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.
The Circle of Caring Award is given to recognize FNU faculty and staff members who go above and beyond in upholding our mission and contributing to our Culture of Caring.
Zach Young: Empowering success through resources
As a faculty member with a background in Political Science and Library Science, FNU Circle of Caring recipient Zach Young plays a pivotal role in supporting students and faculty members alike. Young’s primary focus at FNU is aiding students in accessing resources crucial for their assignments and assisting faculty members in their research endeavors.
Young attests to the open lines of communication and collaborative spirit at FNU, where, as a librarian, he feels an integral part of the faculty, contributing significantly to the academic journey of students and faculty members.
“At a lot of other institutions, it can be hard to build relationships with faculty as a librarian. Here at FNU, the lines of communication are open,” he said. “If we notice students asking a lot of questions about one assignment, we are encouraged to reach out to the course faculty and offer our assistance. Faculty are usually surprised at the value we can add to their assignments and courses.”
FNU students who have attended Fronter Bound agree, sharing, “Zach, the librarian, has great energy during his presentation! He was hilarious and I loved that he played music. He was such a great help with the information he shared all while making us laugh as well.” Another student said, “Zach the librarian was extremely engaging and helped me feel like I will always have a person to turn to when assignments get overwhelming.”
Recognizing the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Young said he embraces the opportunity to engage with a diverse community at FNU, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives thrive and enrich the university’s overall educational experience.
“It has opened my eyes to various cultures and research interests that I would never have been exposed to at other institutions,” he said.
Outside of his work with FNU, Young enjoys playing tennis, spending time with his wife and dogs, board games and traveling.
Tyler Smith: Nurturing technological support and teamwork
With eight years of service at FNU, Circle of Caring recipient Tyler Smith serves as an IT Support Analyst. His daily work revolves around providing crucial technical assistance to staff, faculty and students, ensuring their seamless interaction with Frontier’s technology infrastructure.
Smith said he was drawn to FNU due to its strong sense of camaraderie and teamwork, evident in the collaborative efforts displayed daily. He said he recognizes the Culture of Caring at FNU as a cornerstone.
“I see evidence of the Culture of Caring throughout Frontier with each individual’s readiness to help to make a positive experience or difference in their roles,” he said.
Understanding the significance of DEI, Smith emphasizes the need for inclusivity, aiming to connect with the world and spread the ethos of inclusiveness in every facet of his work.
“It is important that we understand and connect to the world around us to become more inclusive and spread that inclusivity each and every day,” he said.
Outside of his work, Smith enjoys playing games and watching the occasional movie marathon with his family, and also enjoys playing soccer and collecting trading cards.
Thank you, Zach and Tyler, for your unwavering dedication to the students, faculty and staff at FNU and your embodiment of the Culture of Caring in your daily work.
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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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