Our Team is Here For You

I moved to Alaska from the midwest in my early 20s and fell in love with the astounding beauty, openness of spirit, and independence of thought in Alaska. I found a home in Palmer, where my midwest farming roots met the mountains I love. I am so grateful to be raising my three delightful children here.

I am a Nurse Practitioner specializing in Family Medicine. My first decade in healthcare was spent as a nurse in and out of the hospital, primarily working in an intensive care setting. I was happy fixing acute problems but wanted to understand better and solve the underlying upstream causes. I believe in the complex interplay of our bodies, minds, and spirits and that healthcare should likewise be holistic and multifaceted. In my practice, I endeavor to blend western and functional medicine using commonsense and creative solutions to support the whole person’s health best.

I was born and raised in Montana and have served in healthcare since I was 16 years old. Helping people and making a difference in people’s lives has always been my goal. I started as a certified nursing assistant, then became an emergency medical technician. While working as an EMT, I graduated from the College of Southern Idaho with my associate’s degree in nursing. I worked in the NICU and completed my bachelor’s degree in nursing through Grand Canyon University. As I was working, I knew I wanted to deepen my knowledge and serve patients in a different capacity. I had seen firsthand the difference a great provider could make in a patient’s life, and I decided to return to school again to become a nurse practitioner. I graduated with my master’s degree in nursing at Purdue University Global and became a Family Nurse practitioner.

I am thrilled to call Mat-Su Midwifery and Family Health home. I am honored to provide continuity of care across the lifespan. I look forward to caring for families through episodic visits and wellness exams in all spectrums of life. Each person is unique and should be treated with a holistic and individualized approach. Outside of work, I am a wife and homeschooling mom of three. We enjoy the outdoors, camping, hunting, and fishing.

My specialty is functional women’s health from puberty through menopause and beyond. My experience as a certified nurse-midwife has revealed the incredible and intricate nature of women’s health and vitality amid childbearing. I am certified in functional medicine, which focuses on treating the cause of illness instead of treating only the symptoms. I partner with women to find relief from conditions such as PMS, abnormal periods, pelvic pain, vulvar conditions, bladder problems, PCOS, infertility, and menopausal symptoms. I also help treat other primary care concerns such as thyroid disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, and depression.

My goal is to help women be fully alive in body, soul, and spirit so they can fulfill their purpose to the people around them. I live for the outdoors and love Alaskan adventures with my husband and children.

I have called Alaska home for 45 years. I am a Family Nurse Practitioner with eighteen years of Family Practice Urgent Care experience spanning infants to elders. I am also a certified residential real estate appraiser, and I own and operate an appraisal business. When I’m not working, I enjoy skiing, hiking, jogging, wakeboarding and relaxing with my family at the lake.

I was born and raised in small town South Dakota on a cattle ranch, learning hard work and determination from a young age. I started my journey in healthcare when I was 18 years old as a certified nursing assistant in a long-term care facility. This job drove my passion for helping people as well as wanting to expand my knowledge in healthcare. I have been a nurse since 2013 with most of my experience in emergency medicine. I became a Family Nurse Practitioner to build deeper relationships with patients and together help individuals and families live to their healthiest potential. I enjoy discussing prevention of illnesses, have a passion for women’s health, and treat every patient as an individual with unique needs. I use a shared decision-making approach with treatment of acute and chronic diseases.

I have lived in Alaska since 2016 after getting married and deciding this is the place we wanted to start our adventure. When I’m not at work, you can find me spending time with my husband, our two children, and my black lab. I enjoy being outdoors hiking, camping, kayaking, riding our ATVs, and gardening.

I’m excited to become a member of your healthcare team and see you thrive.​

I am passionate about providing wholistic care to the lifespan, and as a third generation Alaskan, born and raised in the Mat-Su Borough, I am invested in providing care to our local community. I have been involved in healthcare since taking my first EMT class at the age of 16. After working in emergency services for over 20 years, I started nursing school with the ultimate goal of becoming a Nurse Practitioner. I am now excited to pursue Functional Medicine training as my family and I have personally experienced the benefits of this approach to medicine. I am excited to incorporate those principles as a foundation to the care that I provide.

In my spare time you will find me farming with my family, and enjoying all of the amazing outdoor recreational opportunities Alaska has to offer.

I moved to Alaska from Washington at the age of 9 and have grown up here in the Mat-Su Valley. I have spent nearly a decade in the inpatient setting both as a nurse and a CNA, with an orthopedic and medical-surgical background. I had witnessed many disconnects between patients and providers and knew I wanted to further my education to make a positive impact while patients are at their most vulnerable. I finished graduate school at Frontier Nursing University, and have practiced in family medicine, infusion, and immunology. I am passionate about getting to the root cause of each condition, and providing evidenced-based options so patients can make informed decisions in their health journey.
 

I came to Alaska from Montana over ten years ago with my husband looking for adventure and a chance to build a life somewhere neither of us had ever been. I worked as a nurse for about ten years, caring primarily for children and newborns. I loved nursing but wanted to build a career outside of the hospital, providing care to families.

I became a Family Nurse Practitioner, and eventually a Nurse-midwife, and feel I have truly found my calling in the work I do now while being a great mom to my two daughters. I provide a blend of complementary and traditional methods to my patients and their families, and I tailor the care I provide to meet their specific and unique situation and needs.

I am a lifelong Matanuska Susitna Valley resident. I am a wife and the mother of four little blessings. My passion for evidence-based care began with my first pregnancy and birth. After a less-than-desirable experience I knew I wanted to help other mothers advocate for themselves and their babies. Teaching nutrition and birth classes is a natural fit for me as cooking and eating are hobbies of mine, and birth is a miracle that I can’t get enough of. I eagerly anticipate each new group of mamas! Finally as a new midwife my goal is this: “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.”- Mother Teresa.

I was born and raised in Alaska. I love everything about it, except the mosquitoes! I have been involved in midwifery since 1983. I have always believed in the strength of women to give birth and that my role as midwife is to encourage them to believe that they can. I love the families that I work with and am privileged to be a part of.

I have a large extended family of 5 sisters and 3 brothers! With that, comes many nieces, nephews and many great nieces and nephews! I have been privileged to help some of them into the world.

I enjoy the snow, reading and cooking when I am not busy.

I’m a life-long Alaskan, originally from North Pole. I grew up with midwifery care being the norm, as I and all my siblings were born with midwives. After working with a chiropractor who specialized in maternity and newborn care, I knew I wanted to be involved in women centered care. I went through the Mercy in Action College of Midwifery and apprenticed in Fairbanks at the same birth center I was born at! I graduated in 2017 and immediately went to the Philippines for 5 months to work alongside local midwives in a capacity building and teaching role.
I have spent time working as a midwife in Idaho – most recently as a homebirth midwife. I am also a teacher with Mercy in Action College of Midwifery. I’m a midwife because I am passionate about educating and empowering women and families, and giving them the best and safest individualized care I can, in whatever capacity that looks like.
I love serving the women from my home state, and working alongside the providers at Mat-Su Midwifery!

In my free time I enjoy traveling, drinking coffee, spending time outdoors. and with friends, and dancing.

I am a lifelong Alaskan who discovered my love for birth and women’s health in nursing school. That passion only increased after having my first daughter and from there, I pursued a degree in Nurse Midwifery and Women’s Health as a Nurse Practitioner through Georgetown University.

My practice philosophy is that each human has a unique lived experience that impacts their own health in profound ways. Health is not just a physical component but is a holistic blend of body, mind, and spirit to encompass the whole person. My role as a practitioner in their life is to gain understanding of them as a human, respond to questions and curiosities with evidence-based practice, and promote an environment of trust and shared decision-making.

When I am not in the clinic or attending births, I love to spend time with my husband and two daughters outside playing in beautiful Alaska!

I grew up in a small town in Iowa where our “town doc” was an old school GP, who did pretty much everything, including paying a house call when my dad had appendicitis and driving him to the hospital. I wanted to have a job like him. At that time, the healthcare system was shifting, with PAs becoming more prevalent in rural areas, so I decided to attend PA school. There I saw my first birth and instantly knew I wanted to be involved in the miracle of birth and the joy of coaching people through it.  I attended an OBGYN PA residency program at a busy hospital in California and caught 250 babies the first year there (along with learning medical Spanish, how to perform gynecologic procedures such as colposcopies and IUD insertions, etc.).  Around that time, some of my nieces and nephews were born at home on the farm, attended by midwives. The juxtaposition of highly medicalized birth and home birth was fascinating to me. I ultimately trained as a Certified Nurse-Midwife to complement my medical training, and now enjoy blending both approaches, as the situations and desires of clients warrant.  I completed my CNM clinicals at MatSu Midwifery and am excited to rejoin the team as a midwife providing hospital birth at MatSu Regional Medical Center, as well as primary care and gynecology care for women.

I also still greatly enjoy rural medicine and spend a couple of months per year providing full-scope medical care in villages off the road system. In my spare time, I enjoy running, skiing, trying to wear out my dogs (impossible), making jam, smoking fish, reading, gardening and playing the piano.

I’m a military brat that ended up in Anchorage for high school. I Graduated from West Anchorage High School, stayed to get my BS at UAA, then went to Tulane University School of Medicine and stayed to specialize in OBGYN.
I came back to Anchorage to be near family. I’ve worked in Anchorage for 30 years and have recently moved to the Valley where I have found my Medical “family “ at Mat-Su Midwifery & Family Health.

Their philosophy of complete personal wellness complements my own. While I no longer deliver babies, I listen to women and treat their women’s problems either medically or surgically, or help them to live their life through healthier options. I’m one of the most experienced minimally invasive surgeons in Alaska.

In my free time, I enjoy Dog Agility sports and compete locally and nationally with My husband and daughter.