Uncrowned Community Builders

Bettye Jo Beatty-Wilson was born in Longview, Texas and reared in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Following her 1955 Douglass High School graduation, she entered the University of Oklahoma and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Education. She was board certified in Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (Advanced Practice Nurse), Nursing Administration, and Addictions Nursing.

She is the mother of three sons: Leorman, Jr., V. Sheridan and Derek Wilson. She is the grandmother of five: Victor, Kitaba, Akilah, Umi and Anaya-Amara.

Always active in the community of her residence, Bettye Jo Beatty-Wilson (a.k.a. B.J.) was one of the founders of the Black Liberated Arts Center, Inc. (BLAC, Inc.) in Oklahoma City, 1971. She subsequently served as a member of the drama session, secretary, board of directors, and vice president. She is a member of the International Nurses Society on Addictions and past board member and secretary of the organization; Editorial Board, Journal of Addictions Nursing; Africans and African Descendants International Health Organization; Board of Directors of Legacy Pageants, Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia); First Afrikan Church Youth Development Ministry Council; and is coordinator of He shima Girls Rites of Passage Empowerment Program (Lithonia, Georgia).

Mrs. Beatty-Wilson's early ''the first" included: Mental Health Director at Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center, (Oklahoma City); Coordinator, Psychiatric Nursing, St. Anthony Hospital School of Nursing, (Oklahoma City); in-service Education Director and first African American Nursing Supervisor, Coyne Campbell Hospital (Oklahoma City).

B. J. has held clinical, administrative, consultant and teaching positions in a variety of settings, including private practice. She is retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)-1998, and the U. S. Army Reserve-2002, having achieved the rank of
Colonel(1991). In 1998, after her retirement from the DVA in Atlanta, she relocated temporarily to Oklahoma City to share her expertise and make a difference in her beloved community. She served as Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center's Family Case Manager, established and maintained the Langston University HIV Counseling, Testing and Referral Center and served as counselor in the Professional Counseling Center on the Langston University Main Campus. Other programs she implemented were Women's (Substance Abuse) Recovery Enhancing Group (California and Oklahoma), Evening Substance Abuse Treatment Program and a Family Education Program (VA Medical Center-Atlanta). Research activities include Opinions about mental illness-teaching for the affective domain; Effects of drugs and drug trafficking on the health and mental health of Black children and families in Oakland (research assistant); Effects of patient education of knowledge acquisition and risk reduction behavior in a drug treatment program; Auricular acupuncture: an adjunct treatment for cocaine addiction; and Knowledge and beliefs about HIV / AIDS among the minority population. She has made numerous presentations and is principal author of a book chapter: Interdisciplinary Collegiality.

Honors and Awards
HIV Prevention Leadership Certificate of Achievement, 2003; Woman of Distinction Award for Outstanding Professional Community and Personal Achievement, 2003; 9th Annual Oklahoma City Metropolitan Alliance of Black School Educators' Conference Presenter Award, 2002; Award in Appreciation of Commitment, Dedication and Service as Secretary, 1997-2001, International Nurses Society of Addiction, 2001; Outstanding Perfonnance as a Nurse Manager, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (1988 through 1997); 25 years of Dedicated and Devoted Service and Commitment to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1998; EEO and Cultural Diversity Award, Manager Category, 1997; Joint Committee on the Study of Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse, Governor of Georgia, 1997; Outstanding Contributions to Administration and Management in Addictions Nursing, National Nurses Society on Addictions, 1997; FourÃ?­year Academic Nursing Scholarship, Gaylord Philanthropies, 1955.

Militarv Decorations
The Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal (6); Army Achievement Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Kuwait Liberation of Government M Designator; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Unit Superior Medal and Unit Commendation Medal.