My areas of special interest include chronic disease management, geriatrics, neurocognitive disorders, and traumatic brain injury. While I am not a Veteran, my father was a U.S. Marine which really was the driving force behind my initial choice to pursue a job within the VA healthcare system.

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI and relocated to Adams County, WI in 2016 to slow down and live the country life. I earned my master’s degree in Nursing from Concordia University, Wi in 2014 and my Doctor of Nursing Science degree from U.W. Milwaukee in 2021. I have been with the VA since 2013.

I began my VA career as a staff nurse on Med/Surg/Telemetry unit at the Clement J. Zablocki VAMC in Milwaukee, WI. After completing my master’s degree, I moved into a position as a VANAP Nursing instructor in Nursing Education & Research at the Zablocki VAMC where my primary role was to teach undergrad nursing students about what it means to provide Veteran-centric care. In 2015 I accepted a position at the Tomah VAMC as a Home-Based Primary Care NP and continued in this role until 2021.

I briefly left the VA in 2021 and worked in the private sector, but quickly realized that providing care to our nations’ Veterans is one of the most fulfilling experiences as a nurse, and now as a nurse practitioner, that I have ever had. After leaving the VA, I truly felt like I was missing something. I realized it was the Veterans and how they always seemed so grateful for the care they were provided.

Veterans are such a diverse population with some very challenging and unique healthcare needs. As I am getting a little closer to my retirement years, I simply could not imagine myself not being able provide care for Veterans anymore.

Someday I would like to write a book, write chapters for nursing textbooks, and have research published in nursing/medical journals.  In my free time I enjoy fishing, swimming, traveling, crafting, and spending time with my family and our two Labrador Retrievers.