Class Notes

Rebecca Henry, BSN ’82, is the HIV/AIDS coordinator for the National Institute of Nursing Research and a program director overseeing a portfolio focused on HIV/AIDS/immune function. During her tenure with the Demographic and Health Research Group, Henry engaged researchers and physicians from around the world on major health initiatives including evaluation strategies to measure the impact of the President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief. Major health initiatives include the evaluation of a program for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Georgetown, Guyana as well as local, community-based, in-depth research and problem solving while working with a study of health seeking members of the Hmong community in St. Paul, Minnesota during a measles epidemic in the 1990s.

Lori Schumacher Anderson, MS’96, was appointed as dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at the Western Carolina University (WCU). Anderson previously was the dean of nursing in the College of Health Sciences at Tusculum University. Anderson is considered an early-adopter high-fidelity patient simulation in the early 2000s and played a critical role in fundraising for an interdisciplinary simulation at Augusta University. At Tusculum, she co-led that university’s initiative to evaluate its mission, vision and values as part of an effort to generate a new strategic plan.

Meghan Gaspar Goldammer, BSN ’02, is Sanford Health’s chief nursing officer, leading the organization’s professional nursing practice consisting of nearly 11,000 nurses. Her oversight of enterprise services includes care management, clinical informatics, patient experience, clinical standardization, telehealth and air medical operations. Since joining Sanford Health in 2009, Goldammer has been director of legislative affairs, claims attorney, corporate counsel and vice president of clinical operations. In addition to her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Minnesota, she earned a law degree from Hamline University.

Lexi Maciej, MSN ’04, a pediatric nurse practitioner at M Health Fairview, was awarded the Advanced Practice Provider Excellence Award at the 2019 Medical Staff Awards Recognition ceremony.

Stephanie Reneau, BSN ‘12 and former Gopher All-America runner, is now a nurse practitioner working in urgent care at Hudson Physicians in Hudson, Wis.

Kevin Smith, DNP ‘14, is a co-founder of The Good Clinic, which is a network of primary care clinics starting in Minneapolis and will expand nationwide. In response to the looming shortage of primary care services, The Good Clinic founders envision a more consumer-centric, accessible and technology enabled model of primary care led by nurse practitioners. The Good Clinic will offer traditional primary care, chronic disease management, and urgent care services in the clinic as well as virtual care services including video visit appointments and communication with the nurse practitioners via secure chat and text.

Vanessa Kasper, DNP ’18, is the founder and host of Dose of Support, a podcast that honors stories from front line health care workers, who find support through a community of people of like minds. She developed this podcast believing that through thoughtful sharing and reflection the work of health care will be captured and appreciated. Kasper is a doctoral-prepared nurse practitioner in primary care. Podcasts are available online and through her Facebook page.

Kristin Pavek, MN ’19, is serving as a nurse in the ICU at Fairview/University of Minnesota Medical Center East Bank. She is also working in product development for endoscopes, laser devices and infection prevention devices.

Jonathan Nghiem, BSN ’20, has quickly transitioned from being a busy BSN student, nursing assistant, and president of the Minnesota Nursing Student Board for the School of Nursing to an RN on the medical ICU unit at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center. He was elected to the University of Minnesota School of Nursing Alumni Society Board where he will focus on developing and maintaining relationships with current students and developing connections with alumni from all programs who have graduated within the last 10 years.

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