In her own words, Dr. Marli Parobek has “always been a nurse.” While her professional credentials — ARPN, FNP, PMHNP, DNP – were earned later, they merely confirmed what she knew all along.
“I have always been a nurse,” Dr. Parobek said. “Even as a kid I bandaged wounds and dissected frogs.”
Dr. Parobek grew up in Ohio and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing degrees at Ohio State University.
“Becoming a nurse meant I would blend science and service. I enjoyed being an RN in the ER and ICU. However, I felt a need to advocate for my clients and advance my knowledge and career. That is why I became a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) and then worked in the emergency department, in internal medicine, long term care, and as a hospitalist.”
As an FNP, Dr. Parobek had her own practice in Yakima, Washington. In Washington, nurse practitioners practice independently of physician oversight. Many practice in rural areas alone without other providers for context.
“For this reason, I needed an autonomous, self-sufficient education, which I received by being dual certified in family practice and psychiatry. My Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree was the perfect complement to my independent spirit.”
In her experiences as a nurse in these settings, Dr. Parobek became increasingly aware of gaps in the health care system. She saw the opportunity to help fill those gaps and provide needed care.
“As an FNP, I felt a knowledge deficit in mental health and a need to complete my training to provide a higher level of care, thus returning to FNU for my Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) certificate and then my DNP. To function independently as a clinician, I knew I needed a comprehensive education to complement my clinical experience.”
With the DNP in hand, Dr. Parobek has become an advocate for Advanced Practice Nurses (APRNs) and the vital role they play within Washington’s communities.
“If you are not at the table, you are on the menu,” she said of taking her place as a healthcare leader. “For APRNs to function at the level of a physician we need to be educated as independent providers, not as Advanced Practice Providers (APP). APP is the nomenclature used to clump APRNs and PAs together as if we were equal in education and scope of practice. APRNs with a DNP are prepared to function as physicians, nurse scientists, and entrepreneurs. Frontier has the spirit of independence for nurses from the roots of Mary Breckinridge to the current leadership. Nurses are empowered at FNU.”
Dr. Parobek points out that insurance companies reimburse nurse practitioners 15% less than they reimburse physicians.
“This impedes APRNs from setting up their own practice, increasing access to care, and expanding services due to lack of financing. Equal pay for equal work is a civil right and until APRNs have pay parity with physicians, we will be seen as second class citizens.”
For the past five years, Dr. Parobek has owned and operated Precision Psychiatry on Vashon Island, Washington, where she lives with her husband Thomas. They enjoy spending time with their daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren. They also travel abroad on pilgrimages to destinations such as Egypt.
The island, which is only accessible by ferry in Puget Sound, has a population of approximately 10,300. Dr. Parobek has a contract with the local King County Medicaid office as their only prescriber.
“My practice is thriving,” she said, noting that the shrinking stigma of mental health issues has made people more comfortable seeking mental healthcare. “I see all patients of all ages, all walks of life, from ‘regular folk’ to the severely mentally ill. Most of my clients are my neighbors and friends, which gives me some notoriety as I often speak on the local AM radio station, speak at public events, and write mental health columns in the local paper. I am the ‘country doctor’.”
She is also known as a very active preceptor, welcoming students – many from Frontier – to train with her. She downplays her generosity as her way of paying it forward.
“I have been taught by others and will do the same for the next generation. I like to teach others, and I like the collegial interaction with students. Of course, the FNU students are the best prepared nurses and have goals of owning their own practice like me.”
Dr. Parobek hopes to help them do just that. She already gives the gift of precepting students, but she hopes to do even more for students whenever she decides to leave her practice.
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).