23/07/2025
Overview: The Greater Inland Empire Black Nurses Association (BNA) is a group of Black nurses with decades of experience and expertise in a variety of medical departments. The organization aims to serve Black nurses and diverse populations to ensure equal access to professional development, while promoting education opportunities and improving health. The BNA has plans to increase outreach and presence in the community, while also educating the public on different health topics and erasing the misconception about Black nurses.
Breanna Reeves
Dr. Denise Roberts has been a nurse for 32 years. Dr. Roberts has a Doctorate of Nursing (DNP), a master’s degree in Education and a bachelor’s degree. Her experience is vast, ranging from working in the intensive care unit (ICU), medical-surgical and the emergency department (ED) to being a professor, business owner and community activist.Jeannette St. Hill has worked in nursing for over 50 years, and has worked as a vocational nurse and registered nurse, and earned a master’s degree in Education. She has worked in the ICU, neonatal ICU, ED, neural ICU, medical-surgical, and home health infusion. Although Hill is retired now, she still takes on cases where she administers an autoimmune infusion for patients experiencing autoimmune disease processes.Dr. Patrick Hogue started in the army as a hospital corpsman and left to get his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology. Dr. Hogue has a vast career as he spent time doing research at Johns Hopkins University, assisting in open heart surgery cases across the county, and working at Loma Linda University in the robotic surgery program. Dr. Hogue currently works as an executive director at Riverside University Health System (RUHS) and is a nurse practitioner outside of RUHS and also has a DNP.Dr. Sharon Pickett spent 34 years as a nurse in the Army Corps. Dr. Pickett was a brigade commander over nurses at North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Belgium, Italy and Germany. She has served under three administrations — George Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — on the medical teams where she was assigned to the first ladies. Dr. Pickett has a DNP, a master’s degree in nursing education and in women’s health nurse practitioner, as well as a master’s in family nurse practitioner.These nurses have decades of experience and expertise in a variety of medical departments and are all members of the Greater Inland Empire Black Nurses Association’s (BNA) executive team. They are a few of the dozens of Black nurses serving communities across the Inland Empire.“As we look around, there are so many professional Black nurses, but the stigma is there, that you’re African American, so you [can’t] be an advanced nurse,” explained Jean Stevenson, assistant treasurer at the Greater IE BNA chapter. Stevenson has been a nurse for many years, serving as a public health nurse and registered nurse, with a master’s degree in Education.
Members of the Greater Inland Empire Black Nurses Association pose for a picture at the 8th Annual Youth Fair at Seaborn Ranch in collaboration with community partners on June 21, 2025. (Courtesy of Greater IE BNA)
Stevenson was often misidentified as an aid instead of a professional nurse because she is Black. Now, as a member of BNA, she stresses the importance of being out in the community to represent Black nurses with advanced degrees and be seen by younger nurses or those who aspire to become a nurse.There are different categories of nursing, from Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs) to Registered Nurses (RNs) to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), including Nurse Practitioners (NPs). While much data isn’t offered about the demographic makeup across each category, several surveys and reports confirm that Black registered nurses account for less than 6% of nurses in California.“Diversity in nursing and African American diversity in nursing is definitely needed, just like any other culture is needed, but coming to the Inland Empire and not really seeing people that look like you — it’s definitely needed,” Dr. Roberts said.Dr. Roberts has been the president of the Greater IE BNA chapter over the last year and has spent that time going out into the community and spreading the word about the organization. Over the last decade or so, the organization has had periods of dormancy, but that isn’t the case anymore.The organization has spent the last year engaging with the community through community service, health education, mentorship and scholarship. Now, the organization is up to 79 members over the last year, up from the five they began with.“They are deep into the community and really standing behind what their mission and purpose is: promoting Black nurses and nursing period, but also trying to tackle some of these disparities in the community,” Dr. Hogue, chapter treasure, said. He said he’s glad to be in community with these women and glad to be part of this BNA chapter.The mission of the Greater IE BNA is to serve Black nurses and diverse populations to ensure equal access to professional development, while promoting education opportunities and improving health.“Whenever someone says a mission and a vision, sometimes people just say it because it’s words to be said, but we’re actually acting on that mission,” Dr. Roberts explained. “So, to serve as a voice for Black nurses —that’s us. We’re out there. We’re proud. We’re in a community.”The executive team members vary in their responsibilities, with roles such as vice president, assistant treasurer, secretary and student enhancement coordinator. Though their duties differ, they share similar goals and aspirations for the future of the organization: increase membership, expand their service reach and serve communities across the Inland Empire.
“I would like to see more outreach, more spread — from one end of the county to the other end of the county, and everything in between. I would like to see us be requested for services more,” Dr. Pickett shared. As the organization grows larger, she hopes they can go out in teams to reach more remote and rural cities across San Bernardino County.“We got enough people where we can go in teams of fours and go and set up [at] the nail shops, the beauty salons — we have more of that in the Black community than anything. Look how many people we can reach, and even at church,” Dr. Pickett explained.The Greater IE NBA chapter has plans to increase outreach and their presence in the community, while also educating the public on different health topics. Their outreach has extended to tabling at events and colleges across Riverside, setting up blood pressure and breast screenings and providing first aid and health literacy.By increasing their presence in the community — through community events and joining advisory boards, this team also hopes to erase the misconception about Black nurses.“My hope for nurses, for us being out here in a community, is to change that mentation about Black nurses. We are professionals. We’re educated individuals. We are here to help all,” Dr. Roberts said.As the student enhancement coordinator, St. Hill works to educate young students about the nursing profession. She attends high school career days, welcomes questions about nursing anywhere she goes and invites those who are interested in learning more to the BNA’s monthly meetings, held the second Saturday of each month.“My goal would be to see that we can bring individuals into nursing who have this desire to be there for others,” St. Hill said. “I hope to have individuals come into nursing with that type of an attitude, that they are truly there to help improve the lives of other individuals.”
Members of the Greater Inland Empire Black Nurses Association collaborated with 100 Men of Riverside teaching Central Middle School the basics of Basic Life Support (BLS) such as CPR on February 18, 2025. (Courtesy of Greater IE BNA)
While the Greater IE BNA’s mission and vision are anchored in uplifting the voices of Black nurses and serving the community, they welcome anyone who is interested in the field of nursing to attend a meeting and become a member, regardless of their racial identity or their current job title.Dr. Pickett explained that the BNA was originally created as a result of racial restrictions of Black nurses from national associations like the American Nursing Association (ANA) and the National League for Nursing (NLN) which were both founded in the 19th century.“To begin, we must acknowledge that from 1916 until 1964, ANA purposefully, systemically and systematically excluded Black nurses,” reads a statement published by the ANA Membership Assembly. The statement is part of the ANA’s Racial Reckoning Statement that was adopted by the Assembly in 2022, in recognition of the organization’s exclusive history, and outlined actions that aim to hold the organization accountable.“Just because you’re not Black doesn’t mean that you can’t join,” Dr. Pickett explained. “There were a lot of avenues and doors that weren’t open to us, so we had to open up our own doors… We serve everybody. We help everybody. It’s not just exclusive to Black communities. If you need our help in your area, in your church, for your event, we will be there.”The Greater IE BNA welcomes those interested in becoming a member, or even a non-member (can not vote within the organization) to attend a monthly meeting to learn more about their work. Members of the executive team also encourage the public to learn more about their scholarship opportunities and events such as their upcoming Second Scholarship Funding Brunch to be held in Corona on Dec. 13, 2025.
This article draws upon concepts shared during the Black Voice News’ 2025 Festival of Ideas
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The Greater Inland Empire Black Nurses Association is increasing its presence in the community, aiming to dispel misconceptions about Black nurses and promote health education. The organization is growing, now boasting 79 members, up from five, and is actively engaging in community service and healt...
