Faculty & Staff

For the past 20 years, Dr. Smith has created innovative programs designed to eliminate unfair gaps between racial and ethnic groups. First, working as an HIV/ AIDS Program Coordinator for the Ryan White Part D program at Jefferson Comprehensive Care System, Incorporated in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to later becoming the Director of the Office of Health Equity at the Arkansas Department of Health.

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While in the latter position, she developed Sisters United and Brothers United, community-based initiatives and partnerships with African American sororities and fraternities to address high infant mortality rates. Sisters United was nationally recognized and received the Vision Award from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) for a creative and innovative approach to addressing public health challenges. She was integral to the creation of the first lactation room at an HBCU in Arkansas (Philander Smith College) and opened two lactation rooms for the 189th Airlift Wing at the Little Rock Air Force Base.

Currently, Dr. Smith is the Director of the Minority Health and Health Equity Research Center at Dillard University. She has a Doctorate in Public Policy from the University of Arkansas, a Master’s in Public Health from Tulane University and a B.S. from Dillard University. She is also a certified lactation counselor. Dr. Smith serves as the Director for HEAL.

Charlotte Hurst, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana is a registered nurse graduate from
Dillard University received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 1975. She received her Master’s in Nursing from Louisiana State University Health Science Center-New Orleans (formerly Louisiana Medical Center) and received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Hampton University, Hampton, VA. Dr. Hurst has over 48 years of professional nursing expertise in various clinical, administrative, and educational settings with expertise in Maternal Newborn
Health Nursing, Health Assessment in Nursing Practice, and Infectious Diseases in Women’s
Health.

With more than 40 years in Nursing academia at Dillard University College of Nursing, Dr. Hurst is a tenured Professor of Nursing. She has served as the PI and Co-PI on a number of grants and have provided interactive nursing workshops on various teaching strategies in Nursing. She served as Coordinator of the Clinical Research Associate Program 2010-2018. The first 5 years were supported by the P20 multimillion dollar Minority Health and Health Disparities grant and Dillard University Title III program. These activities plus her research has provided her opportunities to publish six articles that appeared in peered reviewed journals in the last seven years.

Currently Dr. Hurst serves as the Curriculum Chairperson in the College of Nursing and as the Course Lead in two undergraduate and one graduate level course. This summer she plans to write the Certification course as a Certified Lactation Coordinator and become one of three instructors in the Inaugural HEAL Program which begins in summer 2024. She currently holds certification as a Certified Nurse Midwife, a Certified Maternal Newborn Nurse, and a Lamaze instructor.

Nekisha Killings, MPH IBCLC has led in equity education across a variety of fields over the past 20 years. From consumer goods to religion and non-profit sectors, she has utilized her writing and facilitation talent to impact how employees and volunteers approach their work and communities. Through motherhood, Nekisha made a natural transition to focus her work in maternal and child health equity; becoming internationally board certified in lactation and launching Lioness Lactation LLC - a comprehensive lactation support entity focused on marginalized communities.

Nekisha studied breastfeeding disparities within the Black American community for her Master of Public Health thesis and has published peer-reviewed research on the subject. Her expertise is sought after in operationalizing Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within organizations. Nekisha penned the chapter titled Cultural Humility in the 2018 and 2022 editions of Core Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Lactation Care.

She is co-founder of Nikki & Nikki: Lactation Career Consultants, which equips aspirants of color to become lactation professionals. Nekisha is on a mission to normalize brown breasts in health provider education, thereby better equipping providers to accurately diagnose and treat people of color. Accordingly, in 2021 she founded The Melanated Mammary Atlas® – the world’s largest database of clinical reference images showcasing conditions on melanated breasts and chests. Nekisha has worked as lead curriculum developer since HEAL's inception and will instruct students on topics related to sociology, compassionate care, and assessing brown breasts.  

Nikki Greenaway, aka "Nurse Nikki", is a wife, mother of three, Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and certified perinatal health advocate. Nurse Nikki is the proud owner of Nurse Nikki LLC, an international maternal health consulting firm and Bloom Maternal Health PLLC, a full-spectrum postpartum practice serving Louisiana and Texas. Nurse Nikki is also the co-founder of the New Orleans Breastfeeding Center, Cafe au Lait Breastfeeding Circle for Families of Color and Nikki and Nikki Lactation Career Consultants. Nurse Nikki will educate HEAL program students in the areas of postpartum care of the dyad, technique, and clinical skills. 

Jada Wright Nichols is an Atlanta-based women’s wellness consultant. She graduated from Tennessee State University, with a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and audiology. She has a master’s degree in occupational therapy and has worked in a variety of rehabilitation settings, across the life-span.

Additionally, she is a massage therapist, lymphedema therapist, holistic nutritionist, birth and postpartum doula, yoga instructor, and international board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC). She is a lactation consultant at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and the owner of Blossom Health and Maternal Wellness, and Bloom Early Intervention, which provide in-home and virtual services for new and expectant families, as they navigate various aspects of parenting, access, and equity.

Mrs. Cooks has centered her passion for Higher Ed around enhancing and cultivating students within the Higher Education Platform by supporting them in Financial Literacy and education preparation for college mentally and supportively.

First, working as the Federal Work Study Program (FWSP) Coordinator at Xavier University for 10 years to becoming the Program Coordinator for People’s First Mental & Behavior Center, New Orleans, LA for 3 years. Passionate about the success of the students, she returned to higher education by becoming the Administrative Assistant to the VP of Enrollment Management at Dillard University.

She has a Bachelor’s degree from Dillard University and is pursuing a master’s in public health from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, Mrs. Cooks works as the Office Coordinator for the Minority Health and Health Equity Research Center. She is also a Cribs for Kids Ambassador for the Dillard University Community. Mrs. Cooks serves as the Administrative Assistant for the HEAL Program.