To close out 2023, we will be sharing a series of highlights from the year on our blog. We hope you enjoy!
On June 8-9, Frontier Nursing University held its 13th annual Diversity Impact Conference. The Diversity Impact Conference brings together renowned thought leaders and speakers to increase awareness of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the healthcare workforce, particularly for those working in underserved and rural communities. This year, for the first time, the conference was made available for attendees outside of FNU. Students attending any institution were allowed to register for the conference for free. A total of 134 attended the conference, including 39 students.
“This event is all about collaboration, learning, and growing,” said FNU Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMHNP-BC, APRN. “I’m confident that this event benefits any university, department, or individual.”
The 2023 Diversity Impact Conference was conducted via Zoom with the overarching theme: “Better Together: Advancing a Culture of Identity and Belonging in Healthcare.” The two-day event featured keynote presentations on both days from nationally recognized leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additional sessions included panel discussions, breakout sessions, and time for reflection.
The opening keynote address was given by Dr. Tia Brown McNair, Vice President of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, D.C. Dr. McNair is the lead author of “From Equity Talk to Equity Walk.”
On the second day of the conference, the keynote speaker was Rebekka Eshler, National President of the Transgender American Veterans Association in Washington, D.C. She spoke about pronouns and why they matter, and the importance of using a person’s correct name rather than their “dead” name. She shared data demonstrating that utilizing the correct pronouns reduces suicide rates by two-thirds among transgender individuals.
Among the other presentations throughout the conference was a panel discussion with DEI officers from other universities and organizations, discussing the challenges and successes of offices of DEI throughout the country. Marisa Hamamoto, the founder of Infinite Flow, an award-winning nonprofit dance company that employs disabled and nondisabled artists with diverse, intersectional identities with a mission to use dance as a catalyst to dismantle biases and promote inclusion., spoke on the importance of accessibility and inclusivity.
Dr. Patricia Bradley, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, Associate Professor and the Inaugural Associate Dean of Inclusive Excellence at the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing (FCN) at Villanova University, presented on “Creating a Culture of Inclusion and Belonging in Nursing Education.” FNU Regional Clinical Faculty Dr. Heidi Loomis, DM, CRNP, CNM, presented “Graduate Midwifery Students’ Experiences of Bias in the Clinical Setting.”
On day two of the event, FNU President Dr. Susan Stone gave a presentation, “FNU Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts: Past, Present, Future.” In her presentation, Dr. Stone shared FNU’s history and acknowledgment statement, how and why FNU chose to make DEI a priority focus, and the results of those efforts to date. In addition to steadily improving diversity enrollment since the DEI efforts began, Dr. Stone shared the importance of the entire FNU community supporting these initiatives and gave the example of the FNU Board of Directors, who created their own DEI Committee and established a $2 million dollar endowed fund for scholarships for underrepresented students.
“When Frontier Nursing University first held the ‘Diversity Impact Conference’ over a decade ago, we chose the name carefully. ‘Diversity’ and ‘conference’ were obvious choices, but the word that truly describes what this conference is all about is ‘impact’,” Frontier Nursing University President Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, said. “Diversity is more than a concept or a pie chart. Whether in an organization, a neighborhood, a business, or a school, diversity has an impact. That impact comes in many forms. In Frontier’s particular area of preparing advanced practice nurses and nurse-midwives, the impact of a diverse student body, diverse faculty, and diverse staff results in diverse graduates who are equipped to answer the call to serve in the communities in which they live all over the country.”
FNU has already begun making plans for the 14th annual Diversity Impact Conference to be held in 2024. With the addition of external attendees, this signature event continues to grow and widen its important message and reach.
“Advancing a culture of identity and belonging is a hallmark of FNU,” said FNU Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Chris Turley. “We aim to continue breaking down barriers by engaging stakeholders and impacting every community we touch.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).