Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program
The Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program serves students from diverse backgrounds in the nursing programs at Simmons University. Through mentorship, tutoring, leadership training, volunteerism, and career counseling, the program has empowered nursing students for over a decade, investing in their success as learners, healthcare professionals, and leaders.
Highlights of the Dotson Program
- Success indicators: Since 2009, course pass rates among Dotson scholars have increased from 50% to 95% and first-time NCLEX pass rates have increased from 74% to 94%.
- Through the Dotson program, more students are completing their nursing education; overall attrition rates among program participants is 1%, compared to 23% in 2009.
- Program staff includes a full-time director, a full-time faculty member, and 21 mentors (practicing nurses and/or nursing faculty and volunteers).
- The Dotson program was established in 2009 with a gift from Simmons nursing alumna Phyllis Nickerson Dotson ’62 and George Dotson.
The Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program has made a difference in the lives of so many Dotson Scholars and that legacy will change the trajectory of the lives of their children and families for generations to come.
- Ladonna L. Christian, Director of the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program and Associate Professor of Practice, Nursing
Contact Us for Program Details
To learn more about the program please reach out to Dr. LaDonna Christian or Delmy Piano, BSN, RN.
LaDonna Christian
Associate Professor of Practice and Director of the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program
Delmy Piano
Assistant Professor of Practice and Assistant Director of the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program
The Doston Bridge and Mentoring Program in the News
Thriving through Diversity: A Nursing Success Story
The Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program pairs first-generation and other underrepresented nursing student mentees — called Scholars — with experienced Mentors (typically School of Nursing alumnae/i). Sasha DuBois ’08BSN has served as a mentor since the program began in 2009. LaDonna Christian ’16PhD became director of the program in 2010.
Dr. Adrianna Nava Champions Leadership in Nursing
Dr. Adrianna Nava “fights to ensure that nurses’ voices are heard in health care policy,” said Delmy Piano, Assistant Professor of Practice and Assistant Director of Simmons’ Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program, when introducing the Dotson’s 2025 hybrid Lectureship Event...
Nursing Alumna Brings Compassionate Care to Baltimore
Registered Nurse and Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program Mentor Amanda Lee Davis ’15 recently relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where she has already made a significant impression on the city’s healthcare community. She is also pursuing a doctoral degree at Johns Hopkins University.
Honoring the National Day of Racial Healing
January 21, 2025 — the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day — is the ninth annual National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH). Created by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NDORH "is an opportunity to engage in collective action to create a more just and equitable world."
Nursing Student Receives Excellence in Nursing Practice Award from New England Regional Black Nurses Association
Samantha Normilus ’19BSN, ’26MSN has received the Excellent in Nursing Practice Award from the New England Regional Black Nurses Association, Inc. (NERBNA). A Dana-Farber Cancer Institute nurse who is pursuing the online MSN-FNP program at Simmons, Normilus spoke with us about being a NERBNA awardee, the rewards of oncology nursing, and the supportive community she found at Simmons.
Dr. Ena Williams Champions Workplace Diversity in Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program Lectureship Event
On February 29, the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program, directed by Associate Professor of Practice LaDonna Christian, hosted a Lectureship Event with Dr. Ena Williams. Her lecture, entitled, “Experiences of Racial and Ethnic Minority Nurses: Our Role in Advancing Workforce Diversity,” identified workplace biases and underscored the need for mentorship, racial equity, and organizational change.
Director of the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program Receives Award for Mentorship
LaDonna Christian has been awarded the Mary A. Manning Nurse Mentoring Award for her work supporting the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program at Simmons. Established by the American Nurses Association Massachusetts, the award is given annually to a nurse who has established a record of outreach to nurses in practice or students pursuing a nursing education.