Frontier Nursing University recently announced its annual award recipients. These awards are presented to FNU alumni and others who have made significant contributions to their communities or to the university.
Lifetime Service Award – Peter Coffin
The Lifetime Service Award recognizes an individual or organization providing longstanding support and commitment to the mission and work of Frontier Nursing Service and Frontier Nursing University.
Peter Coffin, of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, was awarded FNU’s Lifetime Service Award. This award recognizes an individual or organization providing long-standing support and commitment to the mission and work of FNU. Coffin is the founder and president at Breckinridge Capital Advisors, a Boston-based fixed income investment manager with over $40 billion in assets under management.
A long-time supporter of Frontier Nursing University, Coffin serves as the Chair of Frontier’s Foundation Board. Breckinridge Capital Advisors also provides funding for FNU’s Courier program.
Distinguished Service to Society – Sister Christine Schenk
Sister Christine Schenk, CSJ, CNM, FNP, of Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded the Distinguished Service to Society Award. This award honors a graduate who goes above and beyond to provide exceptional service in their communities.
Sister Christine Schenk CSJ attended the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing (now known as Frontier Nursing University) in preparation to take the National Midwifery examination. She graduated in 1976 as a family nurse-midwife, having completed the course and clinical work to be a family nurse practitioner as well as a nurse-midwife. She was part of the first group to take the national certification exams ever offered to become a nurse practitioner.
Sister Christine has been interviewed by major media outlets including the PBS NewsHour, World News with Diane Sawyer, CBS Sunday Morning, National Public Radio, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox cable channels, and quoted in major feature stories on Mary of Magdala and women in the Bible by both Time and Newsweek.
Distinguished Service to Society – Dr. Rhoda Ojwang
Dr. Rhoda Ojwang, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, of San Diego, was awarded the Distinguished Service to Society Award. This award honors a graduate who goes above and beyond to provide exceptional service in their communities.
Dr. Ojwang is the president and founder of Healthcare Access International Group (HAIG), a non-profit organization in San Diego dedicated to making healthcare accessible worldwide. Dr. Ojwang earned her DNP from FNU in 2016.
“I decided to start HAIG because I am originally from Kenya,” Ojwang said. “Growing up I was privileged to be brought up in a family where I went to the best schools and received top quality health care services when I was ill. Throughout my nursing career here in the United States, I constantly thought of ways to give back to my own people, particularly those who were not as privileged as I was. I had a burning desire to make healthcare accessible to those in need. Lack of access to healthcare and the increasing rate of poverty is a growing global public health problem. Although the same is true for developed nations, the developing nations are in dire need of basic healthcare.”
Distinguished Service to Alma Mater – Susan Nilsen
Susan Nilsen, Ph.D., CNM, of League City, Texas, was presented the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award in recognition of her lifelong support of midwifery and Frontier Nursing University. This award honors a graduate who has supported FNU through volunteer efforts and/or donor support.
For 25 years, Dr. Nilsen, who completed her nurse-midwifery education at FNU, served as a Certified Nurse-Midwife at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. Now retired, Dr. Nilsen also served as the Director of Inpatient Services for UTMB’s Regional Maternal and Child Health Program.
Distinguished Service to Alma Mater – Elsie Maier Wilson
Elsie Maier Wilson, CNM, ARNP, BC, MSN, of Newberry, Florida, was awarded FNU’s Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award. This award honors a graduate who has supported Frontier through volunteer efforts and/or donor support.
Wilson received her RN from Queens’s Hospital Center in Jamaica, New York in 1956. She worked at the Hyden Hospital in 1962 and then, in 1963, began the nurse-midwifery program at the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery (now Frontier Nursing University), graduating in July of that same year. She then stayed at Frontier for the next 10 years as a nurse-midwife caring for more than 350 families in the Red Bird District.
She took a leave in 1972 to take a mission trip to Zaire. Wilson earned her master’s degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University before returning to what had become the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing (now Frontier Nursing University). She held the position of Family Nurse Education Coordinator and later became Dean (1977-78). During her time as Dean, she implemented several significant changes, including recruiting Master’s degree faculty. She also helped secure American College of Nurse-Midwives accreditation, federal funding, and contracts with the University of Kentucky and Case Western for students to obtain graduate degrees.
Distinguished Service to Alma Mater – Cathy Cook
Cathy Cook, DNP, MSN, APRN, CNM, of Galesburg, Illinois, was awarded the Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award. This award honors a graduate who has supported Frontier through volunteer efforts and/or donor support.
Cook earned her MSN from Case Western Reserve. She earned her CNM from FNU in 1998 and DNP from FNU in 2020. She has worked as a certified nurse-midwife in Galesburg since 2016. She specializes in natural childbirth and provides individualized education and prenatal care to expectant mothers.
Cook also has served as a member of FNU’s Regional Clinical Faculty since 2016. She has a long history of service to others as a caregiver, teacher, and preceptor and has graciously shared her time and expertise as a preceptor to more than 260 students. Preceptors serve as the student’s teacher, supervisor, and evaluator during the clinical practicum.
Courier Program Unbridled Spirit Award – Nancy Reinhart
The Courier Program Unbridled Spirit Award is given annually to a former Courier who has carried the torch of Mary Breckinridge beyond the mountains, perpetuating the mission and spirit of Frontier in their own lives. The criteria for this award include a dedication to serving others; ongoing, longstanding stewardship of Frontier; and demonstration of personal conviction, courage, and a zest for adventure.
Nancy Reinhart, MPH, CNM, a certified nurse-midwife in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was awarded FNU’s Courier Program Unbridled Spirit Award. This award is given annually to a former Courier who has perpetuated the mission and spirit of Frontier in their own lives. The criteria for this award include a dedication to serving others; ongoing, longstanding stewardship of FNU; and demonstration of personal conviction, courage, and a zest for adventure.
After her Courier experience, Reinhart earned a master’s degree in public health and began a job in social justice. Soon thereafter she was contacted by FNU and offered the opportunity to run the Courier program. She became interested in midwifery and began taking classes at FNU while running the Courier program. After graduating, Reinhart joined WellSpan OB/GYN in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as a full-scope nurse-midwife in July 2020. The practice, which consists of four nurse-midwives and four physicians, is the only one in the area that offers 24/7 nurse-midwifery care.
Read our Quarterly Bulletin to learn more about these award recipients and the university’s most recent events and actions, progress toward the mission, and goals for the future.
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).
You must be logged in to post a comment.