The late Florence Booker Rawleigh claimed that working for the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) as a Courier was the most interesting thing she did in her 95 years of life. Florence was asked to serve as a Courier during a flu outbreak 1942. During the epidemic, many prominent families in the area were asked to send their children to volunteer with FNS to tend to those ill from the flu in rural and underserved Appalachia.
“They would call and say they need you desperately, ” said Florence.
Many families refused to send their daughters during this time, fearing their children may develop the flu too. But Florence’s mother countered that if the FNS needed Florence then she should go. With her mother’s blessing, Florence quit her job and traveled to rural Appalachia to serve as a Courier with FNS.
While working as a Courier, Florence had the honor of working alongside FNS Founder Mary Breckinridge. In addition to their medical assistance with FNS, Mrs. Breckinridge often entertained Couriers with stories of the adventures of her life. She told about her family and the interesting happenings of her time at and before FNS.
Mrs. Breckinridge frequently invited prominent guests over last minute for hors d’oeuvres and a chat. Florence shared about a time that very highly-regarded guests were on their way to the Big House, now known as the Wendover Bed & Breakfast and Retreat Center, but the Couriers didn’t have any food prepared.
“So we buttered dog biscuits and served them. I guess everyone thought they were ok since they didn’t say anything!” said Florence. “It was a truly privilege to know Mrs. Breckinridge!”
The most interesting guests came from all over the world to the home of Mrs. Breckinridge, and Florence felt honored to meet them. Throughout her time as a Courier, Florence made good friends, great connections, and memories that for her lasted a lifetime – all 95 years of it. Florence stated repeatedly that her Courier experience was the most interesting thing she ever did.
Before she passed, Florence loved attending Courier reunions every 4 or 5 years, organized by her dear friend Ms. Agnes Lewis.
“She would make a scavenger hunt or something and we would all get into some fun!” said Florence. “I also loved getting to know the other Couriers, as they were so all so interesting.”
Florence Booker Rawleigh passed away on May 22, 2016 at the age of ninety-five years. But that was not without leaving her legacy at Frontier Nursing University. In addition to being a Courier in the 1940s, Florence also was a proud trustee for many years and a dear friend of FNU.
Florence is dearly missed by all of us here at Frontier and goes down in Frontier Nursing University history as one of the most interesting and loyal women that we have ever known. Thank you, Florence, for your friendship with Frontier and the inspiring legacy you left behind!
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.
In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to come work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.
of two women well-connected with Frontier Nursing Service (FNS). Joan’s grandmother had befriended Mary Breckinridge in college, and her mother had served as a Courier in her younger years. Although she was hesitant, Joan traveled to Wendover in 1953 to take part in the program.
Celeste Halcomb, PA first found out about the Courier Program at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) through her health professions advisor while attending Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. She had an interest in rural medicine and working in an underserved area, ideas consistent with the values and opportunities that the Courier Program offered. With a desire to form partnerships between medical providers and the community, Celeste started the program in the summer of 2004.
Prior to starting their experiences, seven Couriers had the opportunity to attend FNU’s annual Diversity Impact. They learned about diversity in healthcare and also attended a session about the history of Appalachia. You watch the session 
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).