s first nurse practitioners, Natalie recognized that the role would be vital to the future of healthcare in our state and she has been a dedicated leader in advancing CRNP practice ever since. In 1999, following nearly a decade of practice as an Adult and Gerontology nurse practitioner, Dr. Baker began her career as a nurse educator, first with the University of Memphis School of Nursing, and later returning to her alma mater, the UAB School of Nursing, from which retired as a professor in 2025, having contributed to the preparation of a generation of Alabama advanced practice nurses, while maintaining active clinical practice as a CRNP for more than 35 years.

Dr. Baker also is nationally and internationally recognized as an expert on health policy, having published dozens of book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, and web publications. She serves or has served as a member and leader in a number of professional and regulatory organizations, including the Alabama Board of Nursing, on which she served for eight years, holding the position of Vice President in 2017, and seven years as a member and two terms as chair of the Joint Committee for Advanced Practice Nursing. Dr. Baker is a former member and President of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA) board of directors and has won numerous awards for her work in gerontological nursing, as well as leadership as a professional, advocate, and regulator. These include the Dave Butler Spirit of GAPNA Award, the GAPNA Excellence in Leadership Award, as well as the State Award for Excellence – Nurse Practitioner Advocate Award, which was bestowed by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in both 2016 and 2019. Dr. Baker also has been inducted as a Fellow by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (2017) and the American Academy of Nursing (2021).

Natalie resides in Madison, Alabama, with her husband, Dr. Tim Baker. The couple has two children and three grandchildren.