Help Us Open the Next DoorThis year, The Institute is awarding a new class of scholarships to students pursuing careers in nursing, STEM, and Public Health Sciences. Your gift does more than open the next door — it helps us continue investing in the students we've already welcomed, through mentorship and ongoing programming that supports their growth well beyond a single scholarship, alongside opening the door for the next student who's just getting started.$500 can cover a licensing or certification exam fee — the NCLEX exam itself costs $200 — a couple textbooks, or a month of transportation to a clinical rotation or fieldwork site.$1,000 can cover a full semester of textbooks, a self-paced certification or licensing prep course, or several months of transportation to a clinical rotation, lab placement, or fieldwork site.$2,500 can cover a laptop and the specialized software a nursing, STEM, or public health program requires, a comprehensive MCAT, GRE, or NCLEX prep course, or housing support during an unpaid clinical rotation, research placement, or public health fieldwork assignment.$5,000 can cover a semester of tuition and fees at many lower-cost state schools, or the lab fees, research materials, and fieldwork costs that nursing, STEM, and public health programs often charge on top of tuition — the kind of support that can change a student's entire trajectory.No gift is too small to matter.A monthly or quarterly gift means your support doesn't stop after one moment — it keeps opening doors all year long.

Honoring a legacy of service, strategy, and mentorship — by investing in the next generation of nursing leaders.About this scholarship: Dr. Aisha K. Brooks has spent more than three decades proving what nursing leadership can look like at the highest levels of public service. A retired Rear Admiral and the 12th Chief Nurse Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service, she served as principal advisor to the U.S. Surgeon General, led the federal nursing workforce across the nation's health agencies, and represented American nursing before the World Health Assembly and the International Council of Nurses. As Founder and CEO of VitalVoice Nursing, she continues to advance equity and strengthen public health systems today.Throughout her career, Dr. Brooks has made mentorship a constant — investing in the next generation of health leaders the same way others once invested in her. The Institute for Health and Social Equity is proud to establish The Aisha K. Brooks Nursing Leadership Scholarship in her honor, created to support nursing students who show the same drive, integrity, and leadership potential that has defined her career.Investing in Who Leads Next: Every nurse who rises into leadership carries their lived experience into how they advocate, how they mentor, and how they show up for the patients and communities they serve. Investing in nursing leadership means investing in representation — at the bedside, in the boardroom, in policy rooms — so that communities see themselves reflected in who is guiding the future of care.Your Impact$50 helps cover a scholar's textbooks and clinical supplies for a semester$250 supports exam prep and licensure costs for a graduating nursing student$1,000 funds a full scholarship award for a nursing student stepping into leadership$2,500+ helps fund multiple full scholarship awards, extending Dr. Brooks' legacy to more nursing students ready to leadEvery gift, at any level, moves a future nurse leader one step closer to the front lines of care.Ways to supportJoin us in honoring Dr. Aisha K. Brooks by investing in the leaders who will carry her legacy forward. Give today to The Aisha K. Brooks Nursing Leadership Scholarship and help open the next door for a nursing student ready to lead.Tax-Deductible100% of your tax-deductible gift goes directly to supporting nursing scholars through The Institute for Health and Social Equity. Thank you for standing with us — and with Dr. Brooks — in building the next generation of nursing leadership.