Election Candidates 2026

Upper East TN Regional Director Candidate: Heather Sizemore

Heather is the incumbent Upper East Tennessee Regional Director for Tennessee ENA. 

My name is Heather Sizemore, and I am a flight nurse and the outreach education coordinator for Highlands Emergency Air & Rescue. I have been in emergency nursing for almost my entire career. I knew at a very young age that I wanted to do emergency and transport nursing.

My father was injured in a serious ATV accident and had to be flown to the regional Level 1 Trauma Center when I was 8. My mother and I had been on the lake that day and I remember thinking how incredible it was that he was able to receive emergency treatment in such a rural area and that he made it to the trauma center is 20 mins whereas it took my mother and I 90 mins to drive there.

I began working as a nurse in a Med Surg ICU where I had a lot of experienced nurses took me under their wing. When I felt ready, I transferred to the emergency department of the Level 1 Trauma Center that my father was treated at. Once I transferred there, I was hooked on emergency nursing. I worked in the ER for several years and finally took the leap and applied for a flight nursing job. I have now been flying for 8 years and genuinely still get excited about work. I am also a TNCC and ENPC Course Director and Faculty and absolutely love to share my clinical knowledge and experiences with the next generation of emergency nurses.

Heather Sizemore BSN, RN, CEN, CFRN, NREMT

West TN Regional Director Candidate: Rachel Young 

Rachel is the incumbent West Tennessee Regional Director for Tennessee ENA. She began her emergency nursing career in 2004 and has been an active member of ENA since 2007. She has represented Tennessee ENA on multiple occasions at Day on the Hill, as a delegate at General Assembly, and attendance at Leadership Conferences. She describes the ability to network and be among other nurses with similar passions and goals as "tremendous". 

Rachel's career in emergency nursing has spanned from bedside care to leadership roles including charge nurse and a leader in opening a new Chest Pain Center that attained accreditation by the American College of Cardiology including PCI. Her later years before retirement she served as Outcomes Coordinator, and helped her facility achieve Magnet designation through ANCC. Her career has impacted multiple nurses and high-quality, community focused care within the West Tennessee region. Rachel has been recognized by Celebrate Nursing as one of the top 100 Nurses in Shelby/Fayette Counties, served on multiple committees and retired from the hospital setting in 2023.

Rachel has remained active in Tennessee ENA as the West Tennessee Regional Director since 2023, and is passionate about increasing membership and furthering the mission of advancing excellence in emergency nursing in the great state of Tennessee. 

Rachel Cashion Young, RN