Recognizing Frankie Manning
We proudly recognize and acknowledge Frankie Manning, MSN, RN a nurse devoted to public service with a nursing career in roles within the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, on professional boards, as a faculty member for several academic nursing programs and through her service in the U.S. Army. She has consistently developed programs to enhance services to patients and communities. In the early 1970s, prior to the many program initiatives for women veterans, she established basic procedures and procurement of equipment to support women veterans. In the 1980s, she chaired and guided the Women Veterans’ Program for Western Region of DVA. The standards of care, policies and procedures including the improvement in clinical guidelines, research and resources still remain in place today. Manning was selected as the first nurse to serve on the King County Board of Health in 2003. In 2004, she was appointed by Governor Locke to serve as board member for a three-year term on the Washington State Board of Health. She has been characterized by her nursing colleagues as a strong leader, visionary nurse, mentor, coach, and guide.
Frankie Manning
Below are some of her contributions:
- Developed pipeline project at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Seattle to expose and inspire young people of color about health professions and careers; an early example for our Nurse Camp.
- Long-standing board member of the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization, which provides scholarships to students of African heritage pursuing schooling in nursing; and mentorship to foster academic retention and cultivate career success.
- Partnered with Seattle Children’s Hospital to develop a program guiding new nursing school graduates to identify staff position openings and craft competitive employment applications.
- Serves on the Health Equity Research Community Advisory Council for the Institute of Translational Health Sciences (UW, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Children’s) guiding research projects to identify communities’ research priorities, engage in community-partnered research, utilize equitable research practices, and increase access to participation in research studies by underrepresented groups.
- Served on UW School of Nursing faculty search committees to broaden diversity recruitment, and ensure that interviewing and evaluation processes reflected principles related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Counseled nursing students of color at University of Washington and Washington State University, and other institutions experiencing challenges with academic progression, and assist with retention and degree completion.
- Serves on Washington Center for Nursing’s Diversity Subcommittee to determine statewide strategies to diversify the nursing workforce through inclusive outreach, recruitment, admissions, and retention practices; including workshops to promote academic nursing careers to nurses of color.
- Volunteers in Public Health Reserve Medical Corp, developing and providing services to King and Pierce County homeless.
Most recently in 2020, she was awarded the Dr. C. June Strickland Distinguished Diversity & Transcultural Nursing Advocate Award and in 2018 she was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Nurses, with ties to UW, who have demonstrated an undaunted commitment to improving the lives of others.