Education: Doctor of Nursing Practice, Columbia School of Nursing, New York City, New York, 2017; Master of Science in Nursing, Moffett and Sanders School of Nursing, Birmingham, Alabama, 2010; Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Emory Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Atlanta, Georgia, 2006; Associate of Liberal Arts, Oxford College of Emory University, Oxford, Georgia, 2004.
Member of AANA: Since 2008.
AANA National Offices and Committees: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, 2020–24.
Other Leadership Activities: Fellow of American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, 2022–present; Communications Committee, National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists, 2020–22; Founding Member, Greater New York Chapter of National Black Nurses Association, 2018–23.
Current Employment: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Staff CRNA, 2022–present; University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Lecturer, 2023–present.
Has not contributed to the AANA Foundation or CRNA-PAC within the past two years.
Personal Statement Independence, diversity, and equity drive me as I use my experience with time management, resilience, and courage to motivate diverse students to consider what has traditionally been a homogeneous profession. As an AANA Fellow, I have served as the chair of AANA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, a founding member of National Black Nurses Association of Greater New York City (GNYCBNA), and president of the Emory University School of Nursing Alumni Board. Through my professional work, community involvement, and public speaking, I serve as a prominent voice and advocate. Today, I lead this initiative through the Bigger Dreams, Better Tomorrows Foundation, Inc. as well as my interdisciplinary work curating the annual Multicultural CRNA Conference.
For over a decade I have served as a prominent voice and advocate for diversity throughout the field of nurse anesthesia. My impact is demonstrated by my service and advocacy through mentorship programs to drive diversity within the CRNA profession. I have pioneered innovative programs to increase the number of diverse individuals with the skills necessary to achieve equal access within the healthcare environment, as well as established a faculty fellowship program to increase and retain diverse anesthesia faculty in anesthesia, as well as co-founded the annual ”Multicultural CRNA Conference” highlighting, uplifting, and empowering nurse anesthesiologist of diverse backgrounds.
I am impacting the nursing profession by driving inclusion and creating conversations that allow for communities to build from the classroom to the workforce and to academic settings. My impact occurs through my service and leadership within organizations where I drive sustained change in benchmarks and best practices for the nursing profession, including my own foundation, which has served over 500 individuals since 2020 and is increasing diversity and leadership within the profession through added resources, support, mentoring, and scholarship.
To improve health and achieve health equity, we need nursing leaders who are diverse and infused throughout all areas of the profession.