A Foundation for the Future of Healthcare

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Russell Family Health Learning Foundation · Est. 2026

The Foundation Students Deserve.

Real mentorship. Real experience. See what it’s truly like to be a nursing student.

See What We Do
Open
Accepting Mentees
Live
3
Core Programs
100%
Revenue to Mission
2026
Founded
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Why This Work Matters

The Numbers Don't Lie

0
Projected Nursing Shortage
By 2030, leaving a massive gap in patient care nationwide.
0
Drop-out Risk
Pre-med students who lack adequate mentorship are highly likely to change paths.
0
Nursing Student Debt
Average undergraduate nursing debt, creating a severe barrier to entry.
0
Podiatry School Debt
DPM students graduate with crushing debt, making mentorship and support critical from day one.
OUR MISSION

We show students what healthcare actually feels like.

The Russell Family Health Learning Foundation connects aspiring nurses, podiatric medicine students, and pre-med students with real professionals who walk them through the experience. Not just the application, but the first clinical, the long shifts, the rewarding moments that make it all worth it.

We built the foundation we wished we had. Healthcare needs passionate people, but the path is confusing and expensive. We are here to remove the friction.
The Founders
The Founders
RFHLF
2026 Founded & mission-driven
2 Tracks ready: Nursing & Podiatry
Mentorship for every student

Our nurse mentors take you behind the curtain. They share what clinicals are like, how to handle the emotional weight, what professors want, and how to survive and thrive in your first year. No guesswork, just lived experience from people who have done it.

Matched with licensed podiatric physicians, you'll shadow real patient care, understand what rotations feel like, and learn the rhythms of a DPM program before you ever apply. Real clarity, not just a brochure.

Mentorship focused on building a smart, structured MCAT study strategy and mapping out your medical school applications without the overwhelm. We help you understand the timeline, the requirements, and how to present yourself at your best.

We provide direct tuition assistance, emergency grants, and merit-based scholarships to students who demonstrate need and dedication. Our goal is to remove financial barriers entirely so background never determines trajectory.

Now
Accepting Students
Be our very first
0
Mentorship Tracks
Nursing & Podiatry
Soon
First Scholarships
In active planning
0
Net to the Mission
After fees, fully disclosed

Our Programs

Three pillars, one mission: get every aspiring healthcare student the guidance and support they deserve.

01

Experiential Mentorship

Matched with real nurses, podiatrists, and physicians who walk you through what their day actually looks like: clinicals, patient care, and all.

Shadowing 1-on-1 Real Stories
02

Mentorship Network

One-on-one connections with licensed healthcare professionals across nursing, podiatric medicine, and allied health fields who guide you through the experience.

1-on-1 Group Online
03

Scholarship Fund

Tuition assistance, grants, and financial support programs for low-income and underserved students pursuing healthcare careers.

Grants Tuition Aid Relief
Coming Soon

Simple by Design

How it works

From "I'm not sure where to start" to "I've got a real mentor" in four steps.

1

Choose your path

Pick Nursing or Podiatry - the track that matches the future you're chasing.

2

Book or apply free

Reserve a session for $99, or apply for free mentorship if cost is a barrier. Both welcome.

3

Meet your mentor

Connect 1-on-1 over Zoom or phone with a real practitioner who has walked your path.

4

Step in with confidence

Walk away with honest answers, a real plan, and the clarity to take your next step.

1-on-1 Sessions · Limited Launch Price

Mentorship from the Field

Real guidance from real practitioners, available via Zoom or phone, at your pace.

Nursing

What it's really like to be a nurse

Nursing is one of the most fulfilling careers in healthcare and one of the most misunderstood from the outside. In our sessions, we talk through what nursing school is really like: the coursework, the clinical hours, the culture, and what it takes to get in and stay in.

We also share what daily life as a BSN-prepared nurse actually looks like: the pace, the relationships, the hard days, and the deeply rewarding ones. Everything here is based on real BSN experience, not theory.

  • What nursing school is actually like (BSN)
  • How to get started & what programs look for
  • Day-to-day life as a working nurse
  • Honest tips from real BSN experience
Bonus · Coming Soon

Free entrance-exam practice prep in the works for nursing students - NCLEX & TEAS practice, on us.

Launch price · Save 50%
$99
per session · Zoom or Phone
1Pick a date 2Pick a time 3Your details
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
No date selected
How would you like to meet?
Can't afford it?

Our mission: Healthcare mentorship for ALL students, regardless of income, race, or background.

Podiatry

Inside podiatric school and practice

Podiatric medicine is a highly specialized field that blends surgical training, diagnostics, and patient care. We cover what podiatric school is really like: the curriculum, clinical rotations, board exams, and residency applications, straight from someone who's been through it.

Whether you're still deciding on podiatry or already applying, we'll talk through what day-to-day practice looks like, how to make your application stand out, and what the transition from student to podiatrist actually feels like.

  • What podiatric school is really like
  • APMCAS application tips & strategies
  • Day-to-day life as a podiatrist
  • Residency prep & career planning
Launch price · Save 75%
$99
per session · Zoom or Phone
1Pick a date 2Pick a time 3Your details
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
No date selected
How would you like to meet?
Can't afford it?

Our mission: Healthcare mentorship for ALL students, regardless of income, race, or background.

Session Requested!

Find Your Path

Three quick taps and we'll point you to the right first step, in about twenty seconds.

Where are you right now?

Which path calls you?

What worries you most?

Before & After

Drag the handle to see what changes when a student finally has someone in their corner.

With a Mentor

Confident & on a clear path

  • Knows exactly what the next step is
  • A real plan for school, exams & clinicals
  • Honest answers from someone who's done it
  • Walks in believing they belong
On Their Own

Uncertain & overwhelmed

  • Guessing at every decision
  • No idea what clinicals are really like
  • Drowning in conflicting online advice
  • Wondering if they're even good enough

The Family Behind the Foundation

Meet the Founders

Two healthcare professionals. Two disciplines. One mission.

Nursing founder of RFHLF
Founder & CEO
UNLV LA Valley College NSLS Member Summa Cum Laude
Contributing Oncology Researcher
Nursing Track

Mark Russell

BSN

Founder & Chief Executive Officer Russell Family Health Learning Foundation

President’s Distinguished Honor Award Dean’s Honor List
We built the mentorship we both wished we’d had. One for nursing, one for podiatry, one mission. Mark Russell, BSN

The Russell Family Health Learning Foundation began as a family promise. As my sister trained to become a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, we kept seeing the same quiet crisis: brilliant, determined students reaching the hardest years of their training with no one to guide them. We set out to become the mentors we wish we’d had.

My path runs through both the classroom and the bedside. I earned my BSN at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, after completing my biology studies at Los Angeles Valley College with a 4.0 GPA and the President’s Distinguished Honor Award. Since then, I have logged more than 1,000 hours of clinical training, anchored by a preceptorship on UMC’s Acute Med-Psych and Behavioral Health Unit. What I carry from all of it is simple: I know what it takes to keep going when the path feels impossible, and how much a single mentor can change.

That conviction is personal. Inspired by a family member’s cancer journey, I am contributing to a prospective oncology case report I hope to publish, and the discipline I learned as a championship athlete still shapes how I lead: showing up, doing the work, and lifting the people around me. At RFHLF, our mission is the one I would give any student. You should never have to walk into healthcare alone.

Congressional Recognition
Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition · U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen
Honors & Education
BSN, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) A.S. Biology, LA Valley College · 4.0 GPA Preceptorship, Acute Med-Psych & Behavioral Health, UMC
Certifications & Training
Certified EKG Technician (NHA) Stop the Bleed Stanford Medicine: Food & Health Harvard: Mechanical Ventilation 70 hrs Virtual Shadowing Community Health, NPHY (90 hrs)

Current Research Contributing to a prospective oncology case report in advanced ovarian cancer care, inspired by a family member’s journey (in progress).

1,000+Clinical Hours
4.0Academic GPA
Personal Project

RussBot OS

Beta + Development

Medical Imaging & Radiology-Assist Platform

Solo-built, offline-first operating system that reads DICOM CT, MRI, and ultrasound studies. Automatically labels anatomy, segments and measures lesions, estimates disease burden, and tracks tumor response over time. Designed to assist interpretation and research, never to replace a radiologist.

RussBot Medical Imaging workspace
Abdominal CT with organ segmentation
Upper abdomen CT with liver segmentation
Pelvic CT with skeletal segmentation
Multi-model deep-learning pipeline: lung-nodule detection (mAP 0.85), whole-body segmentation (~117 CT / 50 MRI structures), custom-trained ovarian segmenter (Dice 0.87), promptable lesion measurement
Longitudinal RECIST 1.1 tumor-response scoring fused with CA-125 lab trends for cross-timepoint treatment monitoring
Hybrid local/cloud GPU pipeline with VRAM-aware z-slab tiling; auto-segmented a 39-study library with zero per-case tuning
Interactive clickable-anatomy atlas, disease-burden heatmaps, and multi-LLM clinical chat with vector-memory retrieval
Python FastAPI PyTorch MONAI TotalSegmentator MedSAM2 Electron PostgreSQL Qdrant
Research & education tool: assists, never diagnoses
Fully offline: patient data never leaves the machine
English Persian Turkish

What we believe

No student should walk into healthcare alone.

Guidance, not gatekeeping - for every future nurse, podiatrist, and healer, regardless of income or background.

The Journey

From a family promise to a foundation built for every future healthcare professional.

Current status: Incorporated nonprofit · 501(c)(3) application pending IRS review
2022

Two Paths Begin

One of us started nursing school and the other started medical school. Walking those paths, we kept seeing the same gap: capable students with no one to guide them. The idea for a foundation took root.

Early 2026

The Foundation Is Born

Russell Family Health Learning Foundation is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in Wyoming, with a 501(c)(3) application filed and a single mission: no student walks into healthcare alone.

2026

Mentorship Launches

Two 1-on-1 tracks open, Nursing and Podiatry, connecting students directly with practitioners who have walked the path before them.

Now

Our Doors Are Open

We are brand new and ready for our very first students. No mentees yet, which means the next person we guide could be you. Every story starts here.

Next

The Scholarship Fund

Need-based scholarships and emergency grants that remove the financial barrier entirely, so background never decides who becomes a healer.

Coming Soon
On the Horizon

Our Next Milestones

  • 501(c)(3) tax-exempt approval from the IRS
  • Welcoming our first cohort of students
  • First scholarships awarded
  • Personal Statement Review program
In Progress
What's New

A Sharper Foundation

Everything we have been building to help you succeed — tools, resources, and features, all in one place.

Launching Soon

The Scholarship Fund

We are building a scholarship fund for nursing, podiatry, and health-profession students who need financial support. Every gift today helps us open it sooner.

Need-Based Grants Merit Awards Emergency Tuition Aid
Planned
Building the fund
Applications open
Help launch it sooner

Who You're Helping

The students behind every gift

We just launched, so these are the students your support reaches first. As real journeys unfold, their stories will live here.

A future nurse Future Nurse

First-generation students

The first in their family to pursue healthcare, navigating applications and clinicals with no one at home who has been there. A mentor changes everything.

A future podiatrist Future Podiatrist

Career changers

Adults leaving another field to answer a calling in medicine, often balancing work and family. Honest guidance helps them commit with confidence.

A student who needs financial support Free Mentorship

Students who can't pay

Talented, driven, and held back only by cost. Our free mentorship exists so income never decides who gets to dream in healthcare.

Every face here could be your first scholarship recipient. Be the one who makes it real.

Support a Student

Voices from the Founders

Why we built the mentorship platform we wished we had.

Where Your Dollar Goes

We are volunteer-led with zero paid staff. Every net dollar you give is invested straight back into students. Here is exactly how.

100% TO STUDENTS
  • 1-on-1 Mentorship & SessionsDirect guidance from real practitioners 60%
  • Scholarships & Student GrantsTuition aid & emergency relief 25%
  • Educational Programs & MaterialsWorkshops, resources & tools 15%
$0 Paid staff salaries
100% Volunteer & founder-led
Net Proceeds to students

The only deduction today is the standard card-processing fee (~3%), which you can choose to cover at checkout. Every remaining dollar goes directly toward student mentorship and programs.

How we operate, honestly. RFHLF is built and run full-time by two healthcare professionals who fund most operating costs out of their own pockets. This is a passion project born from lived experience, not a corporate initiative. As the foundation grows and serves more students, the team will draw fair, transparent compensation, the way any sustainable nonprofit operates. Operational costs such as technology, platform tools, and staffing will always be openly disclosed. We will publish exactly where your money goes, every time.

Recognized & Trained By

Congressional Recognition UNLV Temple University U.S. Air Force Cedars-Sinai NSLS

Support the Foundation

Every dollar
fires a synapse.

Your gift connects aspiring healthcare students with the mentors and resources they need, before they ever step into a hospital.

$0
Raised toward goal
0
Founding donors
0% of $10,000 goal

First milestone: the first $1,000 funds a student's full semester.

Be the drop that starts the rise.

  • $25: one student gets study resources
  • $100: one mentorship session funded
  • $500: a full workshop covered
  • $1,000: a student's semester supported
Net proceeds from every donation fund our programs directly. A small payment-processing fee (charged by Stripe) and minimal platform costs are deducted before funds reach students. Full breakdown in our Donation Policy.
Founding Donor Circle

Make your gift

Choose an amount. Your name joins our Supporters Wall.

$

Your gift supports students with resources, mentorship, and guidance.

Tax-deductible where applicable · Instant email receipt · Stripe fees

or give in one tap
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501(c)(3) pending · 100% of net proceeds to mission

Incorporated Nonprofit501(c)(3) pending IRS review
Secure CheckoutEncrypted payments by Stripe
No Data Ever SoldWe never share your info
Founder-LedRun by working clinicians
Where your gift goes Full transparency
100% Your gift
~2.9% Card processing fee(or covered by you)
The rest Student mentorship & programs

After our 501(c)(3) determination we'll publish our IRS letter and annual Form 990. Read our transparency statement →

OUR COMMUNITY

Founding Supporters

Be the first Founding Supporter!

See Your Impact

Move the slider. Change a life.

Every gift turns directly into guidance for a future healthcare professional.

$100
$10$1,000
1 Mentorship sessions
4 Students get resources
10% Toward a semester

Fully funds one 1-on-1 mentorship session for a student in need.

100% mission-driven. You can cover the processing fee at checkout.

More Than Money

Get involved

A mentorship movement is built by people. Here's how you can help one student - or hundreds.

Coming Soon

Become a Mentor

Are you a nurse, podiatrist, or health professional? Give an hour. Share what you wish someone had told you. We'll handle the rest.

Join the waitlist
Coming Soon

Volunteer

Our volunteer program launches soon. Join the waitlist and we’ll reach out the moment we open spots to help run programs, events, and outreach.

Join the waitlist

Partner or Sponsor

Hospitals, schools, and companies: sponsor a student cohort or co-create programs. Let's build the pipeline together.

Collaborate

Partner With Us

Hospitals, schools, clinics, and companies: join us in building the healthcare workforce of tomorrow. Whether you sponsor a student cohort, offer clinical placements, or co-create programs, your partnership creates real, lasting impact.

Founding Sponsor

Fund an entire student cohort for a year. Your logo becomes part of our story and every scholarship recipient knows who made it possible.

  • Named cohort sponsorship
  • Logo on website + all materials
  • Quarterly impact reports
  • Early access to student talent pipeline

Academic Partner

Schools, universities, and community colleges: co-create curriculum, offer resources, or recognize our scholars. Bridge the gap between the classroom and clinical reality.

  • Curriculum collaboration
  • Student recognition programs
  • Joint event opportunities
  • Shared mission visibility

Not sure which fits? Send us a message and we’ll find the right fit together.

Questions, Answered

Everything you need
to know

Transparent answers about our mission, mentorship, pricing, and where every dollar goes.

RFHLF is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in Wyoming. Our 501(c)(3) application (IRS Form 1023) is pending review. Donations made during this period may be tax-deductible subject to final IRS determination. Once approved, we will publish our determination letter and annual Form 990. Please consult your tax advisor for guidance specific to your situation.

Pick a track (Nursing or Podiatry), choose a date and time on our calendar, and meet 1-on-1 with a real practitioner over Zoom or phone. Sessions are 100% virtual. You get honest answers about school, applications, clinical rotations, and daily life in the field from someone who has been through it.

During our launch, all sessions are $99 (normally $199 for nursing, $400 for podiatry). If cost is a barrier, you can apply for free mentorship through our application. Our mission is guidance for every student, regardless of financial situation.

Yes. Our mentorship covers study strategies, application timelines, personal statement reviews, interview preparation, and honest advice about what medical school demands. Free mentorship is available if cost is a concern.

Cancellations made at least 24 hours in advance are eligible for a full refund. Late cancellations and no-shows are non-refundable. We require a minimum of 12 hours advance notice when booking to ensure our mentors can prepare for your session.

Yes. RFHLF is officially incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Wyoming and is in good standing with the Wyoming Secretary of State. Our federal 501(c)(3) tax-exemption application is pending with the IRS. You can read our full transparency statement anytime.

Working healthcare professionals who have been through the schools, exams, and careers you are considering. Including a BSN-prepared nurse and a practicing podiatrist (DPM). Real experience, not theory. Every mentor volunteers their time because they believe no student should walk into healthcare alone.

Yes, 100% virtual. RFHLF is a fully online organization. All mentorship sessions take place over Zoom or phone, so you can connect from anywhere in the country. No travel, no commute, just real guidance on your schedule.

After the standard card-processing fee (~3%, which you can choose to cover), every dollar goes directly toward student mentorship and programs. The founders currently fund most operating costs out of pocket. As the foundation grows, fair team compensation and operational expenses will be openly disclosed, the way any sustainable nonprofit operates. You can read our full donation policy anytime.

Podiatric medicine (DPM) is a 4-year doctoral program with clinical rotations and surgical residency, averaging $200k+ in student debt. Nursing (BSN) is typically a 4-year undergraduate degree leading to licensure. Both paths are demanding, and our mentors have lived through each one. We help you find the right track based on your goals.

Click "Apply for Free Mentorship" in the mentorship section. Tell us about yourself, your goals, and why mentorship matters to you. Our team reviews every application within 48 hours and emails you to match you with a mentor at no cost.

We are open to collaborations with hospitals, universities, student organizations, and healthcare groups that share our mission. If you represent an institution interested in bringing mentorship access to your students or employees, reach out through our Get in Touch form or email us at support@rfhlf.org.

Still have a question?

We respond to every email within 24 hours.

Email us directly
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