Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is much more than an educational institution – it is a community of like-minded nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, caregivers, advocates and friends dedicated to serving the underserved across the U.S. and abroad. When a student graduates from Frontier, they remain an essential part of the FNU community, joining over 8,000 graduates who bring care to their local areas. FNU alumni have various opportunities to stay connected, supported, encouraged and engaged with their alma mater.
Here are a few ways FNU invites their alumni to stay involved:
Attend FNU Events
Although the pandemic has put a temporary hold on in-person activities, FNU hosts numerous events throughout the year designed to cultivate fellowship amongst students, alumni, staff and faculty. One of the most popular alumni events is the annual Homecoming weekend, which usually takes place in October, but is postponed until 2021. Even with the temporary hold on in-person activities, alumni can remain engaged with the FNU community through many virtual events, including the FNU Empower Virtual Events for National Midwifery Week and National Nurse Practitioner Week. This year, the Diversity Impact Conference was also transformed into a virtual experience. Keep up with the FNU blog to learn how some of the university’s favorite events are taking on a new life during the pandemic.
Become a Wide Neighborhoods Ambassador
Frontier understands graduates have busy work, personal, and social lives, but just a few moments can make a massive difference in the lives of current FNU students. Alumni can give back to FNU by serving as a Wide Neighborhoods Ambassador. Ambassadors serve as a point of contact to provide education on the programs, resources and student experiences associated with FNU. Ambassadors engage in outreach activities and work to increase student enrollment. They also provide leadership to create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive of all students.
Stay Up-to-Date with FNU’s Blog and Social Media Outlets
Frontier provides many valuable resources for alumni to stay engaged online. FNU’s blog is a great way to stay connected to all that is going on with the university. Our Alumni News category will inspire you with stories of fellow alumni serving their communities. Over the past few months, we’ve dedicated a section of the site to share the stories of alumni operating on the COVID-19 Pandemic frontlines. Make sure to subscribe to the blog and get weekly updates straight to your inbox.
FNU also has several social media platforms to follow, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter. In addition, Frontier created a private Facebook group specifically for alumni to engage one another. Go here and request to join and be accepted into a supportive community of FNU graduates.
Become a Preceptor
A preceptor holds an essential role in FNU’s education model. Preceptors work on the frontlines with students, preparing them for their practice through patience, wisdom and understanding. Although FNU works with preceptors from all backgrounds, there is always a distinct sense of excitement and unity when FNU alumni choose to step up and answer the call. FNU preceptors can take pride in their role as they expand the nurse practitioner and nurse-midwife fields through educating others. In this role, FNU preceptors also gain access to exciting and free CEUs, earn an honorarium, and continue to extend health care services to rural and underserved communities. Go here to learn more about becoming a preceptor.
Share your Story
FNU invites alumni to share their own stories. How are you serving your community? There is nothing more rewarding for Frontier faculty and staff than to hear about how you are impacting others with your passion and education. Your story will also encourage the broader FNU community. To share your information, fill out this form, and a staff member will be in touch soon with follow-up questions.
Become a Diversity Impact Partner
FNU is committed to diversifying health care. Frontier invites alumni to join that mission by becoming a Diversity Impact Partner. The Diversity Impact program is open to all students wanting to enhance and highlight cultural awareness trends within healthcare. As Diversity Impact Partners, alumni can help students find educational and networking opportunities and provide a seamless transition to advanced practice education.
Donate
As graduates of FNU, alumni have a unique understanding of its history, value, and impact. Alumni donations allow Frontier to maintain affordable tuition, expand programs that support its mission to prepare leaders in primary care, and attract and retain talented student-centered faculty. FNU thanks all of the friends and alumni who have made many generous gifts over the years!
Alumni are an essential part of the FNU community, and Frontier faculty and staff are always available to answer questions and provide additional information. Contact Angela Bailey at the office of Alumni Relations for support by phone, 859-251-4573 or email at angela.bailey@frontier.edu. Alumni can also find great information on FNU’s alumni page.
Frontier thanks all alumni serving their communities and making the world of health care a safer place!
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).