National Black Nurses Association Honors Conyers as a 40 and Under Awardee

Dr. Yvette Conyers ’18 (DNP), an assistant professor in the Wegmans School of Nursing, was selected as a National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) 2020 40 and Under Awardee. Conyers was one of only nine nurses from across the country to be honored by the NBNA.

NBNA serves as a voice for black nurses and diverse populations to ensure equal access to professionally develop, promote educational opportunities, and improve health. The awards will be given during the organization’s virtual conference on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.

“NBNA is excited that these nine nurses have made significant contributions in the field of nursing,” said NBNA President Martha A. Dawson, DNP, RN, FACHE. “We are delighted to showcase rising stars within the NBNA membership who are showing promise in their careers.”

Conyers has served as a registered nurse since 2003 and became a certified nurse practitioner in 2013, practicing clinically and completing in-home risk assessments. She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice in May 2018 from Fisher. Her dissertation, “The effect of an evidenced based cultural competency educational program on registered nurse's cultural competence,” explored pathways to reducing health care disparities and bring both clinical and academic work together by utilizing the culturally linguistic and appropriate services (CLAS) approach.

Conyers joined the Wegmans School of Nursing faculty in 2019; she teaches courses in community nursing, population health, and leadership in the undergraduate program. Prior to joining Fisher, she held teaching and administrative positions at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. At UR, Conyers helped found the Rochester chapter of NBNA; which in under two years had more than 30 members. Today, she serves as president of the local chapter.

Her interests also include addressing the social determinants of health in the work towards social justice. She is passionate about increasing students from under-represented groups in nursing and, in her role as president of the Rochester NBNA, seeks to achieve those goals.

This fall, Conyers will also be recognized by the Rochester Business Journal as a 2020 Forty Under 40 honoree. The ceremony, which will also take place virtually, will be held on Thursday, Nov. 12.