Since receiving her Master’s degree in nursing from the University of Iowa, Ms. Nihart has been involved in outreach services, provided clinical supervision in a crisis intervention program and developed training programs for nursing staff in acute hospital settings. Ms. Nihart had been in private practice specializing in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders in women and provided ongoing consultation for a variety of outpatient, residential, and hospital settings. In 2010, Ms. Nihart joined the San Francisco VA Health Care System, managing nursing staff in nine outpatient programs, later becoming Chief Nurse for Mental Health, Critical Care Services and the Cath Lab. In 2014, Mary Ann became the Clinical Director Chief Nurse for Ambulatory Care-CBOCs and Telephone Linked Care and co-wrote our VANAP-GE OAA grant for the joint SFVA/UCSF PMHNP Training and Residency Program. She also holds a second Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology. Ms. Nihart was the recipient of the 2018 John D. Chase Award for Executive Excellence in Health Care.

Ms. Nihart has received numerous awards including the American Psychiatric Nurse of the Year for the American Psychiatric Nurses Association of which she was Past President. Currently, she chairs the APNA Clinical Psychopharmacological Institute and is Lead Coordinator of the Nursing Organizations Alliance.

Ms. Nihart is well published including co-editor of "Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practice" and is an Associate Clinical Professor at the UCSF School of Nursing