Dr. Dora Clayton-Jones, associate professor in the College of Nursing, was named one of this year’s Phenomenal Women at the Black Excellence Awards. She was honored on Friday, Feb. 28, in a ceremony at the Baird Center in Milwaukee.
The Black Excellence Awards are dedicated to celebrating the achievements of African Americans in Milwaukee in fields including arts, education, communications, government, law and music. Clayton-Jones was one of 40 Phenomenal Women honored at the ceremony; this group of women was chosen based on their impact and dedication in their respective fields. The awards gala raises money for the Louvenia Johnson Scholarship Fund, which gives scholarships to 12 African American high school seniors each year.
“Dora Clayton-Jones has shown herself to be a consistent community champion,” said Dr. Jill Guttormson, dean of the College of Nursing. “Through her research, teaching and collaborative work with sickle cell patients, Dora exemplifies what it means to be a Marquette Nurse researcher.”
Through community-based participatory research and human-centered design, Clayton-Jones works closely with the community and those directly impacted by these interventions, collaboratively advancing health and health care equity for adolescents and young adults living with sickle cell disease.
In December 2024, Clayton-Jones launched the Gladys Street Foundation, which uplifts voices of people suffering from sickle cell disease. The organization provides scholarships that support SCD patients’ academic goals, fosters their resilience and opens pathways to a brighter future.
As part of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders as Innovators, Clayton-Jones received funding for an innovative community engaged research project titled, “Eliminating Sickle Cell Disparities among Youth: The POSSE Intervention.” The POSSE intervention supports engagement with youth who are living with sickle cell disease and other stakeholders to build community and to develop interventions that prepare youth for managing their health and lives as adults.
In 2023, the American Academy of Nursing inducted Clayton-Jones as a fellow. She also became the first African American pediatric nurse practitioner to receive tenure in Wisconsin in 2023. The Milwaukee Business Journal named Clayton-Jones as one of its 2022 Women of Influence and she received the Vel R. Phillips Trailblazer Award from the Milwaukee Common Council that same year.
