By: Lennard James
For Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson, nursing has never been limited to treating symptoms or working within the walls of a medical facility. Her career represents a broad commitment to education, mental-health advocacy, public health, clinical excellence, and community service. As an advanced practice registered nurse, professor, researcher, and civic leader, she has spent decades helping patients, preparing future healthcare professionals, and bringing critical health information directly into underserved communities.
Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson began building her professional foundation at the University of Memphis, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1998. She later completed a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in administration at Union University and returned to the University of Memphis for her family nurse practitioner certification.
Her desire to address health concerns at both the individual and community levels led her to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where she earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice in public health nursing in 2011. Recognizing the growing need for qualified mental-health professionals, she later completed a psychiatric mental-health nurse practitioner certificate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
This combination of training allows Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson to approach healthcare from multiple perspectives. As both a certified family nurse practitioner and a board-certified psychiatric mental-health nurse practitioner, she understands that physical health, emotional wellness, family circumstances, and community conditions are deeply connected.
Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson currently serves as an assistant professor in the Davis and Henley College of Nursing at Sacred Heart University. She teaches within its online graduate nursing programs, including courses in advanced health assessment, pharmacology, pathophysiology, women’s primary care, and psychiatric mental health nursing. She has also served as a lead instructor in advanced psychiatric nursing courses and holds leadership responsibilities involving academic standards and clinical placement.
Before joining Sacred Heart University, Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson spent nearly 12 years as an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing. Her academic career has also included teaching appointments at Baptist College of Health Sciences, Southwest Tennessee Community College, and the University of Memphis.
Her influence as an educator reaches from entry-level nursing students to advanced-practice clinicians. Throughout her academic career, she has created courses, coordinated programs, supported curriculum development, served on faculty committees, and helped students translate classroom knowledge into sound clinical judgment.
Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson has never allowed her academic responsibilities to separate her from patient care. At Alliance Healthcare Services, she provides psychiatric mental health services, including medication management and psychotherapy through in-person and telehealth visits. Her work serves patients throughout their lifespan and emphasizes collaboration among healthcare professionals.
She also serves at the Wellness and Stress Clinic of Memphis, where she provides primary and mental health care while coordinating volunteer providers and supporting relationships with physicians, psychiatry residents, medical students, and community partners. The clinic’s work is especially important for people who may be uninsured or otherwise face barriers to consistent healthcare.
Her clinical experience has been remarkably diverse. She has worked in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, long-term care settings, hospice care, occupational health, infectious-disease treatment, mobile health services, telemedicine, and veterans’ evaluations. She has also volunteered as a healthcare provider locally and during nursing mission trips to the Dominican Republic.
Research and scholarship provide another avenue for her impact. Her published work has addressed clinical judgment, social determinants of health, healthcare technology, pathophysiology, quality and safety, and community health education. She was also a co-investigator on a research project examining a barber-led sexual-health intervention for young Black men, an innovative approach that brought health education into a trusted community environment.
Her public advocacy has become especially visible through her work to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson has delivered presentations on anxiety, depression, mindfulness, youth suicide, childhood mental health, Black maternal health, and the relationship between mental-health challenges and legal problems. Her expertise has been featured on Memphis television, radio, podcasts, conferences, church programs, and community forums.
Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson also serves beyond the classroom and clinic. She is a board member of WILLOW Memphis and parliamentarian for the Shelby County Mental Health Court Foundation. She is president-elect of the Midsouth Association of Nursing Professional Development and president-elect of the Tennessee Nurses Association. Her history of leadership also includes service with the YWCA of Greater Memphis and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Her contributions have received significant recognition. In 2022, she was honored through a Tennessee General Assembly resolution as a Fourth Annual Living Legend Awards honoree. She also received the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Memphis Chapter’s President’s Award in Education and WILLOW Memphis’ Trailblazer in Healthcare Award.
Dr.Keevia Porter-Carson’s career demonstrates what healthcare leadership looks like when knowledge is joined with compassion and service. Whether caring for a patient, mentoring a student, shaping nursing education, supporting mental-health court initiatives, or speaking openly about emotional wellness, she continues to make healthcare more informed, accessible, and responsive.
Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson co-founded Minding Your Mental Health, a psychiatric mental health practice serving patients throughout Shelby County, alongside her husband, Bryan Carson, Courtroom Coordinator for Mental Health Court. Her commitment to expanding access to healthcare also includes her work with ZYN Healthcare Services, where she certifies eligible individuals who qualify for medicinal marijuana treatment in accordance with applicable requirements. In addition to her healthcare leadership, Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson serves as Interim President of WILLOW, further demonstrating her commitment to advocacy, leadership, and community service. Through her work across mental health, healthcare services, and community-based initiatives, Dr. Keevia Porter-Carson continues to focus on connecting individuals and families with resources designed to improve their overall well-being.
Her legacy is still being written, but its central message is already clear: improving health requires more than treating illness. It requires educating people, strengthening systems, confronting disparities, and meeting communities where they are.
