At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community that are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is proud to recognize faculty member Kristin Gianelis, DNP, APRN, ANP, WHNP, who was one of the recipients of the Winter 2021 Circle of Caring Award.
A resident of Barrington, Rhode Island, Gianelis serves as a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) faculty member for FNU. Through this role, she mentors DNP students to become agents of change in their communities. Outside of her work with the university, she also works in a clinical setting and dedicates her time to improving healthcare access for underserved populations.
“If I can provide patient-centered care to even a few individuals who wouldn’t have been able to receive healthcare otherwise, I consider my work a success,” she said. “I walk into each clinical day not knowing what I will encounter, but with only the intention of providing each person dignity, respect and the opportunity to have their individual needs met.”
Over the last 17 years, Gianelis has worked in a variety of settings as a dual-certified Women’s Health and Adult Nurse Practitioner. She currently works for an urban Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and provides OB/GYN care for a gender-diverse and largely undocumented immigrant population.
Gianelis said her initial inspiration to pursue nursing was to help women and families navigate normal life changes, but her scope of perspective has changed throughout her career.
“As I have developed a more broad understanding of gender and sexuality, I would now say that I recognized the importance of this aspect of our beings and honor the unique path to sexual wellness for each individual,” she said. “It is my honor to give voice to all individuals and provide patient-centered sexual health care across the lifespan.”
Before receiving her bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Gianelis applied for immediate direct entry into a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program.
“I finished my bachelor’s on a Saturday and started my master’s on the following Monday,” she said.
Gianelis earned her MSN in 2005 after taking a break to work as a Registered Nurse (RN). She worked as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) for 13 years before earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from FNU.
“Obtaining my doctoral degree taught me to think differently,” she said. “It opened my eyes to quality improvement, developed leadership skills and gave me the confidence to be an agent of change in my community.”
After earning her DNP from FNU, Gianelis decided to stay with the university as a faculty member.
“I chose to work at Frontier because I firmly believe in the mission of this institution. I believe that health equity starts with educating a strong healthcare workforce for the entire country, especially those areas that are underserved.”
– Kristin Gianelis, DNP, APRN, ANP, WHNP
“I chose to work at Frontier because I firmly believe in the mission of this institution,” she said. “I believe that health equity starts with educating a strong healthcare workforce for the entire country, especially those areas that are underserved.”
Gianelis said she embraces FNU’s Culture of Caring, not only when interacting with fellow faculty members, but also with students.
“Working in the DNP program, I have the opportunity to mentor students longitudinally during their clinical quality initiative,” she said. “While they are my students, they are also my colleagues – fellow APRNs working in other parts of the country. Through our interactions, I have the opportunity to understand how practice and policy differs nationwide, while also expanding on my own narrow experience of life in the northeast. Not only does this enrich my life intellectually, but I am embraced by each students’ warmth and openness to share their experiences and unique points of view.”
The Culture of Caring also is important in the context of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work at FNU, Gianelis said.
“I am here to amplify marginalized voices, shelter those who need rest, and support diversity in all its beauty,” she said.
Gianelis is married to her husband Steve, and has two children and a dog. She enjoys traveling, boating, cooking and reading.
Thank you, Kristin, for your dedication to providing healthcare access to underserved populations and for living out our Culture of Caring!
If you know an FNU staff or faculty member that goes above and beyond, nominate them now for the Circle of Caring Award!
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).