THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Anne Larson Zimmerman

September 1, 1914 – September 10, 2003

“Today I mostly listen to nurses’ problems, and I try to figure out how they can be more effective… I encourage young people to take responsibility, to grow and to enjoy the profession.”

Nurse. Human rights and labor activist. Director of the Economic and General Welfare Program with the American Nurses Association (ANA), 1951 – 1952. Head of Illinois Nurses Association, 1954 – 1981. Executive Director of Illinois Nurses’ Association, 1954 – 1981. President of American Nurses Association, 1976 – 1978. Taught at Loyola University in Chicago (1981-1985). Involved in numerous consulting projects, international delegations and conferences on nursing and labor. Founding member of Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. First female president of the Conference of Medical Society Executives of Greater Chicago.