MaryLee Pakieser, MSN, RN, BC-FNP, has remained true to clinical nursing practice for over four decades. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings including acute care, home care /hospice, rehabilitation coordination, and in a transitional home for patients with brain injury. She is currently a family nurse practitioner at the Traverse Health Clinic providing integrated care that includes primary care and mental health services to an underserved population. 

Pakieser has long been an advocate for vulnerable populations within her community, including pregnant teens, the uninsured, and the working poor. She worked as a nurse practitioner at the Traverse City VA Clinic from 2007 to 2014. Prior to that, Pakieser was clinical director and nurse practitioner at the Northwest Michigan Health Services Migrant Health Clinic. 

Pakieser’s advocacy extends to the public policy realm; she has provided testimony to the Michigan legislature on two occasions: to promote support for nursing education and to promote safe and healthy working conditions for nurses. As president of the Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners (MICNP), she helped push for a bill to allow nurse practitioners to practice independently from physicians. She remains an active member of MICNP. 

She has extensive volunteer experience. In addition to being a member of the Michigan Department of Community Health Task Force on Nursing Practice, Pakieser served on the boards of directors for the Michigan Center for Rural Health as well as the Traverse Health Clinic. She is a founding member and past president of ANA-Michigan and also held numerous leadership positions in the Michigan Nurses Association, including president from 1999-2003.

The recipient of many honors, Pakieser was named the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners’ 2013 Nurse Practitioner of the Year (Michigan). In 2006, she received the Carol E. Franck Nursing Leadership Award from the Michigan Center for Nursing for her advocacy on behalf of the state’s nursing profession. In 2005, Pakieser presented with the Michigan Nurses Association’s Bertha Culp Human Rights Award for her service to vulnerable populations.

Pakieser received her initial nursing diploma from St. Francis School of Nursing, her BSN degree from Ferris State University, and her MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner specialty from Vanderbilt University. Pakieser is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Family Nurse Practitioner and is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society.