I have been fortunate to be part of the Pacific University family since 2008, when I joined the College of Health Professions to start the Master of Healthcare Administration program. Since that time, I’ve worked with a variety of faculty across the college and university to teach, and develop grants and new programs including some with an inter-professional focus. The College of Health Professions is at the forefront of inter-professional education in the healthcare field, and working in collaboration with the faculty of Pacific’s College of Education, our faculty along with all of you will be developing an innovative inter-professional scholar’s community through the PhDEL program.

My academic and professional background is in health policy. I have worked in state government in Alaska and Oregon serving the Alaska Medicaid program, and the Alaska Division of Environmental Health, and Oregon OSHA. I also have managed programs at rural hospitals in Oregon and Colorado, and managed several rural clinics in Colorado. My experiences in rural health also extend to Alaska, Montana, and Tennessee, where I’ve designed training programs for public health officers serving rural communities, developed programs to increase access to primary care, and received funding to provide youth substance abuse prevention services, youth suicide prevention services for American Indians, and youth obesity prevention services to underserved communities. I’ve been teaching in healthcare management programs since 1993, serving as faculty at four academic institutions, including an historically African-American medical school in Nashville, Tennessee, and at Cornell University and Montana State University in addition to my recent work with Pacific University. My current research interests focus on environmental health policy and corporate social responsibility.

I am excited to become acquainted with each of you, and hope you will enjoy your time at Pacific University as you learn and grow with us while we explore a “radically inclusive” approach to inter-professional education and learning.