Carolina Nursing alum Crystal Tillman honored with NCSBN Meritorious Service Award

Carolina Nursing alumna Crystal Tillman has spent decades making an impact in clinics, classrooms and committees. And for her significant contributions to nursing, she was recently honored with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s 2026 Meritorious Service Award for her exceptional leadership and commitment to regulatory excellence.

Smiling older woman in a light blue, floral dress holds a large glass award bowl against a backdrop of deep purple curtains and pink lights.

“It’s very humbling,” said Tillman, Chief Executive Officer of the North Carolina Board of Nursing. “It’s wonderful to look back on your career and acknowledge all the things you’ve done along the way.”

Tillman, DNP, RN, CPNP, PMHNP-BC, FRE, earned her BSN at UNC in 1987 and is an advanced practice registered nurse with more than 40 years of nursing experience. Before becoming CEO at NCBON in 2021, she was the board’s Director of Education and Practice.

In a video announcement, NCSBN said Tillman has “helped shape some of the most consequential regulatory initiatives in nursing education and licensure examination reform. As chair of the NCLEX Examination Committee, she provided expert guidance during the implementation of the Next Generation NCLEX. She also encourages her staff to become more involved with NCSBN and has been a valued mentor to newer executive officers.”

Tillman spent a remarkable 12 years on the NCLEX Examinations Committee, an expert group that reviews and updates the test plans every three years, including three years as its chair. She was instrumental in ushering in the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN), a rigorous revision of the test to better measure candidates’ clinical judgement and decision-making capabilities.

“It was a labor of love to get that going and see the NGN launched,” she said. “The new way of testing certainly made a difference, and overall, we saw scores improve. When you change a testing plan, you usually see a dip, and we didn’t. We were so happy with the success.”

Her service extends beyond the boundaries of North Carolina and the nation. She helped revise curriculum and admissions standards for nursing education in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. When she arrived, their NCLEX pass rates were only around 30%. After weeks working alongside their nursing school, she provided written recommendations to help them improve, advocated for more resources and presented before the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature to make a case for the changes.

“As of this year, they now have a pass rate of 100%,” she said. “It was a treat to get to go over there and work with them, and to see it improve as a result.”

Tillman received her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Duke University and holds certifications as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) and Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (CPNP-PC).

Tillman said one of the benefits of a nursing career is being able to make an impact wherever you are. And, she said, there are many ways to do that over a career.

“As nurses, we make a difference, and we make an impact. When I was working as a nurse practitioner in Mecklenburg County and as a nurse educator, I knew I was making an impact. By taking the job at the board of nursing, I could make an impact statewide, and by working with NCSBN I could make a national impact,” she said. “There’s been a lot of joy in being able to do so many things to make a difference.”