New Partnership Sends Inaugural Fellows to Serve Harnett County Families
For information contact: Barbara Heffner barbara.heffner@schweitzerfellowship.org 704-895-6506
Davidson, NC. June 3, 2026. – The North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (NCASF) is proud to announce a new university partnership with Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM), marking a significant expansion of the Fellowship’s reach across the state. The partnership launches with two inaugural Schweitzer Fellows, Michaela Brown and Jessica King, whose work is already making an impact in Harnett County.
Brown and King are leading prenatal education classes at the Harnett County Health Department, working to increase health literacy among pregnant patients and encourage greater use of the prenatal services available to them locally. Their project addresses a critical gap in maternal health support for an under-resourced community which is exactly the kind of work the Fellowship was designed to cultivate.
The Fellows are guided by a strong mentorship team: Academic Mentor Brianne Holmes, EdD, and Site Mentors Ainsley Johnson, MSN, RN, CPHN, CPH, and Melissa McLamb, MSN, FNP, CPHN.
“Schweitzer Fellows are not given a project or told to address a specific health need,” said Barbara Heffner, Executive Director of the NC Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. “They follow their passion and the needs of the community to develop innovative approaches which fill gaps in our health care system. Michaela and Jessica embody that spirit, and we are thrilled to welcome Campbell into our Fellowship community.”
The Schweitzer Fellowship model pairs graduate students from health-related fields with community-based organizations, challenging them to design and implement service projects that target the root causes of health disparities — all while meeting their academic obligations. The Fellowship’s intensive leadership component connects Fellows with both community and academic mentors, building a foundation for lifelong service and leadership.
Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine joins a distinguished network of NCASF university partners that includes Duke University AHEC, ECU Brody School of Medicine, ECU School of Dental Medicine, North Carolina Central University School of Graduate Studies, UNC Adams School of Dentistry, UNC School of Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, and others. Together, these institutions help NCASF fulfill its mission of training health care leaders who are equipped to serve those who face the greatest barriers to care.
Founded in 1994, NCASF has trained more than 696 health care leaders over the past three decades. Nationally, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship has engaged more than 5,000 Fellows across program locations in Alabama, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Houston, New Hampshire/Vermont, San Francisco Bay Area, and Tulsa.
For more information about the NC Albert Schweitzer Fellowship and its university partnerships, visit ncschweitzerfellowship.org.