As 2023 comes to a close, we will be sharing a few highlights from the year on our blog. We hope you enjoy!
Frontier Nursing University’s Board of Directors is comprised of individuals who are invested in the success and growth of FNU. The Board is integral in leading FNU to carry out the mission we’ve held since 1939 – to educate nurses who are leaders in the primary care of all families, with an emphasis on underserved and rural populations.
FNU hosted our board of directors on campus in the fall.
FNU welcomed four new board members in 2023:
Dr. Vernell DeWitty
Dr. Vernell DeWitty
Dr. Vernell DeWitty is the Director for Diversity and Inclusion at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), where she advises the nation’s top academic nursing leaders on building consensus around a strategic approach to diversity and inclusion. Previously, she directed the Robert Wood Johnson New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program, a nine‐year $41 million national collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and AACN that focused on diversifying the nursing workforce. In this capacity, she created and implemented strategies and resources that contributed to the academic success of underrepresented and disadvantaged students in 130 nursing schools located in 41 states and the District of Columbia. Dr. Dewitty is currently leading the delivery of technical assistance programming for 32 nursing schools funded by the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) to increase nursing workforce diversity.
Dr. DeWitty has provided consulting services to healthcare systems in obstetric and neonatal risk assessment and guided new product development while serving as the Director for Consultation and Marketing at the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). She earned her master’s degree from the Catholic University of America in Women and Neonatal Nursing and served as the first Director for Maternal and Newborn nursing at Howard University Hospital. Dr. DeWitty served as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Director of Patient Services, and Director of Program and Business Development at the Hospital for Sick Children, a pediatric rehabilitation hospital located in Washington DC. As a member of the Executive Management Team, she was responsible for directing patient care services of 130 rehabilitation beds and overseeing 185 FTEs with a $15 million operating budget.
She earned her doctorate from George Mason University, MBA from Howard University, MSN from The Catholic University of America, and BSN from Dillard University. She is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Dr. Tim Raderstorf
Dr. Tim Raderstorf
Dr. Tim Raderstorf is the Talent Partner for AndHealth, a digital health company focused on helping people reclaim their lives from chronic illness. He holds volunteer positions as the Head of Academic Entrepreneurship at the Erdős Institute and the Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit NursesEverywhere. He is a member of the American Nurses Association’s Innovation Advisory Board. Dr. Raderstorf was the Chief Innovation Officer at The Ohio State University College of Nursing in his previous role. From TED talks to textbooks, he uses every platform he can find to empower those on the frontlines to change healthcare.
As the first nurse to hold the Chief Innovation Officer title in academia, he takes pride in educating the world on the role of the nurse as an innovator. He is the founder of the Innovation Studio, a maker space that democratizes innovation, providing every interprofessional team that pitches their innovation with the funding, tools, and mentorship needed to turn ideas into actions.
Throughout his career, Dr. Raderstorf has founded multiple businesses and has been the first employee for a profitable healthcare startup. His new textbook, co-authored with Bern Melnyk, Evidence-Based Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Nursing and Healthcare: A Practical Guide for Success, was a #1 new release on Amazon and the American Journal of Nursing’s Management & Leadership Book of the Year. Some of Dr. Raderstorf ’s recognitions include the Early Career Innovator of the Year and Distinguished Recent Alumni at the Ohio State University, the Innovation Studio being named Non-Profit of the Year by Columbus Business First in 2019. He was most recently inducted into the 2020 Class of 40 under 40 by Columbus Business First and as a 2021 Fellow at the American Academy of Nursing.
Dr. Raderstorf earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio State University, a Master of Science in Nursing from Xavier University, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Ohio State University.
Dr. Joanna Santiesteban
Dr. Joanna Santiesteban
Dr. Joanna Santiesteban has been a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist for over 20 years. She attended Indiana University Bloomington, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She received her medical degree from Loyola University Chicago and completed her OB/GYN residency at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dr. Santiesteban lives in eastern Kentucky and serves as Chief of Staff at Highlands Appalachian Regional Healthcare. She is involved with obstetrical substance abuse treatment programs and care for an underserved population. She provides obstetric and gynecological care at Big Sandy Healthcare, a Federally Qualified Health Center in southeastern Kentucky.
She is clinical adjunct faculty at Lincoln Memorial University College of Medicine and is community area faculty at the University of Pikeville College of Medicine.
Dr. Santiesteban is the mother of 5 children. She enjoys yoga, reading, and visiting with family and friends.
Tara Martino
Tara Mitchell Martino is a Nationally Certified School Nurse in Massachusetts and is a current FNU student studying to be a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She is a school nurse and has been a labor support person, a WIC breastfeeding peer counselor, and a foster parent. She is a two-time surrogate gestational carrier and a proud supporter of the movements for Women’s Rights, Black Lives, and LGBTQIA++ Equality.
Tara is the Scoutmaster of Westport’s all-girl Boy Scout Troop 33. She is also a Girl Scout Cadette Level-3 Troop Leader of Troop 68111 and Assistant Scoutmaster of BSA Troop 3.
A mother of four children, Tara’s goals after graduating from Frontier are to establish her own practice while enrolling in FNU’s DNP program. She also hopes to continue to serve the underserved children in her area. She would also like to volunteer for Doctors Without Borders and to research the impact of psychedelics on neuroplasticity and treatment-resistant depression.
Note: The FNU Board of Directors added a non-voting student member because they felt it important to hear student feedback as part of the Board.
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).
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