At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented community of students, graduates, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to work with all people, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities.
Frontier Nursing University graduate Dr. Julian Williams, DNP, FNP-C, has built his career around expanding access to high-quality, patient-centered healthcare. He currently serves as Director for Ageless Men’s Health in Manhattan, a position that draws on his extensive experience in community health, clinical care, patient education and leadership.
Williams began his clinical training as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), earning his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with an FNP specialty from Frontier in 2018. He said he was drawn to this work because it allows for a comprehensive, relationship-based approach to healthcare. Family medicine, he noted, is especially meaningful because of its focus on caring for patients across the lifespan, giving providers the opportunity to build lasting therapeutic relationships.
“I’ve always been interested in prevention, health education, men’s health, and empowering patients to make informed decisions about their health,” he said. “The FNP role combines clinical autonomy with a strong focus on patient advocacy, which aligns closely with my personal and professional values. It also allows me to treat the whole person, not just the disease, by considering lifestyle, environment, and psychosocial factors that influence health outcomes.”
Williams was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but spent much of his youth in North Carolina before relocating to New York City after college. Throughout his career, he has worked in community-based healthcare settings, caring for diverse patient populations, and addressing both acute and chronic medical needs. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams was called upon by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with disaster response at Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center in New York City.
The next phase of Williams’ professional development was to pursue his Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). The DNP strengthened his leadership skills, deepened his understanding of evidence-based practice, and gave him the tools to improve healthcare delivery at both the patient and system levels.
“I chose FNU because of its strong focus on preparing nurse leaders who can translate research into real-world clinical practice,” he said. “The program emphasized leadership, quality improvement and healthcare innovation, skills that are essential for clinicians who want to make meaningful changes within healthcare systems. The flexibility of the program also allowed me to continue practicing clinically while advancing my education.”
“The program emphasized leadership, quality improvement and healthcare innovation, skills that are essential for clinicians who want to make meaningful changes within healthcare systems. The flexibility of the program also allowed me to continue practicing clinically while advancing my education.”
Williams said earning his DNP allowed him to significantly enhance the way he approaches patient care and clinical leadership, improving his ability to critically evaluate research, implement evidence-based interventions, and lead quality improvement initiatives within clinical settings.
“In practice, this means I’m constantly looking for ways to optimize care delivery, improve patient outcomes, and ensure that treatment approaches are supported by the latest clinical evidence,” he said. “My DNP training at FNU has also helped me become a stronger leader, whether that involves mentoring clinicians, improving workflow processes, or implementing strategies that enhance patient engagement and long-term health outcomes.”
Williams leverages the knowledge and experience gained through earning his DNP in his role with Ageless Men’s Health, where he focuses on men’s health and hormone optimization, particularly testosterone replacement therapy.
Previously, he served as Medical Director at the Crown Heights site of Community Healthcare Network in Brooklyn, where he helped lead clinical teams and implement initiatives focused on improving quality of care, preventive services, and population health outcomes. He said many of his patients came from underserved communities and often faced barriers to care such as limited resources, chronic disease burdens, and social determinants that impact overall health.
“What I was most passionate about was building long-term relationships with patients and empowering them through education,” Dr. Williams said. “Helping patients understand their conditions, take ownership of their health, and see measurable improvements over time was incredibly rewarding. I also valued mentoring other clinicians and fostering a team culture focused on compassionate, evidence-based care.”
Williams said his advice to anyone considering a DNP is to pursue it if they are passionate about advancing both their clinical expertise and their leadership impact in healthcare. He said the degree is particularly valuable for clinicians who want to move beyond individual patient encounters and contribute to improving healthcare systems, policies, and outcomes.
“The DNP experience benefits professionals who are motivated, curious, and interested in translating research into practical improvements in patient care,” he said. “It’s also ideal for clinicians who aspire to leadership roles, academic positions, or advanced clinical practice. Most importantly, the journey requires commitment and discipline, but the knowledge, perspective, and professional growth that come from earning a DNP are incredibly rewarding.”
Thank you, Julian, for your dedication to advancing patient-centered care and representing FNU’s mission to care for underserved communities through compassionate, evidence-based practice and leadership.
To read more graduate stories, visit the FNU Alumni stories page.
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).