Frontier Nursing University (FNU) graduate Angela (Angie) Chisholm, CNM is improving maternity care with an uniquely informative new podcast, entitled “Midwifing America.”
The podcast is on a mission to reimagine women’s healthcare in the United States. In the wake of a mounting maternal health crisis, each Midwifing America episode highlights stories from health care providers and the women they serve to illustrate the state of maternity care.
Angie, one of the four podcast hosts, graduated from FNU’s CNEP (Class 49) in 2009. She served as a nurse-midwife in collaborative hospital practice for seven years in Corvallis, Ore., providing team-based care and supervising family practice residents.
She has also served as a midwife at the Corvallis Birth & Women’s Health Center, where she works to incorporate collaborative maternity care models between the birth center and local hospital.
Though her focus is often skin-to-skin care, Angie is passionate about improving all maternity healthcare.
“I believe that birth centers have the potential to address health disparities and maternity care shortage crisis,” she said. “As more and more hospitals stop offering maternity care, it seems reasonable that those communities deserve local and safe options for prenatal care and deliveries. One of my goals is to show other communities and hospitals that embracing birth centers and out-of-hospital care – instead of viewing them as competition – leads to the best outcomes.”
Angie and her team of three other Oregon-based midwives started Midwifing America to begin having these important conversations with nurses, midwives, physicians and mothers.
“Much of what I have learned is that social media and audience engagement has the potential to change how we deliver care,” she said.
To that end, Angie has produced The Heart of Touch Film and web series to highlight the importance of skin-to-skin care for newborns.
Angie’s experience at FNU helped prepare her not only to provide quality care and listen to women, but also to see herself as an advocate for issues that need to be addressed.
“This big picture vision is something I really took to heart,” she said.
Her access to mentorship by FNU faculty and staff who want to grow the midwifery profession made all the difference for her as she continues to lead the way for better maternal care.
In addition to her multimedia efforts, Angie also serves on the ACNM National Membership & Marketing Committee and is Chair of Oregon Affiliate Public Relations.
Angie, your dedication to improving maternal health is inspiring to all of us in the FNU community. Thank you!
Hyden, Ky. 
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is pleased to announce the 2018 Spring Term Circle of Caring Award winners. Congratulations to
Dania Cervantes Ayala is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Neb. with an expected graduation date of May 2019. Already with a Spanish minor and a Medical Interpreting Certificate from College of Saint Mary, Dania is the first in her family to graduate from high school and pursue higher education. 
Molly Craig is studying biology and psychology at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. She was born in Mansfield, Pa. and attended Notre Dame High School in Elmira, N.Y. She is part of the swimming and diving team at Williams, and competed for Division III nationals in her freshman season. Additionally, she is a member of the Lehman Service club that conducts community outreach projects throughout the school year. 
James Rasmussen is a senior at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., where he studies chemistry. Originally from California, he will graduate pre-medical at Williams and continue his studies in hopes of becoming a doctor. In his free time, James enjoys making music playlists and journaling. 
Fall Term at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) rings in a vibrant series of annual virtual events.
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) alumna Nikia Grayson, CNM, FNP, APRN is seeking to fill the gap of healthcare that she sees in her urban community in Memphis, Tenn.
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) faculty and staff members challenged their thinking about birth justice and reproductive oppression this year at the 2018 ACNM Conference in Savannah, Ga. FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, staff members Shelley Aldridge and Angela Bailey, and faculty members Drs. Jane Houston, Nena Harris, Niessa Meier and Ally Williams coordinated the first annual FNU Case Day and Panel on Birth Justice and Equity, held on May 22, 2018.
Hyden, KY
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).