Gov. Abigail Spanberger Appoints Prof. Ashley Apple to Virginia Board of Nursing
University of Virginia School of Nursing Assistant Professor Ashley Apple has been appointed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger to the Virginia Board of Nursing, a 14-member board responsible for regulating nursing practice and education and protecting the health and safety of Virginians.
Apple, a family nurse practitioner and longtime nursing advocate, was among four Virginians appointed to the Board of Nursing in Spanberger’s Aug. 28 announcement.
“Nursing and activism need not live in separate silos. They actually go together, and should go together.”
Prof. Ashley Apple, DNP, RN, FNP-BC
A triple Hoo, Apple earned her BSN, MSN and DNP from UVA School of Nursing. She has spent more than a decade as an emergency department nurse caring for adult and pediatric patients, and as a Family Nurse Practitioner, she transitioned to the pediatric urgent care setting. Dr. Apple now teaches health policy and pathophysiology to pre-licensure nursing students, including UVA’s Accelerated Two-Year BSN Transfer program.
Her work in nursing extends well beyond the classroom and clinic. Apple has been a leader in nursing advocacy and health policy in Virginia, including serving as commissioner on government relations for the Virginia Nurses Association. In 2025, she continued that commitment to nursing leadership when she was elected vice president of the VNA.
She has advocated extensively for policies affecting nurse practitioners and access to care. In 2024, she helped secure passage of legislation reducing Virginia’s nurse practitioner transition-to-practice period from five years to three. Her advocacy earned her the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners’ 2025 NP Advocate Award.
Apple also brings advocacy into her teaching, helping nursing students understand how nurses can use their voices and expertise to influence health policy.
“Nursing and activism need not live in separate silos,” Apple has said. “They actually go together, and should go together.”
As a member of the Virginia Board of Nursing, Apple will bring her experience as a clinician, educator and advocate to a statewide body whose decisions affect nurses, nursing students, nurse practitioners, and patients across the Commonwealth.
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