Faculty, staff, students, alumni and preceptors of Frontier Nursing University (FNU) attended the 2023 AANP National Conference from June 20 to June 25 in New Orleans, LA. The AANP National Conference is the largest nurse practitioner conference in the United States! With a focus on “Restoring, Recharging and Renewing the Nurse Practitioner Community,” the conference offered something for every nurse practitioner.
FNU is excited to highlight the many FNU community members who presented, received scholarships, and were recognized during this year’s conference. We commend all of these individuals for their excellent work as nurse practitioner leaders!
Faculty Presentations
Dr. Estella Wetzel presented with Dr. Mary Hunt on Simplified Urine Drug Test Interpretation.
A conference poster by Dr. Diane John and Dr. Vicky Stone-Gale on Intimate Partner Violence: The Impact on Women and the Community.
A conference poster by Dr. Amber Littlefield, Dr. Tammy Whitehead and Dr. Joshua Barnes on An Algorithmic Approach to Transgender Care in Primary Care.
2023 AANP Scholarship Recipients Announced July 5
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners announced the recipients of the 2023 AANP Grants and Scholarships program. During this funding cycle, the association awarded a total of $145,000 in professional funding to 51 members through eight grants and 43 scholarships. Congratulations to the three FNU students who received scholarships:
- Kristi Castellano, BSN, RN, of Frontier Nursing University from Bend, Oregon
- Lola Rodden, RN, of Frontier Nursing University from Atlanta, Georgia
- Charlie Scheck, RN, BSN, CCRN, of Frontier Nursing University from San Diego, California
FNU Mentoring Program
In an effort to create even stronger interaction and connection between students and faculty, FNU’s Professional Organization Mentoring Program (POMP) was created in 2018. POMP matches FNU faculty with underrepresented nurse practitioner and nurse-midwifery students to provide support and mentorship. The program allows students to join a professional organization in their field, as well as gives them the opportunity to attend a professional conference with their mentors, with conference registration and professional membership fees covered. The POMP attendees at AANP included:
Students:
Kristin Swanson
Jazmene Landing
Esenam Dankwa
Edalyn Shaw
Demetria Woodruff
Faculty:
Joanne Keefe
Debra Hunt
FNU POMP Mentees Edalyn Shaw, Kris Swanson and Demetria Woodruff with FNU POMP Mentor Debra Hunt
FNU Alumni & Friends Breakfast Reception
FNU hosted our annual Alumni & Friends Breakfast Reception where FNU community members gathered to reconnect and share the work they are doing. The breakfast is a wonderful event where we have the opportunity to recognize the preceptors, faculty, alumni and students who make our nurse practitioner program great.
FNP faculty
FNU NP faculty
FNU NP faculty
Mentors and mentees with FNU Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMHNP-BC, APRN
Connecting with Prospective Students and Preceptors
The FNU exhibit booth was busy with prospective students interested in our nurse practitioner specialty tracks and online doctor of nursing practice degree program. We also spoke with several nurse practitioners who were interested in learning more about precepting.
We hope to see YOU at the 2024 AANP National Conference!
FNU offers the following advanced nursing specialty tracks:
- Family Nurse Practitioner Program
- Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program
- Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner Program
Learn more about advanced nursing degrees and specialties at Frontier Nursing University. Subscribe to our blog for the latest news and events at FNU and to get inspired with stories featuring our alumni, students, faculty and staff!
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).