Faculty Profiles

After graduating from the University of Iowa, I moved to Texas in 1992 and have been practicing nursing in Texas ever since. I have a wide background of nursing experiences, including oncology, triage, cardiology, and education, mostly in the outpatient care setting. I earned my Masters in Nursing-Education from Texas A&M University in 2017. I earned my PhD in Nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 2024. My research focused on childhood mental disabilities and family wellness. I taught as an adjunct faculty in an online, accelerated BSN program in 2018. I started teaching at Texas State in the School of Nursing as adjunct faculty in 2017. I started as an Assistant Professor at Texas State University in 2024.

My research focuses on the challenges surrounding childhood mental disabilities and the impact these conditions have upon families. I want to investigate methods to assist parents and families raising children with mental disabilities, as well as create effective supports to strengthen families so we may improve children's successful transition to adulthood. My initial research explored how parents managed their daily parenting challenges caused by childhood emotional disturbance. I wish to validate those qualitative findings in a larger sample, as well as study methods to assist parents' coping with these challenging conditions. My research goals are to find provide parents and families with management methods which can be utilized in the home environment, to relieve the isolation and lack of confidence parents currently experience, and improve collaboration between parents, healthcare professionals and educational professionals for the betterment of the child's long-term outcome.

I currently teach in the undergraduate program at the School of Nursing at Texas State University. My goals include expand into teaching in the graduate program as well as our new online courses.