SON Community Advisory Board
The Advisory Board serves as a community resource and advocate for the UAA School of Nursing.
Responsibilities
- Attend scheduled meetings to hear updates and provide strategic guidance to the Director.
- Represent and promote UAA Nursing in the Alaska community.
- Identify and assist with community partnerships.
Commitment
- Be knowledgeable about the program.
- Attend meetings and participate in special assignments.
- Donate at a level that is personally meaningful.
- Participate in other activities:
- Represent the School of Nursing at community events.
- Host or co-host functions to promote nursing.
- Recruit students, faculty, and other Board members.
- Attend events that honor graduates and alumni.
- Work with UAA Alumni Association to engage Nursing alumni.
Members
- Loren Leman, Chairman
Loren Leman
Owner, Loren Leman, P.E.
Loren Leman has provided consulting engineering services in Alaska for more than four decades, primarily with water, wastewater and environmental projects. He also served for 18 years as Lieutenant Governor, Senator and Representative and is the first person of Alaska Native heritage to be elected to a statewide office in Alaska. As a legislator he promoted the doubling of capacity at the School of Nursing. Loren was raised in Ninilchik where he operates a salmon fishing site with his family in the summer. He has a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University, an M.S. in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, and studied Arctic Engineering at UAA. Loren and his wife Carolyn raised three children, one a School of Nursing graduate from UAA, and are enjoying seven energetic and inquisitive grandchildren.
- Nathan Dahl
Nathan DahlExecutive Director, Maple Springs
- Cathy GiesselCathy Giessel
Advanced Practice Nurse and Past President of the Alaska Senate
- Jyll Green
Jyll Green, DNP, FNP
myHealth Clinic
Dr. Jyll Green has been a family nurse practitioner for 14 years. She is a 2004 graduate of UAA’s M.S.N. Family Nurse Practitioner program. In 2007, she founded myHealth Clinic, a family practice and immediate care facility, in Anchorage, Alaska that serves over 14,000 patients. She was voted Alaska Nurse Practitioner of the Year in 2012. In 2016, she received her Doctorate degree in Nursing Practice at UAA with a special project focus on using Extended Release Injectable Naltrexone to Reduce Recidivism in the State of Alaska.
Jyll enjoys mentoring nursing students and has been a preceptor for many UAA nurse practitioner students over the years. In her spare time, she enjoys training for triathlons, skiing in Girdwood, and sailing the chilly waters of Resurrection Bay with her husband Matt and her two children Anna and Kai.
- Vicki Halcro
Vicki HalcroMarketing Manager, Alaska Providence Health & Services
- Deb Hansen
Deb Hansen, RN, MS, NE-BC, CPHQ
Chief Nurse Executive, Providence Alaska Medical Center
Deb Hansen spent the majority of her bedside nursing career working in neonatal intensive care units in numerous states, moving into leadership positions in 1991. After serving as the Director of Maternal Child Health for 7 years, she decided to move in a different direction and, in 2008, took on the role of director of performance improvement and accreditation. Two years later she transitioned into the role of Chief Nurse Executive for Providence Alaska Medical Center. Her background has helped her navigate this challenging role and every changing landscape of healthcare.
Deb received her BSN from Duke University, her Master of Science, Nursing Science-Health Care Administration from UAA, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice-Executive Leadership from American Sentinel University. She holds two professional certifications and is a member of a variety of healthcare organizations that help her stay abreast of the ever changing and expanding world of healthcare.
Deb has lived in Anchorage since 1988 and feels fortunate to be surrounded by family, friends, and a fabulous community.
- Rona JohnsonRona Johnson
Chief Nursing Officer, South Central Foundation
- Sarah MartinSarah Martin, RN
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital
- Rebekah Morisse
Rebekah Morisse, MPH, RN, BSN
Section Chief of Women’s, Children’s & Family Health, Alaska Division of Public Health
Rebekah Morisse currently serves as the state’s Maternal Child Health and Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Directors. Rebekah started in this role in July 2017. Prior to that, she served as a Perinatal Nurse Consultant and Unit Manager for Perinatal & Early Childhood programs in the Section. Rebekah also serves as the Project Director for the State’s Maternal, Infant & Early Childhood Home Visiting program. She previously managed the Reproductive Health Clinic for the Municipality of Anchorage and worked as a public health nurse in Wisconsin. After completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Edgewood College in Madison, WI, Rebekah worked as a staff nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center.
- Susan MurphySusan Murphy
Board President, Lower Kuskokwim School District
- Elizabeth PaxtonElizabeth Paxton
Chief Nursing Officer, Providence Health System Alaska
- Stephanie Wrightsman-BirchStephanie Wrightsman-Birch
Section Chief, Division of Public Health