Current Student Profiles

Siobhan Abraham

My name is Siobhan, you say it "Chevon." It reflects my Irish roots, as I was born in Belfast Northern Ireland and came here with my family at the impressionable age of 12. Even though our countries share a common language it was still a difficult adjustment, so I'm full of respect for the people that come to this country as immigrants.

I received my ADN in Frederick Maryland and then my BSN at Texas Women's University in Dallas. For the last ten years I've worked a variety of hospital specialties (pediatrics, obstetrics, and now the emergency room). Being a nurse gives me a great sense of satisfaction and I appreciate being part of such a well respected profession. For several years I worked travel contracts and travelled all over the US. In between contracts I'd try to travel overseas, and still have a bad case of the travel bug (in remission at the moment).  Eventually I got tired of moving all the time, and found myself applying for graduate school. I came up here to the Pacific Northwest, and am here to stay (at least until graduation). So far, I love it here (just don't ask me in January).

My interests range from health care disparities and health care policy to infectious diseases and global health. Ideally this degree will prepare me to work in global health, and I would love to work overseas.

Kelli Barber

Hi, my name is Kelli and I was born in Nashville, Tennessee. I obtained a B.S. in Biology: ecology from the University of Tennessee, and then spent five years traveling back and forth to Glacier National Park where I worked as a park ranger and boat captain during the summers.  I then decided to pursue a nursing career and obtained my education at the University of San Diego in 2004.  I worked for three years in San Diego on a med/surg/oncology unit.  While working as a floor nurse, I became concerned about the wastes being generated in the hospital setting and their effects on the environment & public health.  After some soul-searching, I decided to continue my education in the OEHN program here at the UW.  I look forward to my first year learning about the profession of occupational & environmental health nursing, and getting involved with advocacy and environmental justice issues.  Since moving to Seattle just over a year ago, I’ve worked as an endoscopy & ambulatory procedure nurse.  I live with my boyfriend, who is also in grad school full-time, our young Basset/Lab mix, and two cats. My interests include hiking, gardening, writing, photography, and traveling.  My top five favorite places are Kauai, Sedona, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and last but not least, northwestern Montana. 

Leslie Baumgartner

A little bit about me…I grew up in rural Montana and moved to the Seattle area in 1988.  Nursing is my second career.  I’ve worked as a Unit Secretary, Nurses Aide, LPN, AD RN, BSN, and am now in the first quarter of the Master’s program in Community Health Nursing.  Most of my nursing career has been spent working in Diabetes Education and chronic illness care, both individual and population-based.  Currently, I’m the Program Coordinator/Supervisor of the Diabetes & Nutrition Program at Providence Everett Medical Center.  I’m working part-time and going to school part-time.  In my free time (hopefully there will still be some!), I enjoy hiking, gardening, reading, and music.

Rebecca Cavanaugh

I have been a nurse for almost 20 years. I have practiced in many specialty areas including ER, ICU, community mental health, hospice and home health and for the past nine years as a school nurse in a high school. When I started the BSN program at UW Bothell, I was discouraged about my future in nursing. Through that program I learned about the many areas of community health nursing and have enjoyed working with adolescents in my current position since completing the program. My school nurse experiences and networking with other school nurses around the state has lead to my interest in policy and program development of health promotion for children in school.

Bria Chakofsky-Lewy

I’m a Jewish baby boomer born in Brooklyn, New York at the end of 1947.  The time of my arrival positioned me well to experience the civil rights movement, the anti (Vietnam) war movement, the women’s movement and to become very interested in improving the health care system in this country.  I graduated from the Shoreline Community College nursing program in 1976.  I worked, and loved, inpatient adult and pediatric rehab for seven years before heading out of the hospital.  My big break came when in 1987, armed with great passion and no managerial experience, I was hired to manage the International District Community Health Center in Chinatown.  Immigrants and refugees have been the focus of my career since then.  I’ve been at Harborview since 1993 where I supervise the Community House Calls program.  I am pleased to represent my union, SEIU NW 1199, on the hospital’s Health and Safety Committee.

Allison Crollard

After growing up in Wenatchee, WA, I headed down to Oregon to get my BA from Willamette University.  There, I studied anthropology and Spanish and became interested in cross cultural health, underserved populations, and health disparities.  This led to my decision to get into community health and occupational health nursing through the MEPN program here in Seattle.  When I’m not in school, I can be found cooking, baking, knitting, or otherwise absorbed in something crafty or creative.

Karen Dee

Hello, my name is Karen Dee. I’m from Oak Lawn, IL, a southwest suburb of Chicago, and I have lived in IL all my life. I’m already in love with the topographical diversity here in WA! I have been interested in community health since nursing school at University of Illinois, but started out as a bedside nurse on a med/tele nurse due to the advice of those around me. As it turned out, I loved it, and it inadvertently gave me insight into the needs of the central Illinois community in which I worked. I was frustrated with some of the social issues my patients had to deal with, such as lack of insurance and hence access to care, and lack of education leading to poor health choices. As a volunteer in a free clinic, I saw a lot of the same issues arise. I think as nurses we can make a difference in a lot of ways, and my path to hopefully making that difference led me back to school to study community health nursing.

I am particularly interested in cross-cultural and global health, and studying how sociological factors affect health practices and outcomes, particularly with respect to infectious diseases. I spent some time in Kenya after graduating nursing school, and this, along with several other experiences in both my personal and professional life, have led me to have an intense interest in cross-cultural relationship building and what it means to explore health in the context of communities. I am particularly interested in working with underserved populations.

In my spare time (when I have any!), I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and boating, reading, traveling, and cooking vegetarian food. I also love pets, and would definitely have several if my apartment complex let me!

Michelle Eaton

Hi, My name is Michelle and I am from Canada, Vancouver Island to be more precise. As a child my family and I lived in New Guinea and travelled to many other places over the years. I have always been surrounded by multicultural populations and love being able interact with them. It is because of this that I have always wanted to focus my nursing care within the community. I am married, have 4 children (7,9,18,22), 2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 rats, 1 bearded dragon and 6 chickens. I work in our local hospital and do some teaching at the our college. I am usually quite busy with this plateful but love getting into my garden as often as I can. When I'm not out there we spend a lot of time with close friends (they also live very close) and enjoy their company and their children. I get back to "the Island" when I can and visit my family. Life is full.

Christine Espina

My name is Christine, but you can call me Chrissy.  I am from Corpus Christi, Texas (yes, hot and very humid South Texas)!  I graduated with my BSN from Oklahoma Baptist University.  After graduating, I embarked on a great adventure—I lived in the Philippines, my family’s home country, to research the utilization of women’s reproductive health programs, funded by a U.S. Fulbright Student grant.  This opportunity allowed me to see how creative and innovative the nursing profession can be!  I have several interests: adolescent and women’s issues, cross-cultural nursing, program development, international nursing education, and health care disparities.  Through the APCHSN program, I hope to narrow these interests more.  The past two years, I worked at a hospital in Corpus in the Quality Management department, focusing on performance improvement projects, and most recently, helping the hospital prepare for the Joint Commission accreditation process.  This hospital experience only reinforced my desire to learn about improving health care delivery at a systems level, leadership, and policy development.  My other interests include music, painting, and I recently discovered water skiing.  I am eager to expand my knowledge and experiences at the UW!

Leah Franada

Greetings! Although I was born in the Philippines, I consider myself a Seattle local. I received my BSN from Seattle University in 2002 and have worked at the UWMC since. Currently, I work in the cardiothoracic ICU, but I've also worked on the med-surg floors. I am excited, but mostly nervous about starting the APCHSN program. I do look forward to all the learning as I'm sure there will be lots of it. I believe nurses are at great positions to make progressive changes in the health of communities and populations; I'm up for the challenge. I love speding time with family, friends and my dogs: Chloe, the troublemaker, is a golden retriever and Kayla, the senior, is a cocker spaniel/lab mix.

Wenxia "Sarah" Han

Hi everyone. Call me Sarah. I moved from San Francisco to this lovely city in early August. I got my BSN last year and I'm ready for grad school! It's always my burdent to serve the minority and new immigrants. I came to the States about ten years ago by myself. Believe me, it is hard. So I want to be able to utilize my knowledge and experience to help those who neeeded most. Looking forward to see you all in class.

Emily Heikkala

Hi! I have spent most of my life moving around Oregon and Washington, with about 5 years spent working and traveling outside the States. I graduated a couple of years ago from OHSU, at their satellite nursing school in lovely Ashland, Oregon. Currently I’m working at the UW on the cardiothoracic med/surg. unit. I see the value in my experiences as an acute care nurse, but I am excited to start my pursuit of a community health focus. I don’t have any pets or family that live with me… which is a good thing! Taking care of a few houseplants and myself provides me with plenty of work. When it’s nice outside, you’ll probably find me on a river or a trail somewhere!

Barbara Hoffman

My name is Barbara Hoffman.  I was born and grew up in the desert southwest, Yuma, AZ.  I went to nursing school at Arizona Western Collage and Point Loma Nazarene University.  I have worked in a variety of settings in community health including maternity support services, child abuse prevention and children with special health care needs.  I currently work for The Suquamish Tribe which is located on the Kitsap Peninsula between Bainbridge Island and Poulsbo.   I work in the Human Services Department and managing a number of programs.  My husband and I live in Bremerton with our two dogs, two cats and a lizard.  I enjoy gardening, hiking, scrapbooking and photography when I have the time.

Kristy Ivicek

Hi!  I’m Kristy and I’m from Portland, Oregon.  I received my BSN from the University of San Francisco in 2000 and began my career in that fabulous city as a pediatric oncology nurse.  I spent a few years working as a travel nurse and eventually settled here in Seattle, where I still work part-time at Children’s Hospital.  While I truly have loved my seven years as an inpatient bedside nurse, I’ve always thought about the different directions I could go with nursing.  After much soul-searching (and a stint as a GNM student), here I am at UW in the APCHSN program!  I am so excited about everything I’m learning and about being a part of nursing’s presence in the Community Health/Public Health arena.  I am pursuing my interests in policy and environmental health and daydreaming about making a difference in the “bigger picture” of heath.  My passions, outside of nursing, are music and travel.  I expect a busy few years-- balancing school, work and everything else-- but I’m looking forward to it! 

Elizabeth Kang

I am originally from Vancouver, B.C. and finished my undergrad in nursing from the University of Victoria. I have been in WA state for 6 years now. Ever since school, my area of passion  has been in public health. I love my current job in the Nurse Family Partnership Program, in Everett where  I work with pregnant and parenting first time teen mothers. I am excited about my area of focus in the APCHSN  program, which is youth, and I hope to learn more about  health promotion programs that gear towards this population. Also, I would like to learn about the factors that influence high risk youth in making risky  behavior choices. As for long term goals, I would like to get into the area of nursing education and also working abroad. I have a one year old daughter at home and my husband and I love to take her hiking and to the beach. I also enjoy cooking, traveling and working out.

Anna Rose Kidder

Hello! My name is Anna Rose Kidder. I’m from a small town in Vermont where I’ve been working in family practice for the past three years. I’m in the APCHSN program after finding that all the extra geography, anthropology, and community development classes I took in college were what I really wanted to do with my nursing background. I spent five years of middle and high school at an international school in northern India which provided me with good hiking skills and a deep interest in small scale health improvement projects. After I graduated from college I started working in the community where I spent most of my childhood. I worked hard with a very rural population of pregnant women, young single mothers, families with young children, elders, and adolescents primarily around behavioral issues. I developed very close relationships with my patients and loved how much of their lives I shared and how appreciable the impact of my work with them was. As I became more involved in organizational issues, education, care coordination, and more frustrated with our inability to work on quality improvement and community initiatives because we were so busy patching together services in our day to day practice, I decided I needed to learn more and get a more comprehensive understanding of what was preventing us from delivering really good preventive care. I want to learn how to optimize the health of individuals through their communities and learn how to promote health on a broader, organizational, population level.In March of 2007 I started work with a project funded by USAID and run by Dartmouth Medical School creating and implementing a family medicine (primary care) based antenatal care model for use in Kosovo. I made two trips to Kosovo in the spring and felt all of my convictions about my need for further education affirmed. I believe in education, prevention, community development, primary family based care and the data I reviewed in Kosovo reinforced these beliefs. I am so excited to be starting my education in community health and to work with people who share values around health and health care that I think are going to make the world a happier place!

Allison Klune

Hi! I'm originally from Portland, Oregon but have been living in Seattle for the past 8 years. After finishing my BSN, I've worked in med-surg both here in Seattle and in NYC. For
the past couple years I've been working in Burn ICU and Pediatric ICU at Harborview. I'm excited to make the switch from focusing on one persons health in the ICU to focusing on
health at the community and population level. Otherwise in my free time I love running, yoga, and spending time with those I love.

Jason Madrano

I was born and raised in the greater Seattle area. I earned my BS in Psychology from Seattle University in 2001, and promptly began working at a motorcycle shop. After several years of putting my degree to good use, the inevitable happened; I wrecked on my bike. Three dozen surgeries, two months in the hospital, and another month in a nursing home is all it took for me to realize I should consider a different career path. I took a job as a mental health specialist in an involuntary, inpatient psychiatric hospital. My experiences there were incomparable. It opened my eyes. I was constantly confronted by the inequities and disparities in health care. I decided to dedicate my life to the service of others. I came to the University of Washington to pursue a future in nursing, with a focus on cross-cultural and global health. I graduated from the GEPN program with my BSN, and I am now a Registered Nurse. I work part time at a tribal community health clinic.

Kathleen McGregor

I have been a nurse for almost 10 years although my path in nursing has been varied. I have worked in Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant, NICU, Pediatric ICU, general pediatrics with drug addicted newborns and as a nurse in the correctional system. Internationally I have worked in Nicaragua and in Uganda with Medecins Sans Frontieres. Currently I work at Children's Hospital on the Oncology/Transplant unit and at the King County Jail downtown. The APCHSN program allows me to further develop my training in research and epidemiology as it applies to ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in population health. I have lived in Seattle for six years and love life here. When not in school I'm in the mountains climbing or abroad playing and learning in other countries.

Jeanesse Miller

Hi, I’m Jeanesse!  I’m originally from the Seattle area (actually Snohomish) but have lived in multiple places throughout my life thus far.  I received my BSN from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma in 2003 and shortly there after moved to Baltimore MD where I began my nursing career. During my 4 years there I worked in internal medicine/telemetry (for about a year and a half) and neuro critical care for the rest of my time there (which was super cool)!  While in nursing school and throughout my nursing career, I was involved in medical volunteer work mostly in the Dominican Republic (also in Ecuador).  This volunteer work was heavily public health focused in the extremely remote areas of the country involving lots of health teaching and health promotion.  Through these experiences I developed a stronger desire to enter the public/community health field and try to make a difference in minimizing health disparities throughout the world.  It’s great to be back in the Seattle area and I’m excited to begin this journey!

Robin Narruhn

My name is Robin Narruhn. I am excited to be starting the APCHSN program this summer. I have been a registered nurse since I was 20 years old. After spending sometime studying cultural anthropology I decided to earn my baccalaureate degree in nursing which I completed at the University of Washington, Bothell campus. I view my academic pursuits as way to give back to my community by learning to give culturally competent and socially just care to marginalized populations and individuals. I work in high risk labor and delivery. I am interested in health care disparities, gender studies, women’s health care, interpersonal violence, barriers to healthcare and transcultural nursing. I also enjoy teaching. Currently, I am working on culturally sensitive care for obstetric clients. Last summer my family had an international family reunion in Fiji where much of my paternal family resides. While there I became acquainted with a women’s shelter in Fiji. My dream is to work at the Women’s Crisis Center in Fiji. I have one almost 10 year old daughter, Maiana. I am thrilled to be here and am looking forward to working with you and learning more.

Bethany Rolfe

Bethany Rolfe began a career in nursing as a CNA at the age of 16. After graduating from Seattle Pacific University with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing, she began working in a community health clinic in north Seattle.This work sparked her passion for community health and serving the underserved.

She then returned to Seattle Pacific University to obtain a Master’s of Science degree in Nursing and complete the Family Nurse Practitioner Program. She then moved to Costa Rica where she volunteered in a clinic in one of the poorest barrios in San Jose. La Clinica de la Carpio serves Nicaraguan immigrants, a population with incredible health disparities because they are unable to access healthcare through the Costa Rican health plan. After 7 months, she returned to Seattle and joined Sea Mar Community Health Centers where she is often the sole medical provider at the White Center clinic.

This fall, she will be starting the Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Community Health Systems at the University of Washington. She also provides guest lectures for graduate nursing and nurse practitioner courses at Seattle Pacific University. This is her third year co-teaching Advanced Health Assessment.

Ayelet Ruppin

Hello, my name is Ayelet Ruppin (pronounced I Yell it).  I moved from Southern California to Seattle last year to enroll in the Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN), and am very excited to begin my graduate career in Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing!  I have my bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego and, after working in community clinics for a couple years, knew I wanted to be a Community Health Nurse in order to a) work towards social justice and b) avoid the hospital. In my “spare” time I am an avid reader and movie watcher, and also love hiking, traveling, and sports (both watching and playing).

Mary Stasio

Hi everyone, my name is Mary. I am brand new to the Seattle area, but so far I love the mountains, the water and the people here. I grew up in Northern Virginia, in the busy suburbs of Washington D.C. I went to school at George Mason University where I received a BSN and BA in Sociology. After school, I began working on a med/surg floor in a local hospital and at an exciting and very diverse free clinic nearby. I love to travel, work, learn and explore. I have been lucky enough to do those things in several areas including Guatemala and Honduras where I spent a couple of months during nursing school trying to learn Spanish and work in a hospital/long term care facility. During my undergrad studies I also spent a month in Cuba looking at the public health system there. Then last year I had to opportunity to travel with Doctors Without Borders to Southern Sudan where I worked in a small village with a group of Dinka refugees returning from refugee camps in Darfur and in other surrounding countries. I have also worked closer to home when I volunteered with the Red Cross in a shelter in Louisiana in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.I enjoy the challenges of working with and raising awareness for under-served and displaced populations. I am looking forward to the APCHSN program because I hope to gain a deeper understanding for the big picture. I am excited about working with other folks also interested in public health issues.

Yolanda Stetson

When I was in the 6th grade, I loved to play tether ball. I loved it so much that I convinced my parents to put a tether ball in our back yard. Unfortunately, none of us knew what a strong child I was, so we failed to secure the pole into the ground. One day, I hit the ball so hard the pole uprooted from the soft dirt in our back yard and hit me on the head. It left a nice bruise that turned a beautiful green shade just in time for my 6th grade photo two days later. This has nothing to do with nursing or my career...

As for nursing, I wasn't the kid who played nurse with my stuffed animals. I decided my last year in high school that nursing seemed like a good fit – science, biology, anatomy, relationships, helping people feel better – I liked all those things. And I didn't want to be in school for years and years to become a doctor (a fact that strikes me as ironic now). So, I set about earning my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Seattle Pacific University. I survived the program (barely), and took a job on a med-surg-onc floor at a local hospital, because that's what good nursing students do immediately after earning a BSN. I lasted six weeks in that job. That's about how long it took me to realize I didn't like the task-oriented, order-following, overwhelming patient-load work of bedside nursing. My next job, what I consider my first “real” job after nursing school, was as a staff nurse at a community clinic in Seattle.

Martha Tinkham

Hi, my name is Marti and I want to say that 2007 has been a big year for me.  It all started with the adoption of my 2 “children,” Sammy and Suzie.  They are so much fun!   Next, I quit my much-loved job at the UW Medical Center’s cardiothoracic floor where I had worked for over 4 years.  It was interesting and fun, but it was also time to move on.  Last, but definitely not least, I am excited to actually be in the ranks of the OEHN gurus.  I am especially interested in having the opportunity to be able to impact the health and well-being of my fellows in the healthcare industry.  My particular interest is in short-term overseas work with particular emphasis on India/Sri Lanka.  Why there?  Well, I made a promise to one of my favorite patients who asked that I remember the people of India when I was considering where in the world I would want to volunteer my training and skills.  I have been headed for India ever since.

Delores Usea

Hello, my name is Delores, I was born and raised in Michigan and have lived in Seattle for 8 years. I am very excited for this opportunity to pursue my Advanced Practice nursing career with a Community Health Systems focus.   I plan to direct my studies in the DNP program towards eliminating health disparities.  I am currently a Nurse Consultant for the Department of Social and Health Services. My nursing experience includes intensive care, orthopedics, trauma, case management, long term care and utilization review, to name a few. I enjoy dancing, political history, road trips and spending time with family and friends.  I look forward to the challenges ahead and to explore how culture impacts health care.

Betty Vanderzee

Hi, I'm Betty. I was born and raised in Seattle, went to school in Michigan for my dipoloma RN, and returned to Seattle in 1979 for my husband to go to grad school. I went to UW Bothell for the BSN degree completion program in '96 when our youngest went to kindergarten, and now am finally returning for my master's degree. I have worked in many inpatient and outpatient settings in my 29 years as an RN, and now work for DSHS as a nursing care consultant for nursing homes in King County. I am passionate about advocating for the elderly (or anyone who needs it!) and look forward to the experiences the APCHS program will bring!

Megan Vaughan

My name is Megan Vaughan, and although I am a native to WA, I just recently moved back to Kent, WA after being away for the past six years. After graduating high school, I moved out to CO to obtain my BSN at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO. In 2007, tired of snow and being land-locked, I moved to sunny Southern California where I worked for two years as a pediatric nurse in a 98 bed acute care unit within a large children’s hospital. While there, I caught the teaching bug and began teaching pediatric clinicals to undergraduate junior level nursing students.

I was blessed to be accepted into the APCHSN (community health) DNP program, as it brought be back into the arms of my family, and will allow me to learn more about my passion in nursing...community health. I fell in love with community health while an undergrad, and knew that it was the right fit for me. I look forward to growing in my role as both a bedside nurse and community leader.

Jane Yi

Hello. I’m excited to pursue graduate studies in Community Health. I graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with BSN in 2004 and have been working as a med-surg nurse for two years. My main interest is in improving the health of children and adolescents. As I interact with people from various backgrounds, it became salient to me that physical and mental health issues people face as adults did not occur over night. But rather, most health issues are a result of accumulation of choices/habits and environmental exposures that began in the younger years. So my passion in public health is to tend to the health needs of underserved youths.

I enjoy playing the piano (Bach and Chopin are my favorite composers.). I also enjoy Tae Kwon Do, dancing, and running. My goal as a runner is to complete a marathon someday. All these activities have contributed greatly to the shaping of who I am today. By participating in these activities, I have learned the values of persistence, teamwork, tenacity, dedication, and staying focused – all attributes of which I will employ as a student and as a professional.