Nursing professor named president of Academy of Forensic Nursing

Paul Thomas Clements, PhD, RN, AFN-C, CGS, DF-IAFN, DF-AFN, a clinical professor at the Texas A&M University College of Nursing and its Texas A&M Health Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing, has been named president of the Academy of Forensic Nursing (AFN) for 2025.

Founded in 2018, AFN works to expand and advance forensic nursing practice by integrating research into clinical care, enhancing education and advocating for policy changes at federal and local levels.

As AFN president, Clements, who was inducted as a Distinguished Fellow in 2021, is responsible for strengthening these efforts, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and expanding resources for forensic nurses nationwide.

A board-certified advanced practice forensic nurse (FNCB/AFN-C), gang specialist and danger assessment expert, Clements has more than 30 years of forensic psychiatric nursing experience. His work in vulnerability risk assessment, workplace violence prevention and trauma-informed care has supported health care systems, emergency responders, child protective agencies and academic institutions. He has also done extensive consulting on reducing violence, assessing threats and mitigating the psychological impact of interpersonal violence.

Clements is a widely published scholar with numerous peer-reviewed articles and textbooks. His recent works include Mental Health Issues of Child Maltreatment: Contemporary Strategies (2024) and The Expanding Continuum of Gender-Based Violence: Trauma-Informed Care (2025). His upcoming book, Violence Against Women: Intersectional Case Studies, releases later in 2025. He has presented at national and international conferences on trauma neurobiology, offender behavior and coping after violent loss. Clements also served as an inaugural associate editor of the Journal of Forensic Nursing from 2005 to 2012.

Clements earned his PhD in psychiatric forensic nursing and Master of Science in Nursing in child and family psychiatric/mental health nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wilmington University. Clements was inducted as a Distinguished Fellow in the International Association of Forensic Nurses in 2002.