Hi, I’m Bev and I’m a board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner. I am a queer, bilingual, bicultural second-generation Cameroonian/African-American. My path to becoming an activist and healer began with a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art at Dartmouth College while pursuing nursing and eventually earning my RN from UMass Chan Medical School’s Graduate School of Nursing. At Dartmouth, I was among the first cohort of social justice minded queer students selected to live at the Triangle House. It was vibrant living and learning space built to serve and support the LGBTQIA+ community, intellectual inquiry, and activism. Living among my peers, I conducted a year long independent study on the prevalence of mood disorders and substance use in the LGBTQ community. At UMass Chan Medical School’s graduate school of nursing, I continued coursework to specialize in LGBTQ mental health disparities.

My lived experience as a black queer woman has equipped me to provide patient-centered, compassionate care to improve the health experience of LGBTQ people. My ultimate goal when working with my patients is to use the skills I’ve gained to foster a compassionate and inclusive environment for vulnerable populations. My own battles with coming to terms with my sexual identity, alcohol use disorder, and low self-esteem have shaped me into a compassionate advocate for those who are struggling, meeting my patients without judgment and sharing wisdom from my own journey.