Dr. Claire Zangerle is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation and is the Chief Nurse Executive of the American Hospital Association (AHA).
Prior to her current role, she served as Principle of CMZ Strategies, LLC, focused on nurse leader coaching, nursing organization strategy and nursing's interdependencies with functional disciplines. Formerly, Dr. Zangerle served as Chief Nurse Executive at Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, PA, CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio and in various roles at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH including Chief Nursing Officer, Director of Quality and Accreditation, and Director of Preventive Cardiology. She began her nursing career at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston in Cardiothoracic Surgery and Trauma. As a nursing student, she worked as a nursing assistant at The Methodist Hospital in Houston.
Dr. Zangerle received a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology from Texas A&M University, an Associate Degree of Nursing from Houston Baptist University, a master's in business administration from Lake Erie College, a master's in nursing from Kent State University, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Texas Christian University. She is certified as an Advanced Nurse Executive with the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Dr. Zangerle holds fellowship status with the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (FAONL), the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), and the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland College of Nursing and Midwifery (FFNMRCSI). She has been named in Modern Healthcare as one of the nation's 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives (2025 and 2026) and Top 25 Women Leaders, Becker’s Hospital Review Chief Nursing Officer to Know, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Woman of Note and Cleveland Non-Profit Executive of the Year.
Dr. Zangerle serves as a trustee of AtlantiCare Health System, advisory board member of Biovigil, a public trustee of the American Public University System, a public director of the Crisis Prevention Institute, a board member of The Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare and a board member of the Cleveland Animal Protective League. She is a former board member of AONL and trustee of the AHA.