Four Black Nursing Educators Honored as 2026 Trailblazers for Transforming Health Care

Four Black nursing educators whose work reaches far beyond the classroom have been named among the 2026 Trailblazer Award recipients by the National Black Nurses Association, highlighting the growing influence of nursing faculty in shaping the nation’s health care workforce.

The honorees are Angela Frederick Amar, dean of New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing; Felesia Bowen, professor and associate dean for access and engagement at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing; Stephan Davis, associate professor at Georgetown University’s Berkley School of Nursing and senior executive director of health professions education at Risepoint; and Selena Ann Gilles, practice professor and associate dean for school and community engagement at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

The award recognizes individuals whose leadership has produced an impact in nursing and other areas, including education, government, philanthropy, communications and the arts. The 2026 class includes five recipients overall; the fifth is Michael A. Simmons, chief nursing officer of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The recognition is significant because four of the five Trailblazers are deeply connected to nursing education. Their work demonstrates that the influence of nurses increasingly extends beyond bedside care into university leadership, public policy, workforce development, community health and the preparation of future health professionals.

From Louisiana classrooms to national nursing leadership

For Louisiana readers, Amar's story carries a particularly strong connection.

Amar earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center before earning her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She became dean of NYU's Rory Meyers College of Nursing in 2023 after serving as dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and holding faculty positions at Emory University and Boston College.

Her scholarship has focused heavily on gender-based violence, forensic nursing and nursing education. She also serves in national nursing leadership, including as chair of the government affairs committee of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

That combination of Louisiana roots, academic leadership and national policy involvement places Amar among a generation of Black nursing leaders influencing not only how nurses are trained, but how health care institutions respond to some of the nation's most persistent challenges.

Bowen connects nursing education with child health equity

Bowen's work centers on another critical piece of the health care equation: ensuring that vulnerable children and families have access to quality care.

At UAB, she serves as a professor and associate dean for access and engagement. Her scholarship focuses on child health equity, toxic stress and structural factors that influence health outcomes. She also has served in national leadership with the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.

Bowen's career includes service as an Army nurse during the Gulf War, as well as extensive work as a pediatric nurse practitioner, educator and researcher. She earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from Tuskegee University, a master's degree from Rutgers University, a Ph.D. from Columbia University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Her recognition underscores how nursing leadership can intersect with education, military service, pediatric care and the broader fight against health disparities.

Davis focuses on the future of the nursing workforce

Davis brings a different dimension to the Trailblazer recognition: leadership development and the future of the health professions workforce.

He serves as an associate professor at Georgetown University's Berkley School of Nursing and as senior executive director of health professions education at Risepoint. His work has included leadership development, workforce innovation, executive coaching and health policy. He also has held leadership positions focused on inclusive leadership and belonging in health professions education.

Davis was among the 2026 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellows, a recognition tied to leaders working on major issues affecting health and medicine.

His Trailblazer recognition therefore reflects a broader reality in nursing: preparing nurses for tomorrow requires more than clinical instruction. It also requires developing leaders who understand policy, management, education and the changing demands of the health care system.

Gilles takes nursing education into the community

At the University of Pennsylvania, Gilles has built a career around connecting nursing education with real-world community health challenges.

She serves as a practice professor and associate dean for school and community engagement. Her work includes opioid overdose prevention, global public health, health disparities and leadership development.

Gilles founded and directs the Greater New York City Black Nurses Association Opioid Overdose Prevention Program, which provides Narcan training to health professionals and community members. Her community-based educational work has also included helping establish four FEMA vaccination sites during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those sites administered more than 28,000 vaccines while providing hands-on public health experience to more than 100 nursing students.

Her career illustrates why nursing education increasingly takes place outside traditional classrooms. Students are being prepared to work directly with communities, understand health disparities and respond to public health crises.

More than an award

The 2026 Trailblazer Awards offer more than a list of professional accomplishments. They provide a snapshot of where Black nursing leadership is moving.

The four educators recognized this year are influencing students, health systems, communities and national conversations about health care. Their work also illustrates the importance of representation in nursing leadership, particularly as the profession confronts workforce shortages, health disparities and changing demands on the health care system.

The National Black Nurses Association announced five Trailblazer recipients as part of its 2026 Presidential Awards. The recipients were recognized during the association's annual institute and conference in St. Louis.

For the next generation of nurses, the significance may extend beyond the award itself.

These leaders are helping determine who enters the profession, how those nurses are educated, what issues they are prepared to confront and whether the health care system is equipped to serve communities that have historically experienced unequal access to care.

In that sense, the Trailblazer Award recognizes not simply where these nurses have been, but the doors they are opening for those coming behind them.