PHILADELPHIA—CGFNS International announces that its President and CEO, Franklin A. Shaffer, EdD, RN, FAAN, FFNMRCSI, will retire at the end of 2022. Its board of trustees has embarked on a global search for his successor and invites any interested parties to contact the organization confidentially at searchcommittee@cgfns.org.
Dr. Shaffer joined CGFNS in 2011 as the fourth CEO in CGFNS’s 45-year history. After steering CGFNS to broaden its global reach, he led the effort to position CGFNS beyond the United States as the exemplar in credentials evaluation, notably in Canada and New Zealand. Under his leadership, CGFNS was recognized as an ISO-9001 organization and joined with the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).
Dr. Shaffer began his nursing career almost sixty years ago, after earning his BSN, both a Master of Arts and a Master of Education in Nursing Administration, as well as a doctorate in nursing education from Columbia University. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and a member of the Fellowship of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (FFNMRCSI). He is the principal author or co-author of more than sixty publications in the nursing field. He has been a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences in the fields of nursing and migration around the world. He also served the National League for Nursing earlier in his career.
As the world tried to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, global migration and severe shortages of nurses and health workers, Dr. Shaffer worked tirelessly to make CGFNS the pre-eminent credentialing organization to assist all of its stakeholders.
Dr. Shaffer has been a prominent voice in the urgent call for cooperation, advocacy and partnerships for education among civil society organizations, including coming to the aid of refugees whose countries were in turmoil due to war and civil strife.
Dr. Shaffer leaves a profound legacy of dedicated service to all whose paths brought them to CGFNS, for which we all will be forever in his debt.
We wish him enjoyment in his retirement from CGFNS and look forward to hearing about his continued successes in the world of nursing.
About CGFNS International, Inc.
Founded in 1977 and based in Philadelphia, CGFNS International is an immigration-neutral not-for-profit organization proudly serving as the world’s largest credentials evaluation organization for the nursing and allied health professions. CGFNS International is an NGO in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is a member of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).