It is official 🎉. I am a PhD Candidate! Still taking this one in as it feels especially special. I started my PhD three weeks postpartum at @queensu, with a newborn in my arms and absolutely no idea what it would take to balance motherhood, life, and doctoral studies. It wasn’t easy, but here we are. That tiny baby is now two years old, surrounded by powerful women he has come to know as his “PhD aunties”. I successfully defended my PhD thesis proposal, and I am so excited for what comes next. To my family, thank you for carrying me and making room for this dream. To my supervisor, Dr. @KTerna , thank you for giving me the space to grow into my own voice as a scholar. Your mentorship throughout this journey has meant more to me than I can say. To my wonderful committee, Dr. @pilar_camargo and Dr. @dmacdonald902 , and my examiners, Dr. Katherine McKittrick and Dr. Katie Goldie, thank you for challenging my thinking with support and guidance. I am blessed with the most supportive classmates who created time out of their busy schedules to listen to me rehearse and checked in to encourage me. Now comes the part I have been most excited about: the research itself. I get to listen to and learn from Black women as I explore their experiences and meaning-making of miscarriage in Canada. Being a survivor of miscarriage and stillbirth, I feel so privileged to carry this work forward. What a beautiful milestone! From three weeks postpartum to PhD Candidate 🎉🙏🏿 #BlackMaternalHealthMatters

Not only did I have the privilege of presenting my research in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but I also finally met the incredible scholar whose work has informed my nursing practice for more than a decade, @salthorne . What an honor! And, I had the opportunity to meet Manitoba Premier @WabKinew

What began as a painful experience of miscarriage and stillbirth became a research question, then a thesis proposal, and eventually an opportunity to share this work on a national nursing stage @canadanurses Being able to present my research on Black women’s experiences of miscarriage in Canada at the #CNA2026 Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba meant so much to me. I am grateful to everyone who supported the journey and for the opportunity to contribute to conversations about Black women’s maternal experiences. A special thank you to my supervisor, Dr. @KTerna for nudging me to submit an abstract. I couldn’t do any of this without the love and support of my beloved family. Thank you all so much. #PowerOfNurses #NurseResearcher #BlackMaternalHealth #legitimateknowledge

We have a huge problem when the people who care for us have nobody caring for their wellbeing. It’s time to stop underfunding healthcare and start treating nurses and other healthcare workers with the care and respect they deserve. #OnPoli #OnHealth

Nurses tell me they are constantly “working short” and can’t fully meet the needs of their patients. This takes a toll. It is time for a nurse-to-patient ratio law in Ontario’s health care system. QP debate coming this November 🙌 @NickelBelt #onpoli francegelinas.ca/nursing-rat… 💯

“Nurses take care of the patients. It appears the managers take care of the hospital, but no one is taking care of the nurses.” —  Darin Heffern

An absolute pleasure to be back in the classroom as a nursing professor! There’s something special about teaching curious minds, sharing knowledge, and helping inspire the next generation of nurses. So excited for the semester ahead! ❤️

I want y’all to care about 400 years of slavery like y’all care about 9/11.

This is horrible.

TEN years in nursing, and what a journey it has been. From general nursing to critical care, ER, education, advocacy, leadership, keynote speaking, research and beyond. Nursing has opened doors I never imagined. Still learning. Still growing. Still a nurse at heart. And I’m just getting started. #Nursing

The world map you've known all your life is wrong! Nearly every country at the UN voted to adopt a new map that shows a more accurate size of Africa after ~500 years of "symbolic minimization." Only the US voted against it. I explained why this is important on CNN

Women in STEM 💪💖

Honoured to be nominated as Board Vice President of the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST). Looking forward to another year of advancing representation for Black, Indigenous, and racialized youths in STEM. Representation matters.

Africans too were shocked at what they saw from their homes when Europeans invaded and colonised Africa.

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