Nursing Scholarships
Established in 1998, the March of Dimes Nursing Scholarships recognize and promotes excellence in nursing and furthers the organization's commitment to ensuring moms and babies receive the highest quality of medical care, as well as improving health equity.
They are awarded to the highest scoring nursing scholarship applicants demonstrating a commitment to the mission of March of Dimes. Qualified applicants for the Margaret Comerford Freda March of Dimes Graduate Nursing Scholarship are registered nurses currently enrolled in a graduate program in maternal-child nursing at the master's or doctoral level. This award is named in honor of long-time March of Dimes National Nurse Advisory Council Chair, volunteer, and friend, Dr. Margaret Comerford Freda. New this year, is an Undergraduate Nursing Diversity Scholarship awarded to an undergraduate at an accredited school of nursing, from a racial or ethnic group underrepresented among nurses. The recipients each received a $10,000 scholarship supported this year by Pampers®, a March of Dimes partner for more than 25 years.
Congratulations to the 2023 March of Dimes Nursing Scholarship recipients:
Nina A. Juntereal, BSN, RN, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Graduate Nursing Scholarship and Margaret Comerford Freda Award
Corona Blakey, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Undergraduate Nursing Diversity Scholarship
Pampers and March of Dimes have come together to address the U.S. maternal mortality rate, which is the highest among developed countries, especially for Black moms. For 20 years, Pampers has been a key corporate partner with March of Dimes. Today, Pampers sponsors three of our initiatives aimed at advancing health equity for Black women: March of Dimes Nursing Scholarship Program; the Maternal HealthCARE Initiative; and the delivery of Awareness to Action: Dismantling Bias in Maternal and Infant Healthcare™ implicit bias training for select healthcare professionals across the country.
Previous Graduate Nursing Scholarship recipients
2022
- Abby Britt, RN, MSN, APRN-CNM, MA Public Anthropology, Emory University
- Nicole Cistone, MSN, RNC-NIC, Ohio State University
- Karen Faulk, PhD, BSN, LCCE, CD (DONA), University of Pittsburgh
- Jenna Wheeler, BNS, RN, CBC, University of Central Florida
2021
- Heather Bradford, MSN, CNM, Vanderbilt University
- Illiyah Edwards, RN, Duke University
- Melicia Escobar, MSN, CNM, WHNP-BC, Georgetown University
- Amy Goh, MSN, WHNP, CNM, Boston College
2020
- Gladys Vallespir Ellett, RN, MA, IBCLC, LCCE, New York University
- Emily M. Malloy, CNM, APNP, IBCLC, Marquette University
- Eva Inorine Martineau, MPH, RN, IBCLC, LCCE, State University of New York
- Hannah Cole McGrew, RN, Vanderbilt University
- Robyn Schafer, MSN, EdM, CNM, IBCLC, CNE, Vanderbilt University
2019
- Noelene Jeffers, RN, CNM, Johns Hopkins University
- Emily Johnson, RN, University of New Mexico
- Heidi Young-Blackgoat, RN, Georgetown University
2018
- Kristin DeArruda Wharton, RN, IBCLC
- Isabel Brewster, RN
- Natima Geis, RN
- Marliese Nist, RNC-NIC
2017
- Jeanine Valrie Logan, RN, MSN, MPH
- Jessie Sue Holmquist, RN, BSN
- Shakima Wiggins, RN, BSN, LCCE, IBCLC
- Kathryn Malin, RN, APRN, NNP-BC
2016
- Corinne Audette, MSN, CNM, Orlando, FL, University of Central Florida
- Melissa J. Kurtz, MSN, MA, RN, Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University
- Michele Kacmarcik Savin, MSN, NNP-BC, Wilmington, DE, Thomas Jefferson University
2015
- Lauren M. Head, BSN, RN, Decatur, GA, Emory University
- Laura Manns-James, PhD(c), CNM, WHNP-BC, Oberlin, OH, Kent State University
- Ali Sevilla de Cocco, MDiv, SNM, Nashville, TN, Vanderbilt University
- Valerie Willis, MSN, RN, PNP-BC, CNS-BC, Menifee, CA, University of San Diego
2014
- Diana R. Jolles, MSN, PhD(c), CNM, Houston, TX, Texas Woman's University
- Mary L. Puchalski, MS, APN, CNS, NNP-BC, Pittsburgh, PA, Chatham University
- Wendy A. Shultis, PhD, RN, Portland, OR, Oregon Health and Science University
- Hien K. Tran, RN, BSN, SNM, Albuquerque, NM, University of New Mexico
2013
- Nicole Smith Carlson, MS, CNM, Decatur, GA, University of Colorado
- Kathleen Jones Danhausen, SNM, MPH, Nashville, TN, Vanderbilt University
- Samantha L. Port, MSN, MBA, RNC-OB, C-EFM, Campbellsville, KY, Western Kentucky University
- Donna Louise Schminkey, PhDc, MPH, RN, CNM, Harrisonburg, VA, University of Virginia
2012
- Rachel Ballester, RN, Springfield, MA , Baystate Midwifery Education Program
- Michelle Dynes, CNM, MSN, MPH, Atlanta, GA, Emory University
- Julie Moon, RN, Hyden, KY, Frontier Nursing University
- Njoki Ng'ang'a MPhil, MSc, RNC, New York, NY, Columbia University
2011
- Rachel Newhouse, RN, Chicago, IL, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Julia Vigdis Perkins, RN, Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University & Shenandoah University
- Rebecca M. Pfender, RN, BSN, Philadelphia, PA, University of Pennsylvania
- Annie J. Rohan, MSN, RNC, NNP/PNP, Stony Brook, NY, Columbia University
2010
- Kirsten Hanrahan, ARNP, DNPc , Iowa City, IA, University of Iowa
- Amana Alcala Moss, MN, RN, Corvallis, OR, Oregon Health and Science University
- Amy E. Starke, MPH, RN, Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan
- Leah M. Peterson, RN, SNM, San Francisco, CA, University of California, San Francisco
2009
- MaryJane Lewitt, RN, CNM, MN, Atlanta, GA, Emory University
- Priscilla M. Nodine, CNM, MS, Lakewood, CO, University of Colorado at Denver
- Ping Jin Porter, RN, BSN, SNM, Albuquerque, NM, University of New Mexico
- Lauren Thorngate, Ph(c), RN, CCRN, Seattle, WA, University of Washington
2008
- Ashley E. Darcy, BSN, RN, Philadelphia, PA, University of Pennsylvania
- Lorie Smith Goshin, RN, MSN, New York, NY, Columbia University
- Cynthia Jensen, RN, BSN, CCRN, San Francisco, CA, University of California
- Amy Law, MS, CNM, San Francisco, CA, University of California
- Ana Luisa Ralston, RN, Washington, D.C., Georgetown University
- Libby Averill Rosen, RN, BSN, PhDc, Kansas City, KS Kansas University
- Erin Hannah Tenney, RN, BSN, Hyden, KY, Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing
- Kristin VanderEnde, RN, MSN, CNM, Atlanta, GA, Emory University
2007
- Anjli Aurora, RN, MPH, Duluth, GA, Emory University
- Sandra A. Banta-Wright, RNC, MN, NNP, Portland, OR, Oregon Health & Science University
- Jessica Brumley, CNM, Tampa, FL, University of South Florida
- Jane M. DeLuca, RN, PNP, APNG, Rochester, NY, University of Rochester
- Laura R. Jenson, RN, SNM, Portland, OR, Oregon Health & Science University
- Laura Kostura, RN, Georgetown, MA, Currently on active duty in Iraq. University of Cincinnati
2006
- Kate E. Becker, RN, BSN, MTS, Philadelphia, PA, University of Pennsylvania
- Mary Ann Dominick, RN, Mentor on the Lake, OH, Case Western Reserve University
- Dawn Kingston, RN, MSC, Ontario, Canada, McMaster University
- Gwen Latendresse, CNM, MS, PhD(c), West Jordan, UT, University of Utah
- Jody Lori, CNM, Ann Arbor, MI, University of Arizona
- Nicole Rouhana, CNM, Vestal, NY, Binghamton University
2005
- Mary K. Barger, CNM, Cambridge, MA, Boston University
- Robin Cutler Bratt, RN, Minneapolis, MN, University of Minnesota
- Julia Chachere, SNM, MPH, Sag Harbor, NY, State University of New York at Stony Brook
- Kathleen Utter King, CNM, Rochester, NY, University of Rochester
- Rebecca Matthews, RN, Jonesboro, AR, University of Tennessee
- Elizabeth A. Thomas, MSN, RNC, PhD(c), Lubbock, TX, University of Arizona
2004
- Robin B. Knobel, RNC, MSN, NNP, Greenville, NC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Christie N. Lawrence, RN, BSN, Country Club Hills, IL, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Gina Novick, CNM, MSN, Hamden, CT, Yale University
- Bridget Rene Robinson, RN, BSN, Trenton, MO, University of Kansas Medical Center
2003
- Margie A. Campbell, RNC, Columbus, IN
- Dawn E. Dailey, RN, MSN, CS, Vacaville, CA
- Kelli Dyer, BSN, RN, ICCE, Columbus, GA
- Debra L. Hamilton, RN, BSN, CCM, CNLCP, Cheyenne, WY
2002
- Jo Ann Dotson, RN, MSN, Helena, MT
- Judith Hilton, MSN, RNC, Hickory, NC
- Barbara McFarlin, CNM, MS, RDMS, Chicago, IL
- Linda Shewey, ICCE, RN, PhD, Kent, WA
2001
- Carolyn Constantin, MSN, RNC, Atlanta, GA
- Cecily Floyd, BSRN, Pocatello, ID
- Eileen Ehudin Pagano, CNM, Columbia, MD
- Laura Warren, RN, Oakland, CA
2000
- Emily Merideth, RN, MPH, Berkeley, CA
- Therese McMahan, RNC, MSN, OGNP, Somerville, MA
- Verna J. Schad, RN, MS, FNP, SNM, Lantry, SD
- Laura B. Strange, RN, MN, Dunwoody, GA
1999
- Terry Griffin, RNC, MS, NNP, Long Grove, IL
- Wendy Rasso, RN, Pueblo, CO
1998
- Ginger L. Breedlove, CNM, MSN, Kansas City, MO
- Carol Sue Omel, RN, MPH, Portland, OR