Denise S. Covington, MBA, MSN, RN, is a Forensic Nurse Specialist who has held board certification as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner–Adult/Adolescent (SANE-A) since 2008. Her career in forensic nursing spans more than 22 years, following nearly two decades of volunteer service as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) while her husband completed a 20-year career as a U.S. Navy submarine officer.

Her clinical background includes long-term care and emergency nursing, as well as work as a case manager in an emergency domestic violence shelter, where she supported women experiencing intimate partner violence. She also contributed to elder abuse case reviews for the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney through the specialized Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and with assistance from the Department of Social Services (DSS) Protective Services for the Elderly.

Ms. Covington has served in several leadership positions within the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN). She chaired the Planning Committee for the 2016 and 2017 International Conference on Forensic Nursing Science and Practice, reviewing research presentations for conference inclusion. She later served on the IAFN Board of Directors from 2019–2021, including as President in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked alongside the CEO and Board to support a more trauma-informed understanding of the challenges facing forensic nurses, including staffing instability, PPE shortages, burnout, and barriers to in-person care amid rising rates of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, child abuse, and elder abuse.

Her published works include co-authoring the chapter “Medical Forensic Evidence Collection from the Sexual Assault Patient” in IAFN Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Certification – A Review for the SANE-A and SANE-P Exams, as well as the article “2020: Year of the Forensic Nurse and Midwife,” Journal of Forensic Nursing, 16(1): E1–E2. Additionally, she oversaw revisions of the state’s Technical Guidelines for Health Care Response to Victims of Sexual Assault in 2017, 2021, and 2025.

Ms. Covington led in the development of a state Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFE) Program, working to build its infrastructure, strengthen interagency partnerships, and align practices with state and federal guidelines to support consistent, patient-centered care. In support of the SAFE Program, she also developed and implemented a SAFE Training Program, accredited by the International Association of Forensic Nurses, and mandated by the state for all healthcare providers who train as SAFEs.

Recognizing how frequently strangulation occurs in sexual assault cases, Ms. Covington sought additional training through the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, a program of Alliance for HOPE International. This evidence-based education strengthened her ability to assess and document non-fatal strangulation. It also enabled her to develop training for healthcare providers and to contribute a strangulation assessment protocol to the state’s Technical Guidelines for Health Care Response to Victims of Sexual Assault.

Currently, Ms. Covington collaborates with the state’s coalition against domestic violence to provide education on strangulation and traumatic brain injury for healthcare professionals and community partners with emphasis on trauma‑informed response.