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 that 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.
In October 2025, Bates was recognized with the Kentucky State University National Alumni Association 40 Under 40 Award.
Since joining the staff at Frontier Nursing University in 2024, Tai Bates, MPA, has been dedicated to helping students thrive, both academically and personally. As Student Success Coordinator, Bates plays a key role in the Student Engagement, Access, and Success team, leading initiatives that enhance student performance, promote personal growth and align with FNU’s mission and culture.
Whether it’s connecting students with interest groups, offering mentorship opportunities, or simply being a listening ear, Bates’ goal is to create a space where students feel a sense of belonging. She also ensures that students are aware of the many resources available to them at Frontier.
“I have a true passion for making sure our students feel supported, connected, and confident throughout their journey at Frontier,” Bates said. “I want to do all that I can to serve them as they prepare to serve their communities as advanced practice nurses.”
In her role, Bates collaborates with faculty, staff, and administration to address student needs and foster an inclusive educational environment, promoting a culture of support and community engagement. In addition to her on-campus responsibilities, she also is involved in recruitment and partnership development, attending career fairs, campus visits, and professional conferences.
“I love being connected throughout the Frontier community and beyond,” she said. “It helps me to understand our goals as a leader in graduate nursing education and how to offer support that promotes the success of all students.”
Bates values the work-life-balance the university offers for staff members and the university’s Culture of Caring.
A Kentucky Army National Guard Veteran, Bates brings a wealth of experience to her role at FNU. She has worked with a variety of organizations over the years, including the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and more. She earned her Master of Public Administration degree from Kentucky State University in 2015 and is a Certified Academic Life Coach.
In addition to her work with FNU, Bates is the founder of Not Easily Combated, Inc., a faith-driven, veteran-founded boutique consulting firm designed to address the unique challenges faced by female veterans in Central Kentucky. The organization was created to amplify the voices of female veterans, provide tailored transition and wellness support, and ensure that they receive the same opportunities and resources as their male counterparts.
Among the organization’s signature initiatives are HER PATH, a women-focused transition program combining career coaching, VA navigation, and spiritual grounding to prepare for post-service success; Warrior Grace Circles, a peer-led, faith-based healing circles for women veterans to address MST, PTSD, and trauma in a supportive environment, and more.
“We aim to help institutions that lack holistic empowerment or veteran-inclusive environments,” Bates said. “As a female veteran, I know there are a lot of things that are not provided for us academically, in healthcare or professionally.”
In October 2025, Bates was recognized with the Kentucky State University National Alumni Association 40 Under 40 Award. The award is given to KSU alumni who exemplify excellence in leadership, service, and professional achievement.
Bates said receiving the recognition alongside her mother and daughter was an incredible honor. Looking back on her time at the university, she reflected that achieving success as a working single mother required determination and perseverance.
“They took a kid that had a 2.1 GPA and 12 on the ACT, and at the end of the day, I am a two-time alum there who graduated with honors,” she said.
Bates attributes her accomplishments to her deep faith.
“None of this would be possible without my Lord and Savior because he has kept me through, especially as a veteran who’s recovering from PTSD,” she said. “Without having my strong foundation in my faith, I don’t even know if a lot of things that have happened within the last two months would be possible.”
Outside of her professional endeavors, Bates enjoys spending time with her family, working out at the gym, enjoying good food, shooting at the range, traveling and researching.
Thank you, Tai, for your leadership, compassion and dedication to others. You are a true asset to FNU.
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).