Ruth Beeman was born on January 10, 1925, in Harriston, Virginia. After graduating from high school, she entered the Army Nursing Corps in 1943, beginning a lifelong career in nursing. After her stint in the Army, she received a Diploma in Nursing from Baltimore General Hospital (1946), a Nurse Midwife Certificate from the Maternity Center Association School of Nurse-Midwifery in New York (1950), a B.S. in Public Health Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania (1950), a Diploma in Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium (1953) and a MPH from Columbia University (1957). Ruth’s career as a nurse-midwife and educator spanned six decades and multiple countries. Ruth served as Dean of the FSMFN from 1983-1989. After her stint as Dean, she became the first person to be named to the Chair of Midwifery position at Frontier.
Featured Preceptor: Deena Parsons, CNM
In the world of healthcare, there are individuals who go beyond their job descriptions to make a lasting impact on their patients and the next generation of professionals. Deena Parsons, CNM, with TriHealth Associates in Ob-Gyn, is one such individual. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Parsons has devoted more than a decade to serving women of all ages at her practice, from teens to postmenopausal individuals, providing compassionate care in all stages of their lives.
Dr. Diane John Named Interim Dean of Nursing
FNU has named Dr. Diane John, PhD, ARNP, FNP-BC, CNE, as the Interim Dean of Nursing in the wake of former Dean Dr. Joan Slager’s retirement. Dr. John is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Associate Professor. She earned a doctoral degree (PhD) from Barry University and a master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University. She has spent over 40 years in the nursing profession, including more than 20 years in academia.
A Century of Stories: Dr. Michael Carter
Dr. Michael Carter’s long history with Frontier Nursing University dates to 2003 when he joined what was then the Frontier Nursing Service Board of Governors. Dr. Carter has been a board member ever since and has served as the Board Chair since 2009.
A Century of Stories: Jean Fee
Jean Fee was born in 1937 in rural Alberta, Canada. In 1958, Jean traveled to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to attend the Frontier School of Midwifery. Fee later returned to Kentucky in 1973, settling in McKee. Jean applied her blend of experience in both public health and hospital acute care working in the private practice of a local family physician and at Manchester Hospital. In 1980, Jean’s knowledge, skills, and experience were accepted for certification as one of the first Family Nurse Practitioners licensed by the state of Kentucky.
A Century of Stories: Dr. Cathy Cook
As a graduate, regional clinical faculty, preceptor, and faculty member, Dr. Cook has done it all. After earning her MSN from Case Western Reserve, she came to Frontier to obtain her CNM (1998). She later returned to Frontier for her DNP (2020). She worked as a certified nurse-midwife from 1998-2020, specializing in natural childbirth and providing individualized education and prenatal care to expectant mothers. She has since received Full Practice Authority and opened her own aesthetic and hormone optimization clinic. Cook has precepted an incredible 270 Frontier students.
Author Cathy Schieffelin’s Life-Changing Experience as a Frontier Courier
Frontier Nursing University’s Courier Program Public Health Internship leaves a lifelong impression on its participants, who spend the summer learning about public health firsthand. For Cathy Schieffelin, like so many others, it was an eye-opening and life-changing experience.
“My brief time in Hyden left an impact,” said Schieffelin, who hails from Shaker Heights, Ohio, and now lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. “Even over 30 years later, I think a lot about the place and people I came to know and work with. Wendover is never far from my mind.”
Maternal Health Crisis Documentary Premieres on Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and PBS Affiliates Throughout the U.S.
A new documentary about the maternal health crisis and the role of nurse-midwives will air on Kentucky’s statewide PBS network Kentucky Educational Television (KET) on March 12 at 5:00pm ET. Air dates are also set for more than 150 PBS affiliates throughout the country. Nurse-Midwives: Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis educates the public on the impact of nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners on maternal health and the maternal mortality crisis being experienced in the United States.
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).