Nakiesha Pearson, ND, DC, has recently been named Chair of the Clinical Sciences Department for the College of Professional Studies. In her new role, Dr. Pearson will oversee and help support department faculty and their classes as well as advise students. Previously, she was an assistant professor in the department.

She earned her doctorate in chiropractic, doctorate in naturopathic medicine and her masters in advanced clinical practice from NUHS.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with instructors and pushing the mission of the university,” she said. “I wanted to be more immersed on the administrative side in helping to support department faculty.”

One of her initiatives will be continuing to bridge the gap between the Illinois campus and the Florida site by including more faculty on virtual meetings and connecting faculty who teach the same classes.

At both NUHS and beyond, Dr. Pearson has also taken on efforts to advance diversity within the naturopathic and chiropractic medicine fields. These new initiatives are aimed at not only bringing more people of color into the profession, but educating new and current doctors on how to treat diverse patient populations.

In addition to serving on the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), she recently joined the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medicine College’s new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is also a member of NUHS’ diversity task force, which is working to ensure curriculum teaches students how to treat more diverse patient populations, including how to provide physical exams and communicate for a better bedside manner.

“We are creating standards and making recommendations so the curriculum is more inclusive and provides students with a better understanding of different communities,” she said.

On the other diversity committees, she has been helping to provide blog posts and host webinars on cultural competency. She also moderated a well-received EDI forum on diversity within the chiropractic field for ACA members in December and is currently working on organizing more.

“While some work is still in its early stages, there are many more events and changes to come,” Dr. Pearson said.