About
I graduated from Carroll College in 2021 with degrees in Health Sciences and Public Health and a minor in Biology. I originally chose Carroll for its strong pre-med foundation, but my time there, especially the Health Sciences & Public Health programs, shaped my path in ways I couldn’t have predicted.
Through coursework and mentorship from faculty, I had the opportunity to work on the Culture of Respect grant and complete a community needs assessment focused on sexual assault response and advocacy on campus. Presenting those findings was difficult, but the work helped lay the foundation for establishing the Empowerment Center, which opened shortly after I graduated and continues to strengthen Carroll’s support systems for survivors. That experience instilled in me a passion for upstream problem-solving and systems change.
After graduation, I accepted a role at St. Peter’s Health in Helena, where I entered directly into leadership in the Population Health Department, as I was concurrently applying to medical school with plans to become an OBGYN. But during that same time, while leading early work on St. Peter’s Housing is Healthcare initiative, I began seeing firsthand how deeply structural factors, housing, behavioral health, food security, transportation, shape health long before patients reach a clinic. I realized that while I could help individuals as a physician, I felt called to improve the systems that determine whether people access care in the first place. Ultimately, I made the difficult decision to turn down multiple medical school acceptances and instead pursue a career in population health leadership, one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Today, I continue to serve as a leader on the Population Health team, building and overseeing innovative programs that integrate health and social care, including:
- Housing is Healthcare / FUSE (Frequent Users of System Engagement)
- Peer Support Specialist Program
- Community Health Worker (CHW) Program
- Systems-level Population Health efforts focused on redesigning care for high-risk patients experiencing SDOH barriers, behavioral health needs, and substance use disorders
My work centers on system redesign, community partnership, and building programs that address the structural drivers of health, especially housing, substance use disorders, behavioral health, and access to care.
In 2025, with support from St. Peter’s Health’s Fred C. Olson Learning and Development Institute, I completed my Master of Health Administration (MHA) at Dartmouth College, through a collaboration of the Tuck School of Business and the Geisel School of Medicine. This education strengthened my skills in health policy, economics, organizational leadership, and systems improvement, tools I apply daily to improve care for vulnerable populations and support frontline teams.
I’ve been honored to receive several recognitions for this work, including being named the YWCA Woman of the Future (2024) and receiving Montana Hospital Association’s Innovation in Healthcare Award (2024) for the Housing is Healthcare program. I have also presented at numerous statewide conferences and nationally at the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) Conference in 2025 and the Housing First Partnership Conference in 2026. I am deeply proud that national partners and academic institutions look to our rural community for examples of integrated, upstream, and equity-centered care models.
Carroll prepared me exceptionally well for both entering the workforce and continuing my education at an Ivy League institution. The rigorous academics, close relationships with faculty, and opportunities for meaningful community-based work gave me the foundation to step confidently into leadership in population health and later to succeed in Dartmouth’s Master of Health Administration program. My time at Carroll shaped how I think, how I lead, and how I approach the work of improving systems of care. I remain grateful that my journey began in a place that valued critical thinking, service, and the belief that healthcare can, and must, be redesigned to better serve patients, families, and communities.
Learn more about my work: