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I Graduated from USD with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences along with a minor in World Religions. I also received my master’s degree from USD in Adult and Higher Education. I am an instructor in the Health Science Major within the School of Health Sciences. I teach face to face and online. I created and teach the curriculum for HSC/NATV 330 Native People’s Health Care Promotion and Policy & co-created HSC 375 US and Global Healthcare Systems (a course on human rights with a travel abroad component). I teach HSC 110 Interdisciplinary Healthcare Teams, HSC 380 Health Literacy and Culture Care along with HSC 330 Native Peoples Health. I also work with honors students on their undergraduate research and scholarship along with facilitating Enter Mentoring to other professors though the HHMI grant on Inclusive Excellence here at USD. Our passion in the Health Sciences Major is to help the School of Health Sciences meet their goals as well as creating culturally attuned inclusive health care workers. I am also the Vice Chair of USD's Faculty Senate along with seats on several other committees.
My areas of interest are culture care, Native American Health and wellness, health literacy, Human Rights, health disparities, emotional intelligence, Interprofessional and public health/health education. I also like to incorporate learning where student embrace diversity with inclusivity driven outcomes in their career goals, school and daily lives. I also enjoy mentoring our undergraduate students, teaching courses with a service-learning component and directing the honors student's research thesis projects as well.
Some of my outside research interests’ areas are alternative/holistic/integrated healthcare, culture care, traditional/indigenous health care, Native American healing traditions, essential oils and their ties to pharmaceuticals today along with ways to better mentor first generation and diverse students. I have helped Honors students work on their honors thesis in areas such as holistic Occupational Therapy, Obesity related to the care givers perception, Traditional Native American Healing incorporated into health care, holistic infertility treatment, oral health, missing and endangered women with an emphasis on Indigenous women, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and colleges student’s perception on vaccinations.