This March, AAPM is proud to spotlight Mary Jane Estrada-Lyder, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, a nurse practitioner leader whose work in acute pain management, opioid stewardship, and patient advocacy is shaping care across Massachusetts and beyond.

Mary Jane serves as the Chief Nurse Practitioner of the Acute Pain Service at Newton Wellesley Hospital, where she provides inpatient pain consultations and preoperative assessments while collaborating closely with interdisciplinary teams. Her clinical focus centers on multimodal pain strategies, thoughtful opioid tapering, and restoring function for patients navigating complex pain conditions.

Her path into pain medicine was both unexpected and deeply meaningful.

“My father wanted me to go into pain management, but I never realized how meaningful this work would be until I heard a patient tell me for the first time, ‘You’re the first person who’s listened to me.’”

That moment continues to guide her practice. For Mary Jane, pain management begins with listening, acknowledging the patient’s story, validating their experience, and building individualized treatment plans that balance evidence-based medicine with compassion.

Mary Jane earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the State University of New York at Albany and her Master of Science in Nursing from Simmons College in Boston. She joined Newton Wellesley Hospital in 2016 and has since taken on leadership roles across the institution, helping guide opioid policy and substance use initiatives while serving as Co-Chair of the Pain Subcommittee and Chair of the Pain Champions group.

Prior to her work at Newton Wellesley, she was the Lead Pain Nurse Practitioner at Boston Pain Care, an interdisciplinary clinic where she managed complex acute and chronic pain patients using comprehensive, multimodal approaches. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to advancing pain education, mentoring nurse practitioners and pharmacy students for more than a decade, and earning recognition for excellence in teaching and collaboration.

Her leadership extends beyond the hospital through her involvement with the Massachusetts Pain Initiative, the American Society for Pain Management Nursing, the International Association for the Study of Pain, and the International Conference on Opioids. Whether helping shape policy, leading statewide pain awareness efforts, or mentoring future clinicians, Mary Jane exemplifies the collaborative spirit and patient-centered mission of AAPM.

We are honored to feature Mary Jane Estrada-Lyder as March’s Member Focus and celebrate her dedication to listening first, leading with compassion, and advancing meaningful change in pain care.