“When your work aligns with your purpose, it becomes incredibly fulfilling.” That simple but powerful sentence spoken by Dr. Ashlee Barnes, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, exemplifies her life and career and demonstrates why she is the 2026 recipient of Frontier Nursing University’s Distinguished Service to Society Award. This award is presented annually to a Frontier graduate who has gone above and beyond to provide exceptional service in their community.
“Service has always been a part of who I am,” said Dr. Barnes, who was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. “My mother and father instilled this in me at a very young age. My family and my upbringing taught me that success is measured not only by what we accomplish but also by how we help others along the way.”
Even in her preschool years, Dr. Barnes found herself drawn to the medical field, eventually focusing on a career in nursing. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, and Post-Master’s Certificate in Family Nurse Practitioner from Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. She then earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Frontier.
“I chose Frontier Nursing University because of its outstanding reputation for preparing advanced practice nurses who are committed to clinical excellence, leadership, and serving diverse communities. I was drawn to Frontier’s mission of improving healthcare access and preparing leaders who can create meaningful change. I needed an affordable and convenient option so that I could continue to be a mother to my children while advancing my career.”
Dr. Barnes credits the DNP with strengthening her leadership skills and expanding her understanding of evidence-based practice and quality improvement.
“It inspired me to think beyond individual patient care. My doctoral education empowered me to become a researcher, educator, mentor, and community leader. It also gave me the confidence to develop innovative programs that improve mental wellness, promote health equity, strengthen community partnerships, and enhance nursing education.”
Dr. Barnes has served her community as a family nurse practitioner at Sher Psychiatry in Sterling Heights, Michigan, since 2017. She has come a long way since her first professional nursing experience as a student nurse associate at Detroit Medical Center in 2008. She went on to become a staff nurse, then a registered nurse and lead psychiatric RN liaison at Children’s Village in Pontiac, Michigan. From 2015-2017, she held FNP positions at Oaklawn Medical Group, Oaklawn Primary Health Services, and Inner Door Center, all located in Michigan.
Her passion for her work and her community has also led her to become an instructor as well. Starting as a graduate student instructor at Oakland University in 2011, Dr. Barnes has risen to her current position as assistant professor in nursing at the University of Detroit Mercy. She teaches undergraduate and graduate nursing students, mentors faculty and students, conducts research, develops innovative teaching strategies, and leads initiatives focused on student mental wellness, belonging, and community engagement.
“As an educator, my work extends well beyond the classroom,” Dr. Barnes said. “I am passionate about creating learning environments where students feel supported academically and personally while preparing them to become compassionate healthcare leaders. Beyond teaching, one of the greatest joys of my career is mentoring students and faculty members. Watching them discover their strengths, gain confidence, and achieve their goals is one of the most rewarding parts of my profession.”
Her desire to serve others extends beyond the workplace. In the community, she is a volunteer and advocate for social justice, literacy advancement, and community empowerment. One example of this commitment of time, expertise, and caring is her founding of the Titans Scholars Literacy Program for children in Detroit and the surrounding communities. In this program, which recently completed its highly successful inaugural year, undergraduate and graduate university students provide weekly tutoring and health education at no cost to participating families.
“Many students are eager to participate because they recognize the value of serving the community while developing leadership skills,” Dr. Barnes said. “As the program continues to grow, I hope to secure grant funding and philanthropic support to expand our reach, develop additional programming, and serve more schools and families throughout the Detroit area.”
It is with equal passion and service to community that Dr. Barnes established the Lillian Mae Foster Scholarship Fund at Plymouth United Church of Christ. The scholarship, which provides financial support to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing studies in the field of mental health, was created in memory of her grandmother, Lillian Mae Foster, a dedicated mental health advocate who passed away in 2006 due to medical complications.
“Although she aspired to become a nurse, she was unable to fulfill that dream, yet she devoted many years of service as a mental health technician, impacting countless lives,” Dr. Barnes said of her grandmother. “Shortly after her passing, I began my own journey in nursing and made a personal commitment to honor her legacy through my work. The creation of this scholarship allows me to give back to my community while uplifting future mental health professionals who share a similar passion for service. This fund not only reflects my grandmother’s enduring influence but also supports students.”
Her transparent passion for serving her community was instilled in Dr. Barnes at an early age. The work she does today is rooted in her desire to give back to the city and communities that helped shape her.
“Growing up in Detroit taught me resilience, compassion, and the importance of community. I have been fortunate to witness the strength of people who come together to support one another, and those experiences shaped both who I am as a person and the professional I have become. Across clinical practice, academia, scholarship, and community engagement, I strive to lead with purpose, compassion, and impact. My service is not episodic but sustained, intentional, and rooted in a deep commitment to improving the well-being of individuals and communities.”
Between her career and her multiple community projects, there figures to be little time for anything else, but Dr. Barnes says she enjoys traveling, experiencing different cultures, attending festivals and concerts, and spending time with family and friends.
“I also have a creative side,” she said. “I enjoy fashion, event planning, decorating, singing, and dancing. Those creative outlets allow me to recharge and often inspire ideas that I bring into my teaching, leadership, and community programs. Of course, community service is also one of my favorite ways to spend my time because it combines many of the things I value most: people, purpose, and connection.
“As a nurse practitioner, educator, researcher, and community leader, I have learned that meaningful change happens when people come together with compassion, innovation, and a shared commitment to service. I feel incredibly grateful for the mentors, colleagues, students, and community partners who have been part of my journey, and I look forward to continuing this work for many years to come.”
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).