The Florida State University College of Nursing is pleased to announce that Dr. Eugenia Millender, associate professor at the College of Nursing, and Co-Founder & Co-Director for the Center of Population Sciences for Health Equity, received a prestigious invitation to speak with The White House! Dr. Millender has a storied history advocating for policies that promote health equity and access.

"It is exciting to see that our nation's leaders are placing a priority in engaging community-based clinical scholars to advocate for policies to promote health equity and access,” said Millender. “As an indigenous Afro-Latina nurse scientist, this platform will allow me to inform the White House on actionable health-related issues impacting our communities, and the importance of community-based research that gives back to our communities today, not 10 years from now."

With decades of experience in nursing, public health research and serving in leadership positions on national boards, Dr. Millender has dedicated her career to increasing access to health equity and providing culturally appropriate care. “We all believe that Eugenia will deliver,” said Dr. Frank Wong, Founding Director and McKenzie Endowed Professor of Health Equity. “She is like the tide who can lift the boat for many people with little or no voice. I am proud of her achievements.”

The Centers for Disease Control defines health equity as individuals having a “fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.” The onset of the COVID pandemic, social determinants and political unrest magnified pre-existing systemic and socioeconomic racial inequalities and policies. The COVID crisis alone exposed gross inequities in our healthcare system that without actionable efforts toward dismantling racist and discriminatory policies and practices across all of healthcare, and outside of health systems walls, will continue to disproportionately impact people of color.

“There is power in people working together to address historical and contemporary injustices to achieve excellence in health and healthcare,” said Dr. Jing Wang, Dean at the College of Nursing. “We are honored to have the brilliant leadership of Dr. Millender on our faculty and am excited for what her years of experience and expertise engaging with communities in Florida and abroad as a clinician and scientist will bring to the administration’s priorities on eliminating preventable health disparities and promoting equity and access to all.”

Join us in congratulating Dr. Millender on this distinguished engagement. Nole Nurses Lead!

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The Florida State University, College of Nursing (CON) educates clinicians, leaders, scholars, and advanced practitioners who can enhance the quality of life for people of all cultures, economic levels, and geographic locations. Centers, Institutes and Labs within CON provide a framework for research and scholarly activities. Currently, CON houses three nursing research centers, a Digital Health Lab, and is the prime awardee for the 14.5 million Florida First National Institutes of Health U54 Grant to increase diversity in health research. For more information on the Center of Population Sciences for Health Equity, call 850-644-3296 or visit, nursing.fsu.edu.