“I’ve made it my mission to assist patients with empathy, compassion, and dedication.”

Natasha McClendon is a dedicated parent and nurse committed to providing quality care that addresses the whole person. Natasha’s experiences growing up in an underserved community, and often leaving a provider’s office without feeling empowered and educated, motivated her to provide compassionate care as a nurse that emphasizes proper education and self-management. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree from U-M in 2006, her experiences working as a case manager for the Medicaid population, as well as building and raising a family, only underscored her commitment to making a difference by addressing gaps and barriers in health care. Her colleagues remark that even without a formal title, “she is viewed as a leader,” and consistently demonstrates remarkable “compassion, poise, and dedication to personal and professional growth.”

Natasha always aimed to continue her nursing education and pursue her dream of becoming a family nurse practitioner, but put these plans on hold for sixteen years to support the dreams of her children. Now, demonstrating remarkable strength and resilience, Natasha is returning to school and pursuing her dream as a single parent, raising her children in a complex world while working toward her master’s degree in nursing at UM-Ann Arbor. She aims to complete this degree while working full-time, demonstrating characteristic dedication.

Following her graduation, Natasha intends to serve as a family nurse practitioner, mindful of social determinants of health. She reflects, “I’ve made it my mission to assist patients with empathy, compassion, and dedication.”

CEW+ applauds Natasha’s resilience, as well as her vision for her career in nursing, and names her a Margaret Dow Towsley Scholar.