“I have a real passion for working with underserved communities and making sure mental health care is accessible to all.”
Zoë Evans-Agnew received a Lois Price Spratlen Foundation Scholarship for the 2023–24 school year and joined the AAPPN Legislative Committee in January 2024.
She graduated from the Seattle University DNP program in June 2025. After graduation, she attended a four-week Spanish immersion course in Mexico and then traveled to South America (Peru and Argentina) to further enhance her cultural and language learning.
This October, she plans to start the PMHNP residency program at Sea Mar Community Health Centers, which serves underserved populations, especially the Latino community.
For three years during her DNP program, Zoë worked part-time at Swedish Medical Center in their behavioral health unit providing holistic, recovery-oriented care. She developed a passion for working with clients experiencing psychotic spectrum disorders.
This experience inspired her to pursue the residency program at Sea Mar Community Health Center to help clients stay out of the hospital and live meaningful lives.
She has been an honors student throughout her college years and has received numerous honors and awards, including:
- Joanne McFadden Student Excellence Award, issued by Seattle University in June 2025
- Alpha Sigma Nu Inductee, Seattle University in May 2025
- Lois Price Spratlen Foundation Scholarship, issued in October 2023
- Honors Program Outstanding Graduate, issued by Western Washington University in June 2021.
We asked Zoë to share her nursing journey.
What inspired you to become a PMHNP?
I was inspired to become a PMHNP based on personal family experiences with mental illness and witnessing the ways mental health affects family systems. I come from a long line of nurses, my great-grandmother, grandmother, and father are all nurses, and I knew I wanted to carry on this legacy of serving my community.
I feel there is an urgent need in our communities for mental health care, and I feel called to provide evidence-based, high-quality care to those who need it most. I volunteered for a while with the Crisis Text Line and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and through these experiences, I developed a strong desire to pursue a graduate degree in psychiatric nursing.
Tell us about your journey to becoming a PMHNP.
My journey to becoming a PMHNP has been somewhat nontraditional.
I received my first degree in behavioral neuroscience, where I developed a love for brain science and research — but I knew I wanted to translate that knowledge into improving human health.
I then worked as a nursing assistant at a nursing home during COVID-19, where I witnessed immense mental suffering as older adults were separated from their families for months on end. That experience inspired me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing, followed by a doctoral degree in mental health nursing.
During my doctoral studies, I became especially passionate about mental health care in underserved communities, and received scholarships related to that focus.
I also participated in a two-year HRSA scholar program that prepared me to work in under-resourced settings. That experience ultimately led me to apply for the residency at Sea Mar, a federally qualified health center.
Do you have any hobbies to help you relax?
My hobbies include reading books — both fiction and nonfiction — trying new restaurants with friends, traveling to new places, going on long walks in my neighborhood while listening to podcasts, and trying to watch all the films nominated for Best Picture by the Academy Awards!
Do you have any words to live by?
The words I live by seem to change almost yearly (!), but lately, I’ve been listening to a podcast on Buddhist philosophy called The Way Out Is In.
The phrase is often attributed to Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist. I like this saying because it reminds me that solutions to external problems often arise from within.
I think this applies well to mental health — when we examine our inner world and practice mindfulness, self-awareness, and introspection, we are better able to resolve challenges and gain understanding.