Graduate Spotlight: Auriel Ciccarelli, CNM, WHNP, driven by calling to service and community

July 24, 2025 By Frontier Nursing University

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented 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 work with all people, with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities.

For Auriel Ciccarelli, CNM, WHNP, her journey in midwifery and women’s healthcare began with a passion for service and a deep understanding of the value of community, both of which were rooted in her upbringing.

“Even though we didn’t have a lot, we still gave back to our community,” she said of her family.

That early experience continues to shape the way she approaches her work today, whether it’s caring for patients or mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Ciccarelli earned both her Certified Nurse-Midwife (CNM) Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP) Post-Graduate Certificate (PGC) from FNU. Now serving as a CNM for Women’s Health Centers in Orlando, she remains a strong advocate for accessible, compassionate care and for the continued growth of the midwifery profession.

Ciccarelli’s professional journey has taken her from working as a Registered Nurse (RN) in her home state of Pennsylvania to working as a CNM and ultimately as a WHNP. Along the way, she’s carried with her the spirit of connection and support she found at FNU.

“Frontier Nursing University is a family,” she said. “It’s a community that you have that has your back while you’re going through the program.”

Visiting with Auriel Ciccarelli in Orlando during FNU's Presidential Tour

L to R: Bobbi Silver, Quincy Fuehne, Auriel Ciccarelli, Dr. Brooke Flinders, Caitlin Rivard

Ciccarelli said her Frontier experience was shaped by moments of deep connection, like her time at Frontier Bound, where she bonded with fellow CNM, WHNP and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) students, many of whom she keeps in touch with today. She credits a Frontier graduate who precepted her during her undergraduate clinical practicum, for inspiring her to apply to FNU and for modeling what it means to mentor with purpose.

Now, Ciccarelli is serving as an FNU clinical preceptor herself.

“I feel like part of my higher calling is to precept my students and to precept the future of midwifery,” she said. “If we don’t take on that calling, we will not have nurse-midwives to help women to deliver their babies and to advocate for them for their health and for their wellbeing.”

At Frontier Nursing University, preceptors like Ciccarelli play a critical role in shaping students’ real-world learning. They serve not only as clinical supervisors and educators, but also as mentors who help students navigate their unique paths into advanced practice nursing.

“I think it’s important to understand that every student comes from a different background and that their experiences are unique, and I learn from students every day,” she said.

That sense of shared purpose is something she said carries into every aspect of her work.

“I love my job,” she said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. I love my patients, I love my students, and it’s just a higher calling. Every day I’m thankful I’m able to do it.”

Thank you, Auriel, for your unwavering commitment to giving back to your community and for helping to train and inspire the next generation of healthcare professionals.

To read more graduate stories, visit the FNU graduate stories page.

Graduate Spotlight: Karen Tepper’s family history inspires her focus on underserved populations

February 20, 2025 By Frontier Nursing University

At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented 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.

FNU graduate Karen Tepper, DNP, ANP-BC, HHCNS-BCN/A, has consistently dedicated her three-decade career in healthcare to the betterment of underserved communities. Based in Massachusetts, Dr. Tepper’s passion for improving healthcare access and outcomes is rooted in her own family’s history—her parents, both immigrants, endured immense challenges, including her mother’s survival of World War II and her father’s family fleeing oppression in Eastern Europe.

“I understand what it means to be underserved from that experience,” she said. “That led to my passion to work with those communities.”

As the Director of the VISN 1 Clinical Contact Center for the Veterans Health Administration, Dr. Tepper is responsible for the administrative, supervisory, and health care aspects of the center. Clinical Contact Centers provide patients 24/7 virtual access to dedicated staff, providers, and a range of clinical and administrative services, including RN clinical triage for evaluation of symptoms, disposition, and care coordination of health care concerns; virtual clinical visits with medical providers for acute, episodic, and exacerbation of chronic care needs; pharmacy services; and appointment scheduling.\

Dr. Tepper holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from FNU, which she earned in 2020. While writing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Nurse Practitioner Residency program, she recognized the need for additional education to effectively co-direct the program and lead broader initiatives. This realization inspired her to pursue her DNP. She was inspired to attend Frontier by a colleague’s recommendation and the university’s emphasis on underserved populations.

“I appreciated the focus on underserved populations, and the emphasis of ensuring students are successful,” she said.

In addition to her professional achievements, Dr. Tepper serves her community as Chair of the Massachusetts Board of Health. She has served as a member for 18 years. In addition, she has also served on the Board of Nurse Practitioner Associates for Continuing Education (NPACE) for the past nine years.

Recognizing her lifelong commitment to improving patient care, Dr. Tepper was recently honored with the 2024 Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA) Excellence in Clinical Practice Award.

“Many nurses develop incredible programs that affect the lives of patients for the better. I am grateful and humbled to be selected for this award,” she said.

Reflecting on her journey, Dr. Tepper advises others to advocate for their communities actively.

“It is important to have a seat at the table at your organization and be politically active to achieve change for our communities,” she said.

Thank you, Karen, for your unwavering dedication to underserved communities and for embodying Frontier’s mission.

To read more graduate stories, visit the FNU graduate stories page.

2024 Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award Recipient: Dr. Tia Andrighetti

November 1, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

The Distinguished Service to Alma Mater honors an alumnus who has continued to provide support to Frontier through volunteer efforts and/or philanthropy. The 2024 recipient is Dr. Tia Andrighetti, CNM, APRN, CHSE-A, CNE, FACNM.

It is hard to imagine Dr. Tia Andrighetti, DNP, CNM, APRN, CHSE-A, CNE, FACNM, being anywhere but at Frontier Nursing University, where she has been a fixture for 20 years in a variety of capacities. But Andrighetti actually started as a pre-med student at Penn State University, planning to become an orthopedic surgeon.

“I was pre-med until I took calculus with the engineers,” said Andrighetti, who grew up in Connecticut the daughter of a nurse. “Let me tell you, I never worked so hard to pass a class in my life.”

But make no mistake, it wasn’t a lack of ability to pass the courses, but the number of years that lay ahead. Andrighetti met her future husband at Penn State and they were both eager to start their careers and their lives together. Andrighetti turned to nursing, and the rest is history. She went on to earn her BSN at Penn State.

“I found Frontier during my maternity rotation,” Andrighetti said. “I did a rotation with one of the original Frontier midwives and was just in awe of her. She was amazing, and I said, ‘Oh, I want to be a midwife!’ Everything she did with the education of patients and the empowerment of patients resonated with me. I said I only want to be a midwife, and I only want to be a Frontier midwife.”

Andrighetti obtained her MSN through Case Western Reserve University in 1997 while working toward her CNM at Frontier at the same time. During her clinical rotations, she lived with her grandparents to finish her clinical rotations.

“I chose a community hospital to do my clinicals because I wasn’t quite comfortable enough to go out of hospital, but I knew I wanted to be where clients were more empowered and a little bit lower risk for midwifery care,” Andrighetti said. “I did my clinicals there for quite a while until my midwife was let go. Then I worked with my RCF (regional clinical faculty), Betty Bradberry, who was one of the original Frontier midwives. She was able to find me a clinical site in a Federally Qualified Health Center. I worked with the gamut of patients and had a wonderful experience with those midwives doing birth in the local hospital.” While most of her classmates at Frontier were older, Andrighetti started when she was just 25.

“At that point, I was a baby of the class,” Andrighetti said. “Everybody that was in my class was at the other end of family life, so their kids were in high school, college, things like that. They were in their 40s and 50s. Here I was doing it prior to kids and life-altering adjustments. I still have some close friendships with the midwives I went to school with.”

After graduating from Frontier, Andrighetti worked in a private practice in New London, Connecticut, for a couple of years and then worked at a small community hospital while her husband attended law school. When Andrighetti was seven months pregnant, she left practice for a few years to stay home and raise her family. Her return to the workplace was a gradual one that well-suited Andrighetti’s work-life balance at the time.

She received a letter from Frontier in search of RCFs in her area. Andrighetti applied and eventually was hired as what she describes as a “part-time RCF” because she only had two students during her first year.

“I had one-and-a-half and three-year-old children at that time,” Andrighettti said. “I did the RCF role, and then I became a teaching associate. I was working with Amy Marowitz (DNP, CNM), and Deborah Karsnitz (DNP, CNM, FACNM) in their courses, and they both took leaves to get their doctorates. I was the one in charge of their courses while they were gone. So I kind of got sucked back into full-time work, and I could see the writing on the wall that we were all going to be getting doctorates. So then I came back and did the DNP program.”

Andrighetti credits FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, with helping her narrow her focus while in the DNP program, and eventually, she locked in on clinical simulations as her target area.

“I conducted research, and I developed the simulations that the midwives were going to use at Clinical Bound,” Andrighetti said. “I trained all the faculty how to run these and then ran them with the students and then conducted research on whether they were effective in helping them learn their new role.”

Soon, Andrighetti became the Clinical Bound team leader. She furthered her knowledge by participating in the National League for Nursing’s year-long simulation-leader program as well as a week-long training at Drexel University.

“Half of the week at Drexel was on the high fidelity mannequins, but on the other half of the week, it was with standardized patients,” Andrighetti said.

“That was my first exposure to standardized patients,” Andrighetti said. “There were four groups of us, and each group wrote a simulation for another group. So we learned how to write the simulations, but then we also had to be the students so we could see what it felt like from the student’s perspective. After that, I was sold on the fact that standardized patients were the key to what we needed. Our students need to practice that interaction. Yes, they need to do hand skills and things like that, but they need to practice talking to somebody while doing those skills also.”

To develop simulations at Frontier, faculty create the health care scenario and write a script for the standardized patient. The standardized patient interacts with the students to enact the role as if they were a real live patient. The result is an interaction between the student and patient in which the student acts as the health care provider under faculty supervision. The goal is for the student to collect information, diagnose, and provide a treatment plan as if it were a real patient-healthcare provider interaction. This practice environment is invaluable to the student’s learning experience.

Andrighetti combined her training in simulations with research to determine what simulations were most impactful for Frontier students.

“Part of the gap analysis I did during my doctorate was to look at some software we had back then to figure out what our students were getting exposed to during clinicals,” she said. “It was about 50 percent for shoulder dystocia and 50 percent for postpartum hemorrhage. Basically, half of our students did not have one of those two complications while they were students. That sold me on the fact that the first time they are going to have to manage these high acuity, high morbidity, and mortality events could potentially be on their own without a lot of resources. We have to have it the most lifelike we can because this may be their only practice ever before they are the ones who are in charge of doing it.”

Today, Andrighetti is an associate professor as well as FNU’s Innovation Coach and Simulation Coordinator working with all programs. She consults with other faculty to help determine what simulations are needed and also relies on student surveys and input to help adjust and improve the simulations.

“When we query the students, consistently what they will say is, ‘It was one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve had to do, but I’m so glad on the other side of it that I got to have that experience in a safe environment where I’m not going to harm someone and I got to practice some skills that I might be less than ideal at.’”

As she celebrates her 20th anniversary at Frontier in March, Andrighetti eyes the future with the goal of continuing to grow and develop FNU’s simulations.

“This award is coming at a time when I feel the hard work that I’ve put into Frontier with the simulations is really coming to fruition. I really feel like we have a simulation program now,” she said. “When I eventually leave Frontier, I hope I leave it in really good shape so the simulation program continues well after I’m gone. It’s an established part of healthcare right now, and we are definitely on the forefront of how to deliver these simulations to our students.”

2024 Distinguished Preceptor Award Recipient: Sandi Mellor

October 30, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

The Distinguished Preceptor Award recognizes a graduate providing long-standing support and commitment to the mission and work of Frontier Nursing Service and Frontier Nursing University through precepting students. The 2024 recipient of this award is Dr. Sandi Mellor, DNP, APRN, FNP.

Growing up in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dr. Sandi Mellor, DNP (Class 30), APRN, FNP-BC, knew at a young age that she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare so she could “help people get healthy and stay healthy.” Determined to do just that, she took a medical-surgical nursing class while still in high school. After high school, she worked towards her associate degree in nursing and worked as a nurse for three years for the National Health Authority in Bedford, England, where her husband was stationed as a member of the U.S. Air Force.

“I thought I wanted to be a physician, but after taking my first nursing medical-surgical class in high school, I fell in love with being with the patients,” said Mellor, who has worked as a nurse for almost thirty years.

Upon returning to the United States, she went back to school and earned a bachelor of science in nursing in 1998. While raising two sons, she worked in the cardiac intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, and neonatal intensive care unit, as well as the trauma and emergency room. She recognized that many of these patients required not only emergency or urgent care but also primary care management of their comorbidities. Inspired to serve the underserved, she went back to school to become a family nurse practitioner. She earned her FNP in 2004, the same year she and her husband had a baby daughter.

They moved back to Tulsa in 2007, where Mellor began training internal medicine residents how to be providers. She also began precepting FNP students. She left the resident clinic setting in January 2010 to open her first family practice, where she found more opportunities to precept and teach BSN and FNP students while serving the underserved. At her clinic, Mellor accepts those on Medicaid or without insurance and has Spanish-speaking translators on staff to help make sure all are welcome. At the second clinic that she opened, Neighborhood Medical Clinic, Mellor provides both family and urgent care.

“I always wanted to serve the underserved and felt called to nursing,” Mellor said. “I can see the entire family and treat them, with or without insurance. I can give free care to families. I see one child that has strep throat, and I can see the other children in the family and the parents and do not have to charge each of them because I own the practice.”

Mellor’s practice not only provides essential service to the community but also serves as a training ground for others who follow in her footsteps. She is eager to precept students, including approximately a dozen from Frontier Nursing University, with a time commitment of nearly 600 hours per student.

“I decided to earn my DNP from Frontier Nursing University as I had precepted so many students from there and found it to be a very prestigious program,” said Mellor, who earned her DNP in 2019. “Their FNP students were prepared and knowledgeable. I also researched the DNP program, and it was and still is one of the top in the nation. (FNU Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program) Dr. Khara’ Jefferson (DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CHC) was patient and guided me to “trust the process”, and I was able to complete a project I was truly proud of that is still in use today. I was able to make a change in a vulnerable population and serve the underserved. It has helped me guide Quality Improvement projects at my clinic, teach in the FNP/DNP programs, and always encourage others to maintain the highest standards of nursing by continuing their education.”

Not only has the passion that Mellor had for nursing and helping others as a child never waned, but it has grown stronger and deeper as she has seen the impact that she can have in her community and beyond.

“I enjoy teaching and precepting because I get to see the ‘aha’ moments where the theory/didactic and practice guidelines make sense in clinical practice,” Mellor said. “I get to see the growth of a student becoming what they dreamed of earning – their RN or FNP qualifications. I get to influence and help the next generation of nurse practitioners to maintain our high standards and continue to improve the quality of healthcare for all. I get to be part of the positive change in healthcare as NPs increase their presence and roles in providing care for everyone.”

In addition to teaching through precepting, Mellor also has ventured into course development and classroom teaching. She wrote the FNP courses and taught the first three graduating classes from the University of Tulsa FNP program. She has also worked with Oral Roberts University and the University of Oklahoma.

“It is a way to give back to the nursing profession that has given me so much and fulfilled my calling,” Mellor said. “I want to write a book about nurses, and I hope I can continue to work as a nurse practitioner, precept, and teach all levels of nursing as well. I am interested in earning my PMHNP certification as well as continuing to serve my community. I will continue to advocate for full-practice authority and showcase the benefits nurse practitioners bring to bridging the gap in healthcare.”

Her advocacy efforts have included volunteering for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) FNP content expert panel. To date, she has served on the panel for six years, including two as the elected chair of the panel.

“Nurses have to be the change we need in healthcare,” Mellor said, explaining her interest in being an advocate. “We are the largest population and the most trusted for many reasons. So we must be the ones to lead those positive changes towards improvement.”

And to help people get healthy and stay healthy.

Alumni Spotlight: Robyn Roche-Paull leads effort to establish Student Veterans of America chapter at FNU

May 29, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

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 who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality healthcare to underserved and rural populations.

When U.S. Navy veteran Robyn Roche-Paull, MSN, FNP-BC, IBCLC, first attended Frontier Bound in February 2020 as a student in the family nurse practitioner program, she noticed a lack of fellow classmates with military backgrounds. She also encountered challenges as a student in processing Veterans Administration (VA) claims.

“I just felt out-of-place with no one to talk to about returning to school as a veteran,” she said. “I asked around and found out that there wasn't anything in place for military or veteran students for those of us with questions about benefits, or merely wanting a community that understood our lived experiences.”

During Frontier Bound, Roche-Paull met FNU assistant professor and fellow military veteran Dr. Joshua Faucett, and they began discussing their experiences in the military and how FNU could elevate its support of military and veteran students. Once Roche-Paull returned home and began working on the didactic portion of her master of science in nursing, she began researching national organizations catering to military and veteran students. She came across Student Veterans of America (SVA), a nationwide organization with chapters across the country committed to empowering student veterans by offering resources, networking opportunities and advocacy throughout their higher education journey and beyond.

During this period, Roche-Paull also actively participated in surveys and focus groups aimed at implementing Student Interest Groups (SIG) as part of FNU’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Recognizing an interest among students for a military and veteran group, Roche-Paull, with the assistance of Dr. Faucett, played a pivotal role in establishing a SIG for military members and veterans at FNU.

As the secretary of the SIG, Roche-Paull introduced the idea of forming an SVA chapter to the group. Following the necessary procedures, including contacting the charter, electing a board of directors and submitting an application to SVA, the FNU chapter gained official national recognition in 2023. Roche-Paull credits Dr. Faucett; FNU Assistant Professor Dr. Sybilla Myers; the initial board members of the chapter, Jason Bennett, Maryln Echivierra and Tonya Morrow; and Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Student Success at FNU, for their invaluable support in achieving this milestone.

Roche-Paull was elected co-president of FNU’s SVA chapter, serving in the role with FNU Tillman Scholar Leslie Copp. In this capacity, Roche-Paull acted as the main point of contact for the student organization and served as its external spokesperson, regularly engaging with other student groups and university authorities.

Since the establishment of the chapter, Roche-Paull said she has witnessed significant positive changes, noting that the chapter has provided essential resources, support and advocacy for military and veteran students at FNU. She said membership numbers continue to rise across various platforms such as the chapter's email list, Facebook and LinkedIn groups, where valuable information regarding scholarships, veteran benefits and military-related matters related to school and military life is shared.

Through the chapter, Roche-Paull said military and veteran students now have a supportive community to network and address issues unique to their experiences, such as managing education amidst permanent change of station (PCS) relocations and navigating challenges related to receiving benefits such as monthly tuition payments and disability exams through the VA.

“They can receive feedback and answers to concerns about school and we can advocate for them by bringing up issues to FNU Administration,” Roche-Paull said.

In addition, Roche-Paull said the chapter is actively planning to host monthly presentations addressing a range of topics relevant to military and veteran concerns, including mental health, VA benefits and scholarship opportunities.

While a member of FNU’s SVA chapter, Roche-Paull was selected to take part in a unique opportunity: the SVA Leadership Institute. An annual event in Washington D.C., the institute provides a premier student leadership experience that brings together the country’s top chapter leaders through an immersive experience designed to equip tomorrow’s leaders to serve and create a lasting community of impact. Roche-Paull said only 100 students are chosen from all 50 states and territories to attend the event.

“I was floored that I was selected to go, especially once I arrived at the Leadership Institute in Washington D.C. and saw how many big-name brick and mortar schools had students attending,” she said.

During the Leadership Institute, participants engaged in main sessions and breakout sessions led by military veteran executives from prominent businesses and organizations such as Raytheon, Microsoft, the Wounded Warrior Project and the VA. These sessions involved hands-on exercises aimed at defining and refining their leadership styles, culminating in their graduation as Leadership Fellows by the event's conclusion. In their downtime, attendees enjoyed a tour of SVA Headquarters, an evening tour of the monuments in the Nation's Capital, a dinner in Georgetown and a gala at the Library of Congress. During her visit to the Library of Congress, Roche-Paull had the privilege of locating her own published book, "Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: A Survival Guide to Successful Breastfeeding While Serving in the Military," housed in the library.

As a Leadership Fellow, Roche-Paull said she gained valuable insights into her own leadership style and learned strategies for self-improvement, equipping her with the tools to enhance FNU's SVA chapter. She said the opportunity to communicate with SVA headquarters staff during the event was also significant, particularly in addressing inclusivity issues for distance-based learning universities such as FNU.

Roche-Paull said the lessons she learned from the Leadership Institute were relevant to her work as a Clinical Nurse OB-EF/Lactation Consultant at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, as well as her plans to complete a DNP in the future.

Roche-Paull completed a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in FNU’s Family Nurse Practitioner program in 2023. She returned to campus with her family for Commencement in Fall 2023 and was chosen to carry the FNP flag at the start of the ceremony.

Thank you, Robyn, for your significant contributions in fostering a more inclusive educational environment for military and veteran students at FNU. Your dedication exemplifies the resilience and commitment of the FNU community towards continuous professional growth and development.

Winter 2024 Quarterly Bulletin Celebrates Preceptors and Their Vital Roles in Educating Frontier Students

March 21, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

The Winter 2024 issue of the FNU Quarterly Bulletin features a special 8-page section celebrating preceptors. A message from FNU Dean of Nursing, Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN, explains why precepting is so important to Frontier students and how the experience benefits the preceptor as well. The special section also includes answers to all the frequently asked questions about precepting, survey results regarding the experience of past preceptors of FNU students, and reflections from students about the preceptors. Additional preceptor information includes the dates for FNU’s second annual Preceptor Celebration Week and a special poem from FNU alumnus Ebonique Shanks, CNM, about her preceptors.

Along with the special preceptor section, the Winter issue shares the news of two major awards recently presented to FNU from AACN and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, announcements regarding two key leadership positions in the Department of Family Nursing and Information Technology, and a look at the latest “Frontier Nursing University In the News” stories.

The Winter issue also takes a look at mental healthcare through the lens of Dr. Tracy Hicks and Dr. Bradley Kuo (pictured below), two FNU graduates who are working to improve the quality of and access to mental healthcare in their respective states of Hawaii and Texas.

Dr. Tracy Hicks

Dr. Bradley Kuo

The Alumni News and Notes section shares information about the Florida Council of Nurse-Midwives annual meeting, sponsored by FNU, on a Royal Caribbean cruise, May 10-13. Also, find all of the details about Homecoming 2024 (March 23) and the Diversity Impact Conference (July 18-19), and see the latest news and notes about FNU alumni and their work throughout the country.

As FNU’s summer Courier Program Public Health Internship approaches, learn all you need to know about the program, its purpose, and how current college students can apply.

All of this, along with the details of the most recent faculty publications, and information about how to share your story as FNU prepares to celebrate “A Century of Stories” in 2025, are captured in the Winter Quarterly Bulletin, which is available to read online or download at Frontier.edu/publications.

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Rachel Koransky-Matson Makes a Difference for Diabetes Patients in Rural Maine

January 11, 2024 By Frontier Nursing University

Dr. Rachel Koransky-Matson

Within her community in rural Maine, Frontier Nursing University alumnus Dr. Rachel Koransky-Matson stands as a beacon of transformative healthcare, especially for those affected by diabetes. Graduating as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) in 2016 and completing her Post-Master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in 2017, Dr. Koransky-Matson said her journey began with a resounding desire to make a difference which led her to FNU.

“Frontier’s mission statement and vision to provide care for underserved communities and create entrepreneurial leaders is what I want to do with my career,” she said.

Dr. Koransky-Matson’s current role as a Diabetes Nurse Practitioner has placed her at the forefront of healthcare in an underserved, rural landscape. She serves in the northernmost endocrinology department in the U.S., excluding Alaska, catering to patients of all ages grappling with diabetes. Working in the practice since May 2022, Dr. Koransky-Matson’s relentless efforts have resulted in an over 20% improvement in the Hemoglobin A1C <9% rate of patients at the practice within just one year, a testament to her dedication and expertise.

In her practice, Dr. Koransky-Matson cares for type one, type two and gestational diabetes patients, over 90 percent of whom are on Medicare and/or Medicaid. Despite resource constraints, she works hand-in-hand with each patient, crafting healthcare goals that accommodate the unique challenges of the community.

“My patients are complex and diverse,” she said.

Before working in her current practice, Dr. Koransky-Matson worked across the country at multiple clinics with various populations in her capacity as a locum. Beyond her clinical achievements, she has also authored textbooks and has been featured in publications such as Forbes.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Dr. Koransky-Matson leads a fulfilling life on a farm, surrounded by her family and an assortment of animals, including rabbits, goats, chickens, cats and dogs.

Reflecting on her time in the family nurse practitioner program at FNU, Dr. Koransky-Matson acknowledges the lifelong friendships she forged during her educational journey. She said the FNU network has been a cornerstone in supporting her career, fostering connections that have bolstered her mission to bring positive change to healthcare.

“My Frontier education made it possible,” she said.

Thank you, Rachel, for empowering your community, advancing healthcare and exemplifying the values of FNU.

Learn more about advanced nursing degrees and specialties at Frontier Nursing University. Subscribe to our blog for the latest news and events at FNU and to get inspired with stories featuring our alumni, students, faculty and staff!

Celebrating excellence: FNU’s 2023 award recipients shine bright

August 21, 2023 By Frontier Nursing University

The recipients of FNU’s 2023 awards encompass distinguished alumni who have gone on to make significant contributions to their communities or to the university. The award recipients were announced during the first Homecoming on FNU’s Versailles campus, which was held in March and also included campus tours, a state-of-the-university address from FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM, and a Continuing Education course titled “Identification and Treatment of Mood Disorders” delivered by Dr. Kevin Scalf, DNP, PMHNP-BC, CNEcl.

“So many of our alumni have gone on to do amazing things in communities all across

the country and even the world,” Dr. Stone said. “I am so proud of the way they represent and support Frontier Nursing University. Their dedication, commitment, and generosity are truly inspiring.”

Annual Award Recipients (from L-R): Rev. Wendy Neel Ellsworth, Lisa Uncles, Dr. Mary Hunt, and Dr. Susan Stone were honored during the Homecoming Awards Dinner.

Lisa Uncles, MSN, CNM

Distinguished Service to Society Award:
Lisa Uncles, MSN, CNM

The Distinguished Service to Society award recognizes an alumnus who goes above and beyond to provide exceptional service in his or her community.

The 2023 recipient of this award is Lisa Uncles, MSN, CNM (Class 33). Uncles attended the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, where she earned her MSN, before attending FNU. Uncles is the Lead Nurse-Midwife at MedStar Franklin Square Women’s Health Center in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

Uncles worked for Metropolitan OB/GYN as a nurse-midwife at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Previously, she served as the clinical director in Washington, D.C., at the Family Health and Birth Center, part of the Developing Families Center, which collaborates with local nonprofit organizations to provide quality care and social services to low-income families. There, she provided care to a population suffering from some of the highest infant mortality rates in the U.S. Under her direction, the birth center’s patients had fewer low birth weights, cesarean sections, and premature births than the city’s overall Black population. Uncles was featured in Making Mothers, a short documentary capturing the lives of two caregivers at the Center.

Uncles was also quoted in The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, published in 2011 by the Institute of Medicine, Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine: “A lot of our moms in the neighborhood don’t have much control over their lives,” she said, referring to maternal care. “This is something they have control over.”

Throughout her career, Uncles’ top priority has always been her patients and providing them with access to the care they need and deserve. In an online review, one patient said

of her visit with Uncles, “What a wonderful experience. Excellent bedside manner! She took her time and talked me through everything, so I knew what was coming and felt very relaxed and at ease.”

Dr. Mary Hunt, DNP, CNM, ENP-BC, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

Distinguished Service to Alma Mater Award:
Dr. Mary Hunt, DNP, CNM, ENP-BC, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

The Distinguished Service to Alma Mater award honors an alumnus who has continued to provide support to Frontier through volunteer efforts and/or philanthropy.

The 2023 recipient is Dr. Mary Hunt, DNP (Class 06), CNM (Class 32), ENP-BC, FNP-BC (Class 56),PMHNP-BC. Hunt, who is an assistant professor at FNU, is a three-time graduate of the university and is an emergency department nurse practitioner at Genesis Healthcare System in Zanesville, Ohio. She obtained her MSN from Case Western Reserve University in 2005. She went on to obtain her FNP in 2009 and DNP in 2012, both from Frontier.

In 2011, she began teaching at Frontier and has served as Regional Clinical Faculty, Course Faculty, and Clinical Bound team leader. She has also taught at Shawnee State University, Ohio University-Chillicothe, Belmont Technical College, and Ohio University-Zanesville.

Hunt, who is a generous longtime donor to the university, also supports FNU students by graciously giving her time and expertise as an instructor at FNU. As a member and past chair of FNU’s scholarship committee, Hunt participates in essay reviews in order to match students with various scholarships at the university. She has also served on the leadership board, including stints as president and treasurer, for Chi Pi, FNU’s Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society, since the chapter was established in 2015. As a Chi Pi board member, she helps select student members to receive scholarships; helps decide on the donation of funds to the university for use on items needed for student use while on campus; and allocates payment for speakers enabling all members to have access to continuing education. Hunt also shared her experiences and extensive knowledge as a featured guest on the FNU All-Access Podcast episode titled, “What the Heck is an RCF?”.

Hunt’s devotion to Frontier Nursing University, her passion for teaching, and her commitment to giving back are matched only, perhaps, by her boundless energy. Avid about health and fitness, she has completed several triathlons and long-distance bike rides, including the Dick Allen Lansing to MACkinaw (DALMAC) Bicycle Tour and the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI).

Rev. Wendy (Neel) Ellsworth

Unbridled Spirit Award:
Rev. Wendy (Neel) Ellsworth

The Unbridled Spirit Award is given annually to a former Courier who is dedicated to serving others; has ongoing, longstanding stewardship of Frontier; and has demonstrated conviction, courage, and a zest for adventure. FNU’s Courier Program is an eight-week rural and public health summer service-learning program for college students with an interest in public health, healthcare, or a related field.

The 2023 recipient of the Unbridled Spirit Award is Rev. Wendy (Neel) Ellsworth.

Ellsworth, who studied at the University of Colorado, was a Frontier Courier in 1967. She was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in 2002 after attending the Pebble Hill School of Sacred Ministries in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Ellsworth, who resides in the mountainous region of western North Carolina, co-created a Circle of Welcome in January 2022. This community-based initiative assists in aiding Afghan refugees who are coming into the U.S. In 2003, Wendy received a Fellowship from the PA Council on the Arts and traveled to Kenya to research the beadwork of the Maasai and Samburu tribes. She has returned nine more times over the past 20 years to work with tribal women who bead and has sponsored the education of more than a dozen girls from primary school through university.

In 2021, she joined Morning Star Rotary Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and helped acquire an $85,000 Global Grant through Rotary International for Maternal and Child Healthcare which will be used to improve an existing rural clinic in the Turkana community of Manyatta Zebra in Northern Kenya. Ellsworth also started the Hands & Heart Doll Project, whose purpose is “to give refugee children hand-made dolls to show them that compassionate people care about them and that they are not alone in the world.”

Ellsworth is also a nationally and internationally-recognized seed bead artist and has won numerous awards for her work. Wendy attributes her interest in maternal and child health care directly to her experience as a Courier at FNS. She and her siblings have also funded the Mary W. Neel Scholarship at FNU in memory of their mother, Mary (Wilson) Neel, who was a lifelong supporter of Frontier and was a Courier in the 1930s.

Dr. Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM

Lifetime Service Award:
Dr. Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM

The Lifetime Service Award recognizes an individual or organization providing long-standing support and commitment to the mission and work of Frontier Nursing Service and Frontier Nursing University.

The 2023 recipient is FNU President Dr. Susan Stone, CNM, DNSc, FAAN, FACNM. Dr. Stone has served as the president of FNU since 2001. Whether as a practitioner, instructor, university president, presenter, or organizational leader, Dr. Stone’s professional career has been consistently directed toward supporting advanced practice nurses through advocacy, education, and innovation. As a nurse-midwife herself, she has had a special focus on advancing the midwifery profession.

Dr. Stone earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from SUNY College of Technology. That launched her career, which included serving as an obstetrical supervisor at Little Falls Hospital in Little Falls, N.Y., and as the program director of the prenatal care assistance program at Bassett HealthCare in Cooperstown, N.Y. After completing her midwifery certification, she practiced as a full-scope midwife at Bassett Healthcare for nearly a decade. She earned a Master’s in Nursing Administration from SUNY College of Technology, followed by a Post-Master’s Certificate in Nurse-Midwifery from Frontier Nursing University and a Doctor of Nursing Science from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

While practicing as a certified nurse-midwife at Bassett HealthCare, Dr. Stone continued her affiliation with Frontier, serving as course faculty; regional clinical coordinator; assistant clinical director; program director of the community-based nurse-midwifery education program; and dean. In 2001, Dr. Stone became president of FNU, serving as both the president and dean before relinquishing the dean duties in 2014 to focus solely on her role as president and as a leader throughout the healthcare community.

Dr. Stone is a past president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) from 2019-2020, where her agenda included increasing the midwifery workforce through educational quality and capacity strategies, midwifery advocacy focusing on the maternal mortality and morbidity crisis, and growing diversity in the healthcare workforce. She was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine Class of 2018 as one of only two nurses in her class. She is a Fellow at both ACNM and the American Academy of Nursing. She was the recipient of ACNM’s Kitty Ernst Award in 1999, which recognizes “innovative, creative endeavors in midwifery practice and women’s health care.” Other honors include the 2011 American Public Health Association’s prestigious Felicia Stewart Advocacy Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a strong commitment to advocacy on behalf of reproductive health and rights.

Dr. Stone has made it central to FNU’s mission to diversify the student body. Throughout FNU’s growth and innovation, Dr. Stone has kept the university on a path of commitment to the mission of educating advanced practice nurses and midwives to serve in rural and underserved areas. The model of distance education allows these nurses to learn while continuing to practice in the areas where they live. The ultimate goal is to expand and diversify the primary care workforce, thus helping to fill in the gaps in accessible healthcare prevalent in so many rural and underserved populations. Her devotion to this goal and her leadership at FNU has resulted in the tremendous growth of the university from 200 students in 2001 to an enrollment of 2,500 today. Today, more than 8,700 FNU graduates practice in every state in the U.S. as well as several foreign countries.

In February, Dr. Stone announced that she will transition into a new role as the

university’s appointed Distinguished Chair of Midwifery. Dr. Stone’s transition into this role will tentatively occur at the end of 2023, pending the identification of her successor.

Read our Quarterly Bulletin to learn more about the university’s most recent events and actions, progress toward the mission, and goals for the future.

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