The Advisory Board serves as a community resource and advocate for the UAA School of Nursing.

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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.

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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.
  • Support recruitment.
  • Attend events that honor graduates and alumni.

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Members 

• Deb Hansen, Co-Chair

  Deb Hansen, DNP, RN, NE-BC, CPHQ

  Chief Nurse Executive, Providence Alaska Medical Center

  I have been involved with University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), the College of Heath, and the School of Nursing since 1998 when I first enrolled in UAA with the intent of obtaining my master’s degree and in 2010 I was invited to become a member of several boards within the College of Health and School of Nursing (SON).  

  I have worked as a bedside nurse in surgical ICUs, adult ICUs, NICUs, Pediatrics, and PICUs.  I have also held a variety of leadership roles with the final one being the CNO of Providence Alaska Medical Center.  I retired in 2018 and since them have volunteered within our community with several organizations, my favorites being the UAA SON, the Theta Omicron Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, and the Alaska Health Fair.

  I believe that UAA offers a world class nursing education and my intent with sitting on this board is to advise the SON on issues important to our community and state, helping the university partner with others to leverage assets, inform policy decision-makers about nursing issues, while always encouraging students to consider nursing as a career and support fund-raising for the SON.

• Stephanie Wrightsman-Birch, Co-Chair

  Stephanie Wrightsman-Birch, APRN, MPH, MSN, FNP-C

  Section Chief, Division of Public Health

  Stephanie Wrightsman-Birch is currently a Family Nurse Practitioner in private practice in east Anchorage, caring for a culturally diverse population ranging in age from infancy to seniors. She is one of the founding members of the All Alaska Pediatric Partn ership. During her tenure, she served in many roles including President, Past President and Treasurer overseeing the development from a community coalition to non-profit entity for 25 years. As a health professional she has served in various clinical RN roles, led the development of The Children’s Hospital at Providence and served as its first Administrator for over 6 years. She also served as the State of Alaska Public Health Section Chief of Women’s, Childrens and Family Health for over12 years, retiring in 2017. She served in state and national leadership positions in a number of professional organizations including NAACOG, AWHONN and AMCHP. She continues to serve on community and state nonprofits boards and is very active in both state and federal legislative health care issues and those affecting Advanced Practice Registered Nurses.

• Nathan Dahl

  Nathan Dahl, NHA

  Executive Director, Maple Springs

   

• Cathy Giessel

  Cathy 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 Halcro

  Marketing Manager, Alaska Providence Health & Services

   

• Ashlyn Hall

  Ashlyn Hall
  

   

• Loren Leman

  Loren Leman
  

  Owner, Loren Leman, P.E.

  Loren Leman has served on the Community Advisory Board for the UAA School of Nursing for more than 14 years, chairing it for several years. He has provided consulting engineering services in Alaska over the past five decades, primarily with water, wastewater and environmental projects. He also served concurrently for 18 years as Representative, Senator and Lieutenant Governor. Loren is the first person of Alaska Native ancestry to be elected to a statewide office in Alaska. He was raised in Ninilchik where he operates a salmon fishing site with his family.

  Loren 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. In 1999 he received the national Civil Government Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for his work on resource, transportation and education issues in Alaska. Mr. Leman serves on several boards and commissions for government, community service, and educational institutions. Loren and his wife Carolyn raised three children, one a UAA graduate in nursing, and have eight energetic and inquisitive grandchildren.

• Sarah Martin

  Sarah 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.

• Bridget Roughneen

  Bridget Roughneen
  

   

• Chelsea Ryan

  Chelsea Ryan
  

   

• Emily Stevens

  Emily Stevens
  

   

• Pam Vrenna

  Pam Vrenna