Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Mccamey

Danielle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I am here all due to the hard work, sacrifice and encouragement of the people that came before me and my family. I grew up in a single parent family household and so many of the odds were stacked against me just by that fact. I never realized that reality until high school because my mother always made sure we had the best of everything but that came at the expense of her working multiple jobs to make ends meet and to maintain an environment where we thrived. I look back now and see all the sacrifices that my mom, Shelley McCamey made to do the best she could with the cards that were dealt to her. I am forever indebted to her, but she would say otherwise that all was truly an honor to provide for her family. I wouldn’t trade anything for my life experiences because it has truly shaped me to being the beautiful human that I am today. My mom got me through my formative years. It was in high school that I truly got the sense of the world and all that it entailed just to survive and it was there that I met some of the greatest people that helped change the course and trajectory of my life. One being my guidance counselor who brought the harsh reality of my life circumstances of being the product of a single parent family household that according to the statistics that I would never be able to thrive in college or anything beyond high school, and then it was my track coach Bill Stearns who taught to use my circumstances as a foundation to propel me to the next level, he gave me a perspective of how to flip anything to my advantage or what I like to call the game secrets and then it was my. Great Uncle who showed me how to invest time, energy, and capital in to making things happen. My great uncle showed me how to move through life with purpose, power, and to not take any shit from anyone (not sure if I can cuss, but that’ was my uncle’s way-he was a 40 year veteran from the US Capitol Police, so he got his creative language honestly LOL). But mainly his lessons were about taking up your authority, standing on your integrity and executing good work so there would be NO question on the tremendous value and quality of what you produce. He invested so much in me and he helped me take my thinking and being in this world to the next level.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

The road has been smooth, and if it were then life would not be so much fun LOL. The struggles that I remember the most are the ones where I experience significant growth and elevation.

The first was in high school that where my guidance counselor told me because of me being Black, product of a single parent family household with an income of less than 40K per month and never scoring over 1000 on the SAT that I would not be accepted into any college. This rocked me to my core and literally extinguished the light of hope I had of going to college. Fortunately, I had a track coach-Bill Stearns who saw my potential and really flipped the narrative for me to see the game of life. It was appropriate that my coach would then go on to teach me the strategies of the game of life and that moment on I was LIT back up on fire this time, there was nothing that was going to stop me from getting into college and I applied to over 20 schools and got into every single one of them. I ended up giving the acceptance letters to the guidance counselor and you can only imagine her shock and chagrin or what I like to say clutching of her pearls LOL.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

DNPs of Color came from my experience of being the only Black woman in my doctoral nursing practice program. I was the first in my family to ever go to college and the first to pursue a doctorate. I knew that carried significant weight, not only for me but for my community. It was ingrained in me early on, the value and power of education. I also understood the cultural and professional significance of having an advanced level of education, and the access it would eventually afford me. I recognized how society historically has made it difficult for communities that have been racialized and marginalized to access high-quality education.

I struggled during my doctoral program because it felt like learning a new language and culture. It seemed that everyone around me was able to navigate and thrive, with support along the way. For me, it was different; I felt alone at times, and I also felt inadequate. I faced some challenges that I tried to advocate for, but I was not given the necessary resources or support. So, I had to figure it out because quitting or failing was not an option. I knew I had to make it work. Growing up in a single-parent household, I learned valuable life skills, like how to survive, how to change my perspective on seemingly impossible things, and how to be resourceful. I channeled that energy into creating a community of support.

Over time, I found that this support was much needed because, in talking to others, I realized my experience was not unique. So, I created a Facebook group dedicated to nurses of color who had or were pursuing DNP degrees. That group grew exponentially in a short period of time, and it was then that I knew this was filling a gap in nursing. Eventually, I transitioned that organically grown group into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit: DNPs of Color. Our mission is to serve DNPs of color through networking, mentorship, and advocacy to increase diversity in doctoral studies, clinical practice, and leadership.

The DNP degree is a clinical doctorate where nurses receive advanced education and expertise in nursing practice. These nurses are equipped to care for complexities within health and healthcare systems, communities, and leverage technology, advocacy, and policy to improve outcomes. This group of nurses is the fastest-growing doctorate professionals in nursing, which is critically important because it created an opportunity for DNPs of Color to become the premier organization offering professional development and a sense of belonging for this growing body of nursing professionals.

Our mission pillars: networking, mentorship, and advocacy set the foundation for our programming and events. Networking is linked to the strength of your network; we host annual conferences and gatherings to foster networking and create a marketplace for DNP-led businesses and practices to be amplified and advertised. For mentorship, we offer a publication program, My DNP Manuscript, where DNP scholars are paired with a mentor to help them transition their DNP project into a publication-ready manuscript. Lastly, for advocacy, we would be remiss not to have an advocacy component, as we are the only voice representing nurses of color with their DNP degree. We also offer a host of scholarships for professional development, speaker series, continuing education activities. Our goal is to market and brand the value of DNP prepared professionals. This space is not only critically important for this group of professionals development but we are giving a space for psychological safety and fostering belonging. A lot of these professionals are “the only one” in their respective spaces and that can be a heavy weight to carry. A lot of stories folks share are around their experiences with racism and exclusion because of the way the look or how they present themselves. We offer a space where people can show up unapologetically themselves and nothing is devalued because of them being human or their lived experience. We see it as valuable and leverage it to build this community and contribute to its success. We’ve been operational since 2020 and have built an online community of over 2000 individuals globally and represent the voice of nearly 20,000 nurses of color with DNP degrees.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?

The lesson that stands out the most will always resonate with me the most is that we are better together and that when something impacts a community that is disenfranchised we all are impacted.

The interconnectedness of our humanity was LOUD and apparent and had such a profound ripple effect. It has changed my perspective on life and shifted it to offering more grace and centering people’s humanity in everything.

Pricing:

• We are a 501c3 and are always happy to accept donations of any kind!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dnpsofcolor.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dnpsofcolor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DNPsofColor/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dnps-of-color
• Twitter: https://x.com/dnpsofcolor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@dnpsofcolordocs3105/

Image Credits

Cinematic Imagery
djharveydent