Nevada Nurses Foundation

Mary Bondmass, PhD, RN, CNE, BSN, MSN has almost 30 years of critical care and emergency nursing experience, has been certified and practiced as a clinical nurse specialist, and is currently a certified nurse educator with more than 15 years in the academic setting.  She has led grant-supported research focused on advanced practice tele-management of chronic heart failure, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation. More recently, her research has examined nursing education with an emphasis on teaching and learning evidence-based practice at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She is interested in pre- and post-self-efficacy among undergraduate and graduate students regarding QSEN competencies, and has initial QSEN research in progress. Mary has published data in medical, nursing, and lay literature, and she has several research book chapters to her credit. She has reviewed manuscripts for professional publications including Journal of Nursing Education, International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, and Research in Nursing and Health, and has served on several health advisory boards in Washington D.C. including the National Consumers League. She has served on the Board of the Nevada Nursing Association (NNA) for two terms and is the 2018-2020 NNA President.

Linda Bowman, RN is a native Nevadan. She began her career 25 years ago working in rural communities as an educator and advocate for families. She spent 13 years as the manager for district offices within the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy. She has been active with Nevada Nurses Association for many years. She recently held the position of Director of Operations for NNA as well as Editor for the publication RNformation. She is passionate about promoting educational opportunities for nurses and supporting new graduates.

Vicky Catlin, MSN-Ed, RN, CLE, CNE graduated from UNR with a BS in Health Education/teaching and a BS in Nursing. She attended the University of Phoenix for her MSN with a post-graduate certification in education. She has worked for local hospitals in nursing staff development and new graduate orientation to the MCH area. Vicky joined Carrington School of Nursing to teach Perinatal and Women Health in 2013. She is currently enrolled in a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at UNR. She belongs to AWHONN, NNA, and NONL, and serves as a March of Dimes education and grant reviewer.

BreAnna Connelly graduated with her BSN from Nevada State College in 2021. Since then she has moved from the Henderson/Las Vegas area to beautiful Reno. During college she was the Historian for NSC's student nurses association. She also served on the Nevada Nursing Student Association (NVNSA) as the Communications Director. She has since transitioned to being an advisory board member in the Nevada Nurses Foundation (NNF). She enjoys helping NNF in its efforts to supply scholarships to nursing students in Nevada, and that has become a passion of hers. BreAnna started her nursing career working in behaviorial health services at Carson Tahoe Hospital. She also worked a stent in home healthcare learning to care for babies and children on ventilators. In an effort to find her nursing niche she decided to leave the hospital and home health setting and enter the field of aesthetics. She is happy with the decision to go into aesthetics because it has given her the work-life balance to go back to school. In January of 2023 she started her FNP program at the University of North Alabama. She has two years to finish her graduate degree and plans to stay in in the aesthetic realm of healthcare, but she remains open to where her education will take her.

Alexx Echevarria is a successful Nevada business owner of Scrubs Carpet who is providing exceptional service to the northern Nevada region. When not working, he enjoys fishing, photography, and being of service.

Kelly Farley is the Simulation Coordinator of the Nevada Clinical Simulation Lab and holds a Master's degree in Information Management from the University of Oregon as well as numerous technology certifications. Kelly comes to the simulation lab with 15 years of technical and teaching experience in the technology field as well as a background in law enforcement and photography. Kelly transitioned to the medical simulation field in 2011.

Kim Foote, MSN, RN received her Bachelors and Masters of Science in Nursing Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. She worked at the Dallas Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital for 12 years prior to transferring to the Las Vegas VA Hospital in 2014. She has held many positions in nursing, including Director of Nursing, Charge Nurse, Clinical Preceptor, Emergency Room, ICU, Spinal Cord Injury Department, Primary Care, Surgery and Post-Surgical, Wound Care Specialist, Long-Term Care, Medical Surgical, Home-Based Primary Care, Home Health, and Nursing Informatics and Quality. She is currently a Patient Safety Coordinator in the Quality, Safety, and Value Department at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System in Las Vegas. Kim is the founder of the Las Vegas chapter of Black Nurses Rock Foundation and is a charter and board member of the Eta Eta Eta chapter of Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority, Inc. She is a philanthropist and loves fulfilling her mission of volunteering, serving, and educating underserved communities. She has received several awards in nursing including Nurse of the year, Chi Eta Phi's Service for Humanity Award, Nevada's Best 50 under 50 Nurses, and Nevada Stellar Nurse Award.

Delos Jones, BSN, RN, MSN, DNP started his nursing career with a Bachelor's degree from Idaho State University. After graduation, he worked on the telemetry unit and in the Cardiac Cath Lab for the hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Later, he served as the office RN for a cardiologist for several years. It was during his time at the cardiology office that Delos completed his MSN in Clinical Research from George Washington University in Washington, DC. He then managed a clinical research department for an endocrinology practice. Following his time in management, Delos moved into education working for two schools in the Salt Lake Valley as faculty and a program director. During this time, he learned about curriculum and higher education administration. He then moved to the Roseman University Of Health Sciences Utah campus and began his higher education administration career. When possible, Delos transferred to Roseman University’s Henderson, Nevada campus. At this time, he also completed his DNP in Education and Leadership at the George Washington University. Delos now serves as the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Learning Innovation and as the Director for the Center for Innovation in Health Professions Education at the Henderson, Nevada, campus for Roseman University.

Sherri Lindsey, DNP, MSA, RN is from Shreveport, Louisiana, and has been a resident in Las Vegas for 14 years. Her passion is educating nurses to become excellent healthcare providers. She has been a nurse for 31 years and has held various positions in nursing. Sherri is currently the Nursing Department Chair at the College of Southern Nevada. She holds a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from University of Nevada Reno, a Master's degree in Nursing Education from Kaplan University, a certificate in Nursing Education from University of Nevada Las Vegas, and a Master's degree in Administration from Central Michigan University. She is a representative member of the Nevada Action Coalition on Diversity, as well as a member of many CSN college-wide and community-based organizations. Sherri's personal philosophy is that "Everyone has a gift inside of them, and as we walk in the image of God it is released and propels us into our destiny". She believes that the Nevada Nurses Foundation is a worthy cause and assists in promoting nurses and the nursing profession through scholarships.

Shelley Martin, RN has been a nurse for 7 years and served as a Board member for 3 years helping with marketing. She has worked in med/surg, telemetry, and the ER. Currently Shelley is working on her Master's degree in education and plans to earn her terminal degree and specialize in mental health. In her spare time she loves to spend time with her 5 children and husband and help others feel more comfortable in their own skin with her aesthetics business.

Scott Norris, MS, BS holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a minor in Marketing from California State University, Chico, and a Master's degree in Organizational Management. He brings over 15 years of experience in various roles in higher education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. His current role is with Dignity Health Global Education as the Vice President of Workforce Development. He resides in Henderson, Nevada, with his wife Veronika and their four children. Outside-of-work interests include traveling, sports especially the Golden Knights, live music, and chasing the little ones around.

Lyle Pritchett, MS, BS has over 30 years of experience in all aspects of the computing field, including programming, Webmaster, systems administration, network engineering and management, database administration, and security. He worked at the Desert Research Institute, a world-renowned environmental research organization based in Nevada, for 24 years, including 6 years as Director of IT. He is currently owner and manager of Cliffson Solutions, LLC, which provides programming, Web site development, and Web hosting services for a wide range of clients and projects, including the National Weather Service, the US Forest Service, DRI, and the Northern Nevada Nurses of Achievement. He is a member of the IEEE Computer Society and Infragard. Lyle has lived in the Reno, Nevada, area for 36 years.

Larry Sickles, BS, MS, MBA joined Sierra Donor Services (SDS) in 2020. He is currently the Regional Manager for the Reno and Eastern California Donation Service Areas for SDS. He is responsible for day to day clinical and business operations occurring in the East Region of SDS. His career spans over 28 years in the healthcare industry focused on Organ, Tissue and Ocular recovery where he has served in leadership roles for the past 16 years. Larry has both a BS and MS degree in Information Systems Management as well as an MBA in Not-for-Profit Management which focused on Strategic Management and Organizational Behavior.

Dawn Taylor, MSN Ed, RN, CNN, COI was born in Cambridge, England, and graduated nursing school with RN dip from West Suffolk Hospital in 1992. She certified in cardiothoracic nursing and worked in both a floor environment, coronary care unit, and ICU environments. She came to USA in 1998 and worked in a military facility as a pediatric tech. She passed the NCLEX exam in 1999 and completed the AACN program for Orientation to the Acute and Critically Ill Patient. She worked for one year in a critical care float pool. From 2000 to 2013 she worked in a variety of capacities as a certified nephrology nurse. She graduated with Honors from an RN-to-BSN program in 2008, returning almost immediately to complete her MSN Ed. in 2010. She completed a post-graduate certificate in nursing education in May, 2020. Dawn graduated in May, 2022, with a Ph.D. in Nursing with an emphasis in Caring Science at Colorado University Anschutz Medical Campus. Her dissertation was entitled On The Journey To Healing: Sex/Gender Diverse Female Voices On The Road To Healing After Lived Experiences Of Intimate Partner Violence. Since 2014, she has been working in academia with undergraduate and RN-BSN nursing students at Nevada State College. She is certified in on-line teaching.
She has spoken at numerous nephrology conferences on a variety of topics ranging from home dialysis visits and safety to disaster and emergency preparedness for home dialysis patients. She has disseminated some work in Caring Science since beginning her Ph.D. program in 2016 at Research and Human Caring conferences. Dawn published a literature review in 2013 on The Barriers to Home Dialysis and in 2019 a manuscript on Faculty Advising Role in the International Journal of Human Caring. Finally, she volunteers in the Las Vegas community in a variety of capacities.

Julie Wagner, PhD, MSN, RN has been active for many years as a nurse educator in health care agencies, nursing schools, and professional organizations. Her passion is to improve and advance nursing both in practice and education. Since making Nevada her home in 2006, Julie has been an active member of Nevada Nursing Association. She is a strong advocate of the "Healthy Nurse Initiative" by promoting health and wellness activities within the community.

Evette M. Wilson, DNP, RN, CHC, COI, obtained an Associate and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina, a Master's degree in Nursing from the University of Phoenix, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice with a focus in nursing leadership from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. She is a Professor of Nursing at Arizona College of Nursing Las Vegas Campus, and the CEO of Wilson Wellness, LLC, a small business providing Executive Leadership & Wellness Coaching and consultant services. Dr. Wilson helps individuals, business, and their teams achieve overall wellbeing, unlock peak potential, and grow their business results. She specializes in developing nurse leaders and leading people to discover, maximize, and lead with their strengths as well as those of fellow team members, while offering advanced strategies to achieve higher levels of performance.
As a seasoned nurse executive, she brings 29 years of first-hand experience of how strengths and leadership are keys to business effectiveness and growth. Her skills were honed through her leadership experience as a commissioned officer and combat nurse in the United States Air Force Nurse Corp. She has over two decades of leadership experience in a variety of Senior Nurse Leadership roles in healthcare. In these roles, Dr. Wilson has worked throughout the nation to create and develop leaders, and to seed and nurture high performance teams.