Since stepping into her role as president of Frontier Nursing University last year, Dr. Brooke A. Flinders has prioritized connecting with the FNU community. In 2025, she kicked off a Presidential Tour in the southeast region of the United States and plans to travel across the country throughout the year to meet with FNU graduates who are transforming healthcare in their communities. Each stop offers an opportunity to witness firsthand the meaningful impact of our alumni in a variety of clinical settings.
The first leg of the tour took Dr. Flinders and the FNU team through three states in three days: Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The trip started in Atlanta, where we met with Brandi Milton, a graduate of FNU’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program, who now runs her own aesthetics and wellness clinic. Dr. Flinders and Dr. Susan Piper, Clinical Director for FNU’s PMHNP Program, toured Milton’s clinic to learn how she is supporting mental health and wellness in her community.
While in Atlanta, Frontier held a Meet and Mingle at the historic Mary Mac’s Tea Room with students, alumni, and faculty for a lively evening of connection.
Next, the FNU team met Lauren Brannon, a family nurse practitioner who specializes in gender-affirming care at Atrium Health Primary Care Northcross, located near Charlotte, North Carolina. The final stop in this leg was in Statesville, NC at Natural Beginnings Birth & Wellness Center, where we met three passionate FNU graduates: nurse-midwives Haley Swift and Jennifer Johnson, and women’s health nurse practitioner Kristen Shaver.
The second leg of the tour took us throughout Florida with stops in Miami, Tampa, Kissimmee, Altamonte Springs, and Orlando. In Miami, the tour kicked off with a Meet and Mingle with graduates, students, and faculty at the Doral Yard, joined by Dean of Student Success Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Interim Dean of Nursing Dr. Diane John, and board member Peter Schwartz.
In Tampa, we had a chance to visit Lilia Passman at USF Midwifery in Tampa General Hospital. Notably, Passman’s team includes eight FNU graduates. Another meet-and-greet took place at Armature Works in Tampa, bringing together local graduates and students.
Dr. Flinders also spent time with Triana Boggs, a passionate homebirth nurse-midwife serving a diverse population with culturally centered care. Boggs shared insights on the importance of expanding birthing options and empowering patients through personalized care.
Further stops included a visit with FNU dual-graduate Auriel Cicarelli in Kissimmee, whose dedication as a nurse-midwife and preceptor exemplifies the Frontier spirit. We then joined graduate Kaleen Richards at Tree of Life Birthing Center in Altamonte Springs where FNU students presented a variety of cases they experienced during the clinical placement of their education.
The Presidential Tour will continue this month in the Northwest, with stops in California, Oregon and Washington. A Northeast tour will take place in August with stops in New York City and Philadelphia, while an Eastern tour will close out the year of travel in November with stops in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. We’ll be sharing highlights of the tour in our On the Trail Series on YouTube:
If you are an FNU graduate or student who would like to meet up with us on the Presidential Tour this year and share insights on your work in your community, please visit Frontier.edu for the full Presidential Tour schedule.
It is with extreme sorrow that we share the news of the passing of Dr. Michael Carter, who served as Chair of the Frontier Nursing University Board of Directors from 2009 to April 2025. Dr. Carter’s long history with Frontier Nursing University dates to 2003 when he joined what was then the Frontier Nursing Service Board of Governors. For more than fifteen years, Dr. Carter’s leadership was marked by his determination, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his extraordinary passion.
The story of the mission and founding of the Frontier Nursing Service in 1925 shines a light on the importance of providing healthcare to areas where there is little if any access to care. Mary (Strubhar) Showalter, MSN, CNM (Class 39) is among the many Frontier graduates who have been inspired by the mission to serve the underserved.
“It also was very special to me to follow in the footsteps of my aunt, Ruth Cressman, who had trained as a midwife with the Frontier Nursing Service in the early 1950s,” Showalter said. “Aunt Ruth was a classmate of and fellow graduate with Kitty Ernst.”
Perhaps one of the positives that emerged from the COVID pandemic was a heightened awareness of mental health and an understanding of the need for increased access to mental health care.
Wilk works in a fast-paced outpatient setting providing much-needed mental health care. She diagnosis and treats substance use disorders, persistent and severe mental illness, neuropsychiatric disorders, and more.
“In my day-to-day work, I work with uniformed services veterans from all walks of life who choose to access VA healthcare,” Wilk said. “As a USPHS officer, I serve the country by being prepared to respond to a public health emergency and promoting public health through federal agency work.”
FNU graduate Lauren Brannon has dedicated her career to championing accessible, affirming healthcare for underserved communities, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community. Brannon obtained a 
Brannon deeply enjoys providing primary care to her community. “In my practice, I know our cultural norms,” she said. “I know our language, I know what our lives are. I just know there’s a different level of felt safety if you’re with a practitioner that’s from within your community. And I think it goes a long way. Community-based care is not just geographic,” she said.
Notably, during Hurricane Helene, Brannon and her team provided refills and other healthcare needs to people in her community who were affected by the storm.
Married physicians Drs. Susan Graham, MD, and Jon Kucera, MD, understand the importance of quality healthcare and the challenging lack of access that many people face. Dr. Graham is a cardiologist and Dr. Kucera is an Internist. Both have over 35 years of experience and practice primarily in Buffalo, New York.
“The FNU model builds on the strengths of the individual in their daily lives and local communities,” Dr. Graham said. “The students bring an understanding of the priorities and key drivers of health in their own practices. Working on methods and solutions is the immediate result of such shared experience. Health care barriers and patient needs have similarities across rural and underserved populations. Thus, with this focus and shared philosophy, the students, faculty, and alumni have a platform for communication, research, and advocacy. FNU graduates are energized, involved, and unafraid to think broadly, ask questions, and be part of new solutions.”
Michael Steinmetz served Frontier Nursing University from October 2009 to August 2022, when he retired. He was hired as the Chief Financial Officer, then became the Vice President of Finance, and then Executive Vice President for Finance and Facilities. 
His talents and expertise led him to financial leadership positions with entities such as Coopers & Lybrand, Hitachi Automotive Products, Studio Plus Hotels, FKI Logistex, and Lexmark International, Inc., among others. Each of these opportunities prepared him with a breadth of knowledge and experience in a variety of domestic and international industries.
For the many contributions that he made to Frontier and the lasting impact of his work, FNU presented Steinmetz with the honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration, Honoris Causa, in 2023.