Fanning views specialty certification as a critical mechanism for both professional empowerment and public safety. She intends to use her term to ensure that the dedication of certified clinicians is woven into the broader trajectory of the healthcare sector. By validating expertise, she argues that certification fosters trust and pushes the standard of care to higher levels.

Her tenure at the National Certification Corporation has been defined by a focus on obstetric, neonatal, and women's health. Since the organization's founding in 1975, it has issued credentials to over 242,000 professionals, a legacy Fanning aims to bolster through her new national leadership role. Her colleagues credit her with a long-standing commitment to high-quality care and patient outcomes, traits she now brings to the American Board of Nursing Specialties' strategic mission.