LaDonna Christian is an Associate Professor of Practice and Director of the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring program in the School of Nursing at Simmons University. For the past 14 years, she has directed a bridge and mentoring program for students of color at Simmons University providing academic, clinical, professional, leadership and social support to over 500 nursing students of color from 14 different countries and speaking 30 different languages. The initiatives implemented by the program have increased the NCLEX pass rates from 77% to 92%, increased the course pass rate from 50% to 95%, and decreased the attrition rate from 22.5% to < 1 percent. Dr. Christian has consulted with and guided the development of 7 other successful health care professions programs at my university, statewide, and nationally. She also taught over 200 students coming off public assistance to become CNAs with a 99.5% first time certification pass rate and worked as a provider in a nurse-run clinic, that provided care for HIV, STI, and TB to patients coming from all communities in the state. She received her BSN from the University of Michigan, her master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and her doctorate degree from Simmons University.