Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumna Jennifer Stevens DrPHc, CNM, MS uses her nurse-midwifery degree to help women across the world. Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Jennifer is a midwife specialist for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Jennifer graduated in 2001 from Frontier’s CNEP (Class 28) and earned her MS in Midwifery at Philadelphia University. She worked for 10 years in a freestanding birth center before a stint with Midwives for Haiti (founded by a fellow FNU alumnus) sparked her interest in international midwifery practice.
In her current role, Jennifer supports the newly-created midwifery cadre in Bangladesh, focusing primarily on midwifery education and strengthening the health care system. In Bangladesh, approximately 60% of women birth at home unattended. Jennifer’s goal is to increase the number of quality midwives in Bangladesh to support faculty-based births, lower maternal mortality, and increase access to compassionate sexual and reproductive health care including gender-based violence and family planning services for all the women of Bangladesh.
“I want women to have a voice and be able to birth safely in their own communities,” she said.
Jennifer also supports midwifery centers globally through GoodBirth, a nonprofit she co-founded in 2016. GoodBirth is a global NGO that networks midwifery birth centers in low-resource areas to help them solve problems, encourage commitment to healthy birth practices and standards for quality and safety, and promote respectful maternity care.
“I often think back on the unique education offered at FNU during my work,” said Jennifer. “FNU demonstrates what can happen when we create a program that listens to women and meets them where they are, in their own communities – we can change the world.”
Her choice to pursue nurse-midwifery at FNU was influenced by the flexibility the online courses offered her as a mother, and by FNU’s excellent reputation in midwifery education.
Jennifer is currently enrolled in Boston University to pursue a Doctorate in Public Health.
She was also recently published in Birth Journal, co-authoring an editorial entitled “Asking different questions: A call to action for research to improve the quality of care for every woman, every child.”
We are proud to have such an active member of the FNU community serving women around the globe. Thank you, Jennifer!
Honored guests and friends of Frontier Nursing University (FNU) gathered for a holiday celebration in the historic 
2018 is wrapping up at Frontier Nursing University (FNU)! From individual student accomplishments to the Versailles campus acquisition, it was truly an exciting year to be part of the FNU community. Below are some of our highlights from 2018. Be sure to watch the “2018 FNU Year in Review” video at the bottom of the post as well.
Alumna and faculty member, 
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) seeks to empower its students to make a difference in their communities and in their field.
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumna Christa Salling, FNP, CLC credits her education for allowing her to enter a fulfilling career.
Also, as a Certified Lactation Counselor, Christa is able to help with breastfeeding challenges. 
Frontier Nursing University preceptor Sonja Furse, DNP, PMHNP is the first psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner to be honored as a “Featured Preceptor” for the Fall 2018 term. Sonja was nominated by recent 
Want To Earn an Advanced Nursing Degree? Try Distance Learning!
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).