Dr. Charlene Whitaker-Brown completed her Masters of Science in Nursing degree with a concentration as a family nurse practitioner from Indiana State University. She also completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at ISU in 2013. She is currently serving as faculty at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte and was recently promoted to the position of DNP 

Program Director. She is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner who has experience with heart failure patients in both the acute and outpatient setting. 

She also follows family practice patients in the convenience care clinic setting. Her program of scholarship is devoted to translating heart failure research into practice. Her primary focus is on heart failure patients in the outpatient setting and their quality of life. She has presented her findings both at the local and national level. Dr. Whitaker-Brown has been instrumental in coordinating partnerships between the University of North Carolina at Charlotte School of Nursing and Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute’s Heart Failure clinic at Carolina’s Medical Center under the direction of Dr. Sanjeev Gulati. She is involved in local and national organizations including the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses, Heart Failure Society of America, American Heart Association, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau International and Phi Kappa Phi.

 Dr. Whitaker-Brown said, “The DNP has opened doors and the reason I decided to work in academia was because of the support, guidance, and recommendations I received from the faculty at Indiana State University. The rigorous course work helped prepare me for the challenges of 21st century healthcare. During my program of study I developed an appreciation for health policy after attending a Health Policy conference in Washington, DC with my professors and DNP cohort. I learned the importance of becoming legislatively active to affect the care of my patients. The DNP program at Indiana State University helped me to understand how the DNP has an impact on nursing and advancing the practice of the nursing profession.”