• Sandy Luedke ’60, Lincoln, Neb., has been living on an acreage for the past 15 years and has greatly enjoyed it. Her husband Ken passed away on June 6, 2020 as the result of Parkinson’s. She is planning to move in the spring of 2021. She has a son in Lincoln, a daughter in Colorado and five grandchildren. She is grateful for the BSN she received, for it was the deciding factor in her getting accepted into the anesthesia program.
• BettyAnn Adams ’67, San Antonio, Texas, and her partner, Lydell Kiplin M’58, recently moved into a senior living community.
• Cyd Grafft ’70, Cedar Falls, Iowa, plans to retire in November 2020 after working 50 years in nursing. She received her masters in Pediatric Nursing in 1996 and post masters certification as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in 2005. She has practiced in hospitals in Iowa, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire and worked as a special education nurse, in mental health practice, and also has served as a pediatric and psychiatric nurse practitioner. She has three children and three grandsons.
• Patsy Groves ’71, Dunlap, Ill., retired in 2011 after 40 years of nursing, met her husband and became a grandma. Her biggest achievements in nursing were being the patient care coordinator in the NICU at UNMC from 1973-1977 and the cardiac nurse clinician at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri from 1979-1983. Her greatest thrill was becoming a mom in 1983 and, now, having two grandsons. She and her husband, David, live in Dunlap, Illinois and winter in Cape Coral, Florida.
• Pamela Williams ’72, Las Cruces, N.M., now has three grandchildren; the newest boy was born in January 2020.
• Sharyl Kuhnen ’74, Xenia, Ohio, retired in 2015 from Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. She specialized in neuroscience nursing and spent the last years of her career as a rehabilitation coordinator. She and her husband, Scott, have a son and a daughter and have celebrated 47 happy years of marriage.
• Martha (Marty) Pressley-Turner ’75, Columbia, S.C., is an advocate, educator and mentor in nursing ethics and case management, a professional national and international lecturer in areas of case management, patient advocacy and care coordination, and a Lieutenant Colonel, retired, United States Air Force Reserves. Since 2017, she has served as the primary instructor for Still Working for You, LLC, where she works with registered nurses enrolled in the Case Management Institute to provide assessment, evaluation, role modeling, and leadership.
• Kathy Wilson ’76, Whitehouse, Texas, retired in January 2020, but is still teaching one course per semester. She plans to spend more time with her grandchildren, who reside in Gilmer and Waco. She also volunteers with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Alzheimer’s Alliance.
• Jill Bates ’77, Neligh, Neb., retired in July 2020 after 37 years with Educational Service Unit 8. She loved her various roles over the years because school nursing brings education and nursing together. She and her husband Bill have two children and one grandchild.
• Margaret Nusser Gerlach ’77, Omaha, Neb., retired from UNMC in December 2019 after 43 years in nephrology nursing; in transplant (1977-1982), dialysis (1982-1996), coordinator (1996-1999) and nurse practitioner (1999-2019).
• Susan Black ’78, Rockford, Ill., retired but is still a parish nurse. She loved teaching BSN students.
• Jeri Brandt ’78, Lincoln, Neb., retired from Nebraska Wesleyan University in May 2020.
• Valeria Stokes ’78, Chicago, Ill., joined Erie Family Health Centers in December 2019 as the Vice President of Human Resources. In this newly created position she drives strategy for employee recruitment and retention, training and development, performance management, and compensation practices.
• Amy Haddad ’79, Omaha, Neb., and her husband, Steve Martin, were named Most Honored Citizens of Aksarben for 2019. She educated nursing and pharmacy students for years at Creighton University. In 2018 she retired from serving as professor and director of Creighton’s Center for Health Policy and Ethics.
• Susan Erickson ’81, Papillion, Neb., retired from UNMC in July 2020 after 20 years.
• Christine Thurlow N’82, ’86, Overland Park, Kan., received a PhD in gerontology and education in 2016 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is now an associate professor at Research College of Nursing in Kansas City. She has two daughters, ages 27 and 23, and one is a nurse. Both daughters were married within four months of each other in 2018 and 2019.
• Rita Schmitz ’83, Lincoln, Neb., retired in September 2020 after 31 years at UNMC.
• Donna Hubbell ’84, Omaha, Neb., retired in July 2020 after over 47 years at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. She served in many roles over the years, but most recently as vice president of patient safety and quality and she oversaw the cancer center since 2012.
• Roberta Kroeger ’84, Lincoln, retired in September 2020 after 17 years at UNMC.
• Kathy Prue-Owens ’85, Colorado Springs, Colo., serves as an assistant professor of nursing in the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs College of Nursing and Health Sciences and in February 2020, was appointed to the UCHealth Memorial Term Chair, where she works to advance the implementation of evidence-based practices in local hospitals. She will serve in the role for three years. She is a retired Army Nurse Corps officer and she mentors nurses by helping them to identify a problem, to ask the right questions, and to apply resources and research evidence to their unit-based project or research study.
• Janice Willoughby ’85, ’88, St. George, Utah, is happily retired and busy with family activities, church service, biking and walks in the beautiful southern Utah outdoors.
• Lynne Werner ’86, ’87, Grand Island, Neb., was named managing director of community banking by First National Bank Omaha. She has worked there since 2008 and previously served as senior director of wealth and investments.
• Marie Thomas N’89, Bellevue, Neb., has been at Nebraska Medicine for 30 years.
• Joan Junkin ’92, Lincoln, Neb., has been doing all her education via Zoom during the pandemic. Although she loves traveling to do it in-person, she is glad she is still able to provide her services. She has been a wound consultant at The Healing Touch since 2012.

• Carrie Boyd ’99, Gulf Breeze, Fla., graduated with her MSN-Ed from Liberty University in May 2018 and began teaching in a four-year BSN program as adjunct faculty. In January 2019, she began working on her women’s health nurse practitioner degree from Frontier Nursing University, and then plans to pursue her Doctor of Nursing Practice there as well. Her long-term goals are to work with underserved women and communities and continue teaching the next generation of nurses and nurse practitioners.
• Beth Beam ’00, ’04, ’14, Omaha, Neb., received the 2020 William Rutala Scholarship from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. This award helps support infection control professionals’ scholarly activities in hospital epidemiology.
• Kelly Vaughn ’00, ’13, Omaha, Neb., was appointed vice president of operations at Bellevue Medical Center, effective July 1, 2020. She was previously serving as the director of surgical services at Nebraska Medicine.
• Tim Brady ’03, Omaha, Neb., has been a certified registered nurse anesthetist for 11 years and started an office-based anesthesia company eight years ago. He started pain management two years ago. He is married and has three children.
• Julie Farmer ’03, Scottsdale, Ariz., has worked as a neonatal intensive care unit RN BSN for over 17 years now (level III NICU). She won the Nurse Daisy Award in 2018, and she works for Honor Health in Scottsdale, Arizona.
• Cherl Mues ’03, ’11, Arapahoe, Neb., joined Tri Valley Health System as a family nurse practitioner in June 2020. She has 17 years of experience from various roles at the Fremont Area Medical Center. She and her husband Brandon have three children.
• Alissa Schick ’03, Richardson, Texas, was promoted in January 2020 to the director of patient experience at Baylor University Medical Center - Dallas. She obtained her MSN degree in 2013 in nursing administration with a graduate educator certificate. She is married with a son; Samuel. During the pandemic, she has supported frontline staff and patients by starting a patient ambassador and patient liaison program to improve patient/family communication and advocacy during a time of no- and/or very limited-visitor restrictions.
• Amy Birdsong ’08, San Diego, Calif., transferred to the Veterans Affairs San Diego Health Care System and continues to work as a nurse practitioner in outpatient primary care.
• Jenifer Reitsma ’08, ’18, Sioux Falls, S.D., works at Sanford Children’s in Sioux Falls in the department of pediatric surgery and trauma. She also serves as the co-chair of the Advanced Practice Providers Leadership Council at Sanford Health.
• Sara Wolfson ’10, Omaha, Neb., received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Iowa in 2013. She now works as the lead geriatric nurse practitioner at Nebraska Medicine.
• Shelly Amsberry ’11, Ansley, Neb., joined the UNMC College of Nursing on the Kearney campus as an instructor in the summer of 2020.
• Nikki Thurber ’11, Valley, Neb., earned a Master of Health Administration in May 2020.
• Nicole Maschmeier ’13, Omaha, Neb., graduated with her Doctorate in Nurse Anesthesia Practice in May 2020 and practices at Nebraska Medicine.
• Vanessa Schott ’14, De Soto, Kan., graduated with her PhD in educational leadership and policy studies with a focus on simulation.
• Jordan Anderson ’17, Kearney, Neb., works as a labor and delivery nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. She and her husband, Broc, have two sons: Carter and Cohen.
• Cortney Mahony ’17, Kearney, Neb., joined the CHI Health Clinic-Internal Medicine & Specialty Care in Kearney in the summer of 2020. She is a board certified family medicine nurse practitioner.
• Mitul Patel ’17, Irving, Texas, is close to receiving his certified medical surgical registered nurse credentials and will be marrying his soul partner in December 2020.
• Jennifer Rystrom ’17, Tilden, Neb., was named Chief Nursing Officer at West Holt Hospital in May 2019. She has 26 years of experience from being a staff nurse, charge nurse and then nurse manager in intensive care and critical access medicine.
• Tammi Cawthra ’18, Benkelman, Neb., was awarded the Caring Kind Award in October 2019 by the Nebraska Hospital Association. She works at the Dundy County Hospital and Quality Healthcare Clinic.
• Danielle Christiansen ’18, Omaha, Neb., practices at Nebraska Medicine on the neuroscience intensive care unit.
• Matthew Peretto Jr. ’18, Vacaville, Calif., is commissioned in the United States Air Force Nurse Corp. as a Second Lieutenant Active Duty Operating Room Nurse.
• Heather Hubbard ’19, Omaha, Neb., was the U.S. Air Force Medical Service Air Combat Command Advanced Privileged Nurse of the Year in 2019.
• Rebecca Kahrs ’19, Republican City, Neb., joined the Franklin County Memorial Hospital in May 2020 as a nurse practitioner. Previously, she worked for five years at Good Samaritan Hospital and nine months in urgent care at the Kearney Clinic. She completed her clinicals for her APRN license at the Kearney Clinic and Platte Valley Medical Group.
• Lindsey Maas ’19, Potter, Neb., practices at Regional West Physicians Clinic-Women's Center as a nurse practitioner, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.
• Sarah Meier ’19, Lincoln, Neb., is a staff nurse at Bryan Health in the neuroscience unit.
• Benn Rayment ’19, Clarinda, Iowa, practices at the Clarinda Mental Health Center where he serves patients of all ages by diagnosing mental illnesses and managing medications. He is certified in advanced practice psychiatric mental health.
• Kelcey Wetterberg ’19, Dallas, Texas, made the 2019 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading squad.

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