Faculty Nurse Consultant Team

Director, Faculty Nurse Consultants

Tonya has over 30 years of experience as a Registered Nurse in clinical and educational settings. She received her ADN from Northeast Texas Community College, BSN & MSN from University of Phoenix as well as Master of Business Administration, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Purdue University Global. She has served in many roles including nursing faculty and director, in practical nursing, associate degree and baccalaureate nursing programs.

Faculty Nurse Consultant

Meredith has over 18 years of nursing experience, with more than half of those years being devoted to nursing education. She received her BSN from The University of Texas at Tyler. As a registered nurse, Meredith went on to complete her MSN from Lamar University. Her love for nursing education began when she was a simulation coordinator for an associate degree program, involved in building and creating simulations with fellow educators for the undergraduate nursing students. Meredith has served in various roles in education, including faculty, director, and department chair during her years teaching in the community college setting.  Nursing and education have always been a passion for Meredith since she was a young girl. Encouraging and celebrating student success and mentoring and modeling excellence in teaching and learning with faculty drive Meredith’s passion for nursing education.

Faculty Nurse Consultant

Claudia has been a registered nurse since 1985, holding various nursing and management positions within acute care organizations. She has been a nurse educator in the didactic and clinical settings for over 23 years.  She has held positions as faculty and Director of practical and associate degree programs. Claudia has served as an NCSBN NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN Item Writer on several occasions. She received her associate degree in nursing from New Mexico State University Carlsbad in 1985, a baccalaureate in nursing from the University of New Mexico in 1997 and an MSN from the University of Phoenix 2002. She has been credentialed as a Certified Nurse Educator by the National League of Nursing since 2010.

Faculty Nurse Consultant

Karen has more than 35 years of nursing experience. She received her Master’s degree in Nursing Education from the University of Rhode Island, Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Rhode Island College, and her diploma from St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing. Her love for nursing education began in the hospital setting with staff development involved within the Emergency Department and Maternal Child Health. In 2007, she made the transition into academia, focusing on curriculum development, where she developed and implemented the first new nursing program in Rhode Island in over 40 years.

Faculty Nurse Consultant

Julie has been a registered nurse for over 27 years. She began her career as a Women’s Health Nurse specializing in Labor and Delivery. She received her Master of Science in Nursing degree through Regis University in Denver, Colorado with a focus on Leadership in Health Care Systems and Education. Her experience as an established educator has allowed her to pursue many different career opportunities within the academia arena including becoming an interim program chair, developing nursing curricula, establishing new nursing programs as a nurse consultant, and becoming a professional presenter at the local, state and national levels. 

Faculty Nurse Consultant

Nettie Lucas, MSN, RN is a United States Air Force veteran of 21 years and has been a Wound Care nurse for 12 years.  She earned her graduate degree in Nursing Education with Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.  Nettie taught nursing in the didactic and clinical setting with special emphasis teaching Medical Surgical and Mental Health Nursing.  She specialized in the “Flipped” classroom method of instruction incorporating creative strategies for active learning in the classroom.  Her Kaplan background goes back to teaching the NCLEX Live Review course and working closely with students while participating with the Faculty Chat Team. 

Faculty Nurse Consultant

Dawn has been in the nursing field for over 25 years, with experience in clinical and education settings. She received her Associate Degree in Nursing from Piedmont Community College, BSN from North Carolina Central University, and MSN in Nursing Education from East Carolina University. She has served as a staff nurse in orthopedics, PACU, and radiology, as well as manager of education and infection control for a local hospital. She has served in the education arena as nursing faculty and as Director of Nursing Education in a community college setting. Encouraging, supporting and celebrating student success, mentoring and modeling excellence in patient care, and implementing evidence-based practice drives her passion not only for quality patient care, but also for teaching and learning in nursing education.