March is Women’s History Month. During this time, we aim to celebrate and recognize women’s achievements in history, raise awareness against bias, and take action for equality. To celebrate, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) will highlight some of our female staff members. We asked them who they look up to and for advice and encouragement.
Read Last Years Women’s History Month Blogs:
- FNU Celebrates Women’s History Month with FNU History Faculty Expert, Dr. Anne Cockerham
- Women’s History Month Q&A with Dr. Joan Slager, Dean of Nursing
- Women’s History Month Q&A with Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC Interim Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Megan Cadwell with her family
Megan Cadwell, Assistant Director of Clinical Credentialing
1. Who is a woman you look up to and why?
My grandmother was the cornerstone in my life. The values I hold to this day come from her and the barriers she overcame to have an opportunity for her 3 girls to have a better life. I want to also say I look up to all women I work with, not only in our Credentialing Unit but each colleague at FNU. I feel any woman at FNU has been a pioneer for their department, unit, and our students; They are leading the way for a better tomorrow for healthcare in the United States. It’s a blessing to see every member, faculty and staff, who work to make a better tomorrow for our students and the communities across the U.S.
2. What advice would you give to women in your field or young women in the workplace/preparing the enter the workforce?
How we treat one another impacts someone else’s experiences. Strive to do your best. For each genuine ounce of compassion and positivity, you provide, you are making the world a better place one interaction at a time. A little compassion goes a long way.
3. Is there anything you would like to share to empower women or encourage people to create change that positively impacts women?
Look at what we’ve overcome. Even when something feels unattainable or mistakes or made, we can always learn from the experience and reach for another goal. Reflecting on the progress you’ve made and what work is ahead is key to helping achieve your goals. Never give up, just pivot.
Samana Upadhyaya
Samana Upadhyaya, Process & Application Developer
1. Who is a woman you look up to and why?
I always look up to my mom. She is my role model. I came from a family of only daughters. My mom was always there to support her daughter’s education and teach us to be strong during difficult times and work for the goal. She always taught us to never give up. She says “It’s ok if you fall but don’t give up; stand back and try again. The person who rides the horse the first time might fall down but can get up and ride back again to reach the destination.”
2. What advice would you give to women in your field or young women in the workplace/preparing the enter the workforce?
As I am a proud woman in Technology who graduated with a Computer Engineering major, I would like to encourage all those women who are interested in this field to come forward, enjoy it and face the challenge, and do their best. When I used to take computer engineering courses in college, there used to be just a couple of girls to study and take the challenge, but I never stepped back, and never gave up on my dream. I always felt supported by my friends and coworkers. Just believe in yourself and your dream, and work for it.
3. Is there anything you would like to share to empower women or encourage people to create change that positively impacts women?
As a woman, do not think that you can’t do some job, always go for the work you like. Always speak up for the things that you think are right, always lift yourself up and believe you can do it. Bring the change from within yourself, inspire others with your great work and support others who want to rise. You can be a great leader.
Samana’s Mother
Sarah Juett
Sarah Juett, Academic Advisor
Read Sarah’s spotlight story
1. Who is a woman you look up to and why?
One of my biggest role models has always been my maternal grandmother and the matriarch of our family. She overcame many difficult circumstances while maintaining this incredible warmth and fun-loving spirit. I was always in awe of her strength, kindness, and gender norm-defying skills.
2. What advice would you give to women in your field or young women in the workplace/preparing the enter the workforce?
It’s okay to not have it all figured out or to find your passions changing/shifting. The average person changes careers several times throughout their working life. Everything you learn and everyone you meet will be valuable along your journey!
Bobbi Silver
Bobbi Silver, Chief Advancement Officer
“About a decade ago, I was in a class setting and the instructor asked the group to write down how each of us identify ourselves, then to rank the list. My list focused on being a mother, a wife, a leader, etc. I am all of those things and they are important to me, but nowhere on my list did I emphasize myself as a priority. I always think about that when describing myself. I am ME, first and foremost. I am a woman. I am a mother to two amazing young men, one in college and one in high school. It brings me so much joy to watch them doing the things they love most. I have been married for 23 years and my husband is a police sergeant overseeing a special victims unit. (Bum Bum….I know you heard the music, just like I do every time it’s said.) I am a staunch ally and accomplice to the LGBTQIA+ community. I am a mama to two dogs and a cat, all from the shelter. (#adoptdontshop) I am an Army brat and Army spouse (retired).
1. Who is a woman you look up to and why?
I don’t have a specific woman I look up to but appreciate all women who are courageous to say “I am not going to participate in the comparison game” that so often is put upon women. There’s so much pressure to look a certain way, achieve certain things, and behave in certain ways. I tend to eschew that and instead try to invest time in being and identifying as I truly want to be. That’s not easy but I am dedicated to that work. Don’t be afraid to champion yourself and pat yourself on the back because YOU are the one working so hard to make life work, whether you are juggling work, the home, kids, hobbies or all of those combined. Don’t be afraid to say “today, I thank ME.”
2. What advice would you give to women in your field or young women in the workplace/preparing the enter the workforce?
Advancement and philanthropy has been historically dominated by male leaders but that has been changing in recent years. Fundraising is an industry where I think women thrive because of the attributes required that women tend to be really great at. Attributes like attention to detail, the ability to juggle multiple priorities, and an innate ability to establish caring relationships. Women have great success at building quality relationships between donors and the organizations they work for. If you are a woman and want a seat at a table, any table, don’t be afraid to ask questions, to ask for a mentor, and to ask about how you can learn. If you aren’t given those opportunities, don’t be afraid to make decisions to put yourself first.
3. Is there anything you would like to share to empower women or encourage people to create change that positively impacts women?
As more and more women get into fundraising as a career, I find it imperative that women leaders like myself make an intentional effort to recruit, help develop, and retain diverse women into our fold. We need to do more to recruit diverse women into the fundraising profession. The richness of having diverse voices working in philanthropy helps inform better decision-making and is invaluable in how we reach our diverse donors.
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).