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The Dean's Executive Student Council (DESC), as a group of nursing students under the guidance of the Dean, will work to ensure Emory Nursing lives up to its mission, vision, and values. The DESC will represent the student voice while working as a bridge between the student body and nursing administration, faculty, and staff. In collaboration with all interested parties, the DESC will find and implement ways to bolster efforts of inclusion and diversity at the school; moreover, the council will build Emory Nursing's connections to the wider university, other top-tier nursing schools, and healthcare advocacy at both the local and national level.
All DESC members are available to meet with students to discuss questions, concerns, or ideas to improve the culture of Emory SON. You are welcome to reach out to us individually, or you email desc@emory.edu to schedule an appointment.
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Current Initiatives
Mentorship and Community Partnership Program
Bright Horizons Backup Care
Current Members
Erin Brown
Pronouns: she/her/hers
esbrown@emory.edu
I discovered my passion for nursing while volunteering at the Open Door Clinic in North Carolina. Helping others has always been a passion of mine and nursing was a great fit naturally. I graduated from East Carolina University with my BSN. I am currently enrolled in the Post-BSN to DNP FNP-Health Systems Leadership track. As a member of DESC, I plan to use my position to advocate for students who are parents, those from low socioeconomic status, and those from other underrepresented backgrounds. I want to help create a more diverse faculty. I have worked as a Registered Nurse for six years and see a great need in those who cannot advocate for themselves. I am pursuing my doctorate to transform healthcare and policy reform for vulnerable populations.
Katiana Carey-Simms
Pronouns: she/her/hers
katiana.carey-simms@emory.edu
I found my way to Emory and nursing through my long and winding road to midwifery licensure. After working in non profits and education for many years, I decided to channel my passions for wellness and social justice into birth, reproductive justice, and sexual health work. After training at a high volume birth center bordering Juarez, MX, and working in a clinical setting at Planned Parenthood in Richmond, CA, I have deepened my desire to serve women/people, families and young people across the lifespan. I strive to reach true humility to best meet folks where they are and provide dignified health care that increases their ability to thrive. While on DESC, I hope to participate in improving the quality of life for students who are often underserved and not prioritized. I intend to lead and support initiatives that reach towards Emory’s mission visions and values to be innovative and socially responsible.
Cat Dymond
Pronouns: she/her/hers
cat.dymond@emory.edu
Hello, my name is Cat, and I’m an AMSN student in the Midwifery Specialty. I graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor’s in Anthropology, concentrating in public health, cultural competency and maternal-child health, all through the lens of medical anthropology. After graduation, I worked in policy & program management and evaluation for state and municipal governments, creating effective and responsible social services policies and programs for families, primarily in the fields of public health and housing & homeless services. I served for several years on my town’s Board of Health, and on the Boards of various regional social service/community service non-profits.
As a member of the Dean’s Executive Student Council, I am interested in working to build community within the NHWSN, increase connection both to one another and within the metro Atlanta area, and encourage collaboration with existing structures working for “the least of these”. Inspired by Boston’s Healthcare for the Homeless program, social and civic responsibility influence my nursing practice. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to grow in my service to the people through DESC, making Emory a more inclusive place, particularly for older, nontraditional, and/or second-degree students.
Jessie Malone Friedman
Pronouns: she/her/hers
jessie.malone.friedman@emory.edu
I have been passionate about equitable and inclusive healthcare for quite some time. I come from a liberal arts background in undergrad, from a part of Washington state where I was lucky enough to learn about migrant justice and the issues facing migrant farmworkers. I have volunteered at free clinics for uninsured migrants and at community health centers for low income patients. Due to these experiences and others, I have a particular passion for community healthcare which addresses health disparities between lower and higher income populations and between immigrants/non-citizens and citizens. As a queer woman, I also care deeply about the disparities facing the queer (and especially queer trans) communities. As a member of the Dean’s Executive Student Council, I plan to advocate for nursing education that is inclusive of the health issues facing these marginalized populations within Emory’s School of Nursing and to serve as source of support to these populations both within the school and within the community. I look forward to working with DESC and the SON.
Sierra Hardy
Pronouns: she/her/hers
sierra.hardy@emory.edu
I obtained my BSN from Winston Salem State University as a second-degree nursing student. I’ve worked with many underserved populations, most recently at Grady, who were without healthcare or medical insurance. I was also one of those patients as a child with a medical condition necessitating many procedures and a critical but definitive 9-hour operation. My anesthesia care team's compassion made the surgical environment serene for a frightened child, sparking my passion for anesthesia. My goal was to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and provide a superior level of comfort to patients during a stressful time. I joined DESC because the CRNA profession needs more voices to help diversify its incoming generation and Emory cultivates my passion. I want to help nurses like me, a parent from a disadvantaged background, with the barriers of advancing their practice through education and mentorship. I hope to encourage bridging the gap between APRN specialties. APRNs can learn a lot together by embracing all specialties and unifying such a diverse profession to benefit the patient care provided for all.
