On December 10, the College of Health and Human Services will host the 2020 Health and Human Services Hero Awards to recognize individuals who are making a bold difference right here in the Central Valley. We will highlight the nine honorees in our Heroes Blog Series.

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Name: Jeanne Frye Prandini

Occupation:  Director of Nursing Services, Clovis Unified School District

Nominated by: School of Nursing and the Central California Center for Excellence in Nursing

From a young age, Jeanne Frye Prandini loved children and dreamed of becoming a kindergarten teacher. Then, after a suggestion from her physician father, she turned her sights toward a career as a pediatric nurse practitioner and never looked back. Forty years later, as the director of Nursing Services for Clovis Unified School District, she has positively impacted countless children’s lives.

A voracious learner, Prandini earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fresno State’s School of Nursing, and later returned to teach as a professor in the nursing graduate program.

As a registered nurse with the Fresno County Migrant Health Services, Prandini traveled to rural areas where many children from migrant and indigenous families had never seen a doctor. She worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Valley Medical Center, working with medical residents and writing training modules for pediatric medicine.

Later, as a school nurse for Clovis Unified, Prandini took great pride in creating a safe space for the students she served. Now, as director, she coordinates over 100 staff, a number that increases each year as she continues to advocate for credentialed school nurses and licensed vocational nurses to provide immunizations, preventative care, mental health care and specialized one-on-one care to students that otherwise would not be able to attend school.

Prandini has accomplished much in her career, but what has mattered most to her is that she was able to make a difference in children’s lives. 

“Knowing that I’ve been a part of people’s life journeys, educating, supporting, enlightening, so that they knew someone cared for them – that’s what is most satisfying to me,” Prandini said.

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Prandini continues to stay connected to the Fresno State campus that she loves, attending plays, supporting the track-and-field program, and mentoring Fresno State nursing students; and to this day, she proudly displays her Fresno State nursing cap in her office – the sign of a true Bulldog for life. 

The 2020 Health and Human Services Hero Awards, which celebrates heroes from each of the seven departments, as well as centers and institutes within our college, will be held virtually this year. The Health and Human Services Hero Awards are free and open to the public to attend virtually. To register, visit bit.ly/CHHS-Heroes2020. For more information on the event, contact Beth Wilkinson at bwilkinson@csufresno.edu.