Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is proud to announce our faculty and staff winners of the Winter term 2020 Circle of Caring Award: Sharon Weyer and Michelle Janes.
The Circle of Caring Award is given to recognize FNU faculty and staff members who go above and beyond in upholding our mission and contributing to our Culture of Caring.
Nominations for this award were submitted anonymously by faculty and staff. A committee then voted on each nomination based on the following Culture of Caring characteristics: professionalism, mutual support, respect, positive communication and inclusivity.
Here is what her nominee had to say about faculty winner Sharon Weyer, DNP, APRN, FNP-C:
As a valued member of the Bridge team, Sharon Weyer has always exhibited the Culture of Caring principles. For the spring term Bridge Bound and Crossing, she went above the expectations of her role when another faculty member’s child became ill just before she was scheduled to travel to Hyden. At about 7 am, Sharon learned of the child’s illness and volunteered without hesitation to come to campus in the faculty member’s place. Sharon hurriedly made travel arrangements and arrived on campus in time to participate in the welcome session that evening.
Throughout Bridge Bound and Crossing, Sharon readily participated and led the sessions to which she was assigned and shared her expertise, caring and passion with our students. The faculty member was able to stay home and take care of her young child thanks to Sharon’s helpfulness, sensitivity, thoughtfulness, respect and professionalism. Sharon is a valued member of the Bridge faculty and FNU community who exemplifies the Culture of Caring principles.
In response to learning of her nomination, Sharon said, “Thank you for the nomination for the Circle of Caring award. I was able to cover at the last minute at Bridge Bound/Crossing the Bridge so a faculty member could stay home with an ill family member. Attending Bridge Bound in March with the final admitted Bridge class provided me with several blessings. I was able to support my colleagues at Bound, so they had full staffing. The faculty at Bridge Bound were very supportive, offering to share anything I might have forgotten to pack during my last-minute packing. I met the new students face to face beginning their journey at Frontier to become advanced practice registered nurses. During the Journey to the Frontier sessions, I witnessed the bond-forming with the new group of students as they shared the amazing stories of their heartwarming and destined journey to Frontier.”
Nominations for staff member Michelle Janes included the following:
Michelle genuinely is a light in our office! She thinks of ways to encourage others! Often her lunchtime trips to the Dollar Tree end with a thoughtful gesture! Most recently, she gave each of us a little hand sanitizer for our desk. We’ve all been a little overwhelmed with the COVID-19 news but, Michelle thinks of her co-workers and others! She shared with the entire Versailles Campus this website: https://lovefortheelderly.org/letters, an organization dedicated to sending uplifting letters to our elderly population. Michelle is hoping to share the love with them during the “social distancing” time on our campus and in our nation. She’s offered to share her own stock of cards to send letters. Her sensitive and caring spirit inspires each of us and reminds us to show kindness-even in difficult times!
When she found out she would be receiving the award, Michelle said, “It’s so sweet to receive this award. It’s much appreciated.”
Thank you to Sharon and Michelle for contributing to FNU’s Culture of Caring every day! We encourage everyone to keep the nominations coming and remind you to send a Culture of Caring card to personally thank your nominee. Please feel free to start submitting nominations for summer term! Click here to make your nomination.
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).