February 15, 2021

Week three of our Black History Month 2021 feature celebrates members of the CNHP community who contribute daily to the success of the College.

Samuella Ware, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher focused on race-based theories and social-structural factors that impact sexual health and HIV vulnerability among Black men and women. Dr. Ware joined Drexel's College of Nursing and Health Professions in August 2020 and has been working with 11th St. staff and community on anti-racism initiatives in health. Dr. Ware is part of the Advancing Integrative Models (AIM) team at 11th St., where she leads the Anti-Racism Advisory Council and efforts to develop anti-racist recruitment strategies. Dr. Ware has also guest lectured in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences department and has been a guest speaker to underrepresented students in the College. CNHP, like many institutions and organizations across the country, are being forced to acknowledge racial injustices embedded within our society. Although acknowledgment is the first step, there still needs to be tangible action plans that show that anti-racism is part of the mission and goals of the College. This effort will foster accountability.

When she isn't focused on work, Dr. Ware enjoys being an obsessed plant mom and can be found in plant nurseries on the weekends buying a plant she doesn't need.

As a postdoctoral research fellow, Tiffany M. Montgomery, PhD, has contributed to the College of Nursing and Health Professions through her work with the Community Wellness HUB and the Fall Institute on Implementation Science. She has presented Tuesday Topics regarding the history of Black Americans in nursing education and the use of community-based participatory research to address sexual and reproductive health disparities among Black young women, and she has co-presented a HUB Health and Wellness Chat on sexual health during COVID-19. Since coming to Drexel, Dr. Montgomery has published articles on the use of dual-method contraception following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, strategies for addressing implicit bias in health care, and a review of sexual health interventions using new media. She has been quoted in stories by the Philadelphia Inquirer and WHYY and she recently wrote an editorial for the Inquirer highlighting the lack of representation among Black Philadelphia nursing faculty. Dr. Montgomery worked as a labor and delivery nurse for 15 years before retiring in December. She looks forward to returning to direct patient care as a women's health nurse practitioner. She co-chairs the National Black Nurses Association women's health committee and is a member of the Delaware County Intermediate Unit's Family Center Advisory Council where she lends her clinical and scholarly expertise to Project ELECT, a program for pregnant and parenting high school students. She serves on the equity committee of the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Community Care Initiative Maternal Health Safety Workforce and was a recipient of a 2020 Lindy Center for Civic Engagement Staff Award for Campus and Community Engagement. Dr. Montgomery hopes to see the diversity in nursing reflect the growing diversity of the United States in her lifetime. She believes CNHP can lead the charge to diversify nursing by implementing equitable policies and instituting accountability measures for attaining diversity outcomes.

A fun fact about Dr. Montgomery is she loves live musical theater. She performed in musical theater in high school and college and is known by her friends for singing along with the cast when attending local theater performances.

Rexine Patterson has worked as a program coordinator within the College of Nursing and Health Professions for over 15 years. The first three years she worked in Couple & Family Therapy and now works in the Nurse Anesthesia Program. She takes considerable pride in her role. She brings a passion for technology and creativity to all her tasks making her work clearly recognizable. According to Rexine, “Behind the scenes I support students to the best of my ability, even if it just means a warm smile on a tough day. I find joy in seeing how students, being armed with the power of education, can change the trajectory of their future.” She is also a firm believer of the need for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. As a result, she served on the Dean’s Board of Diversity and Inclusion from 2015 – 2017. She personally requested to have the word “equity” added to the board’s title. As a survivor of a rare cancer and as part of a Tuesday Topics event on disability, Rexine did a presentation on navigating one’s own hidden disabilities in the workplace using her own unique experience as a guide.

Just a few fun facts about Rexine. She is a ’87 graduate from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. She was in the first class to be required to purchase and use a Macintosh computer. After graduation as a former military spouse, she lived in Okinawa, Japan for four years, and traveled the Far East.

Joy Terrell began her career at Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions in August 2003. She is key player in her current role in the Contracts and Compliance department and is well known for her dedication to her team and students and her peaceful personality. Joy has committed to and prided herself on providing high-level customer service to the students of the College as her number one priority and explored opportunities within the University to serve as well by becoming a mentor for the Liberty Scholars program in 2016. Joy has always had a passion and drive to bring people together regardless of their differences and clearly understood that this was not the actual culture of the College. She found an opportunity to become a part of the solution by accepting a seat on the dean's first diversity and inclusion advisory board of CNHP in 2014. She was able to raise awareness about religious prayer obligations of Muslims and worked with the appropriate channels to make rooms accessible for these students, faculty and staff to be able to pray at the appropriate times while they were on campus. Joy was also featured in the Off the Charts newsletter in the area to which was highlighted for staff who were making transitions in the workplace. She has also published an article for the Daily Dose regarding Ramadan which is a Muslim holiday recognized worldwide. It is a part of Joy’s mission to always be a part of the solution and plans to continue working to help push these efforts forth so that we all are welcomed and included in our College.

Fun fact Joy loves the arts and once studied theater at Philly’s Freedom Theater.