At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, 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 deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.
As a little girl, Dr. Kelly Wilhite had the unique opportunity to help a nurse-midwife catch her baby brother as her mother gave birth. The experience quickly piqued her interest and eventually led Dr. Wilhite into nursing school.
Dr. Wilhite’s interest in nurse-midwifery came while she was in her OB rotation during nursing school clinicals. When she saw the way women were being treated, it didn’t seem right to her and she knew she had to do something about it. The military offered to cover the cost of midwifery school, so Dr. Wilhite went into military OB nursing. She was an OB nurse for four years in the Virginia/Washington D.C. area, and then applied to an in-residence midwifery program at Shenandoah University. Dr. Wilhite obtained her Master of Science in Nursing in nurse-midwifery and was assigned to Germany where she lived for four years.
Dr. Wilhite pursued a DNP at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) while living in Germany. She had known about FNU for a long time, and the program allowed her the flexibility to complete the DNP from abroad. Her project was focused on immediate skin-to-skin contact (mother and baby). After Germany, she was sent to Florida, and then Afghanistan where she provided primary care in a flight squadron.
After getting out of the military, Dr. Wilhite moved to Kentucky and decided she wanted to focus on educating midwives and get involved in the community. Her husband, who she considers her number one supporter, stayed at home with their children while she began teaching at FNU. She currently teaches postpartum/newborn and women’s health, and has also taught in health promotion, antepartum and complex childbearing in her four years as a professor at Frontier.
“I love it when students are passionate about what they want to be,” said Dr. Wilhite. “They want to improve the healthcare system, and it’s gratifying to see them go out and do that. It’s validating to be a part of a university with a strong mission to provide better health care.”
Dr. Wilhite has presented at the American College of Nurse-Midwives annual meeting for three consecutive years as part of their American Midwifery Certification Board exam review panel. She also presented her research on skin-to-skin contact in 2013.
She often participates in local news interviews to emphasize the role and scope of practice of certified nurse-midwives. Here are links to some of Dr. Wilhite’s most recent interviews:
Minimizing exposure to the Zika virus
preceptor Bernie Justice, APRN, from Pediatrics Associates of Pikeville, Ky., was honored as FNU’s “Featured Preceptor” earlier this summer. Regional Clinical Faculty Melanie Morrison nominated Bernie for the honor.
interest in improving childbirth education and options for women after working on a Thoroughbred broodmare farm. She foaled mares (midwifery for horses!) and started to wonder if women’s care compared to that of Thoroughbreds. Her interest brought her to Frontier Nursing University (FNU).
6th annual Diversity Impact event June 2-5, 2016. This year’s theme focused on “Back to Basics: Heritage, Culture & Self-Care” where students, alumni, faculty and staff united for team building topics, cross-cultural activities and discussions related to increasing diversity in nursing. Event participation included student organizations like FNU Student Council, Wide Neighborhoods Student Ambassador Program, SAGE Network Mentors, FNU Alumni and Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society. Frontier’s Courier internship program also brought in student interns from across the country from Bethel University in Minnesota, Ohio State University graduate-entry Nursing Program in Ohio, Williams College in Massachusetts and University of North Carolina in North Carolina.
The conference started off with an impactful welcome address by FNU President Dr. Stone as she inspired students with goals of increasing diversity in healthcare professions to match the growing U.S. population, along with increasing cultural competency with patients from different backgrounds. FNU PRIDE student Fawn further explains, “Diversity Impact puts us in a microcosm of society and we learn from each other, we discuss our differences but we find we have more similarities.”
faculty and students, with a range of diversity topics. One session focused on how patients view the world. News events like the Flint Water Crisis, Black Lives Matter protests, LGBT health, Immigration Reform, and Political Elections opened discussions into building patient/provider trust with diverse communities to address health inequity. FNU Diversity PRIDE student Sara shares, “Everybody is open, everybody is willing to talk…it’s really opened my eyes a lot about things I had assumed. Now since I’ve talked to people, I’ve realized I see things from their point of view and I understand.”
Keynote speaker Dr. Lily Hsia explored the historical evolution nurse-midwives went through, how far midwives have come, and how much more is needed to move forward. She challenged students to make a commitment to strengthen their continuing education and self-improvement in order to function competently in tomorrow’s diverse global community.
history of graduates that are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of women in their home communities. Stephanie Purinton, CNM, WHNP is one of those alumni. Stephanie is Verde Valley Medical Center’s only Certified Nurse Midwife since August of 2009. Located in Cottonwood, Arizona, Stephanie specializes in OB/GYN, women’s health, and natural childbirth.
Kitty Ernst, FNU Mary Breckinridge Chair, is turning 90 this month! Kitty is a renowned pioneer in the field of nurse-midwifery and has spent more than 60 years leading change and advancing pregnancy and birth care. You can join us in celebrating by helping her birthday wish come true and 
to announce that Dr. Tonya Nicholson, DNP, CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE and Dr. Rebeca Barroso
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).