About Us
We are a group of volunteers dedicated to the mission, vision, and goals of AWHONN. Volunteers provide invaluable ideas, energy and support to AWHONN’s programs, projects and services to help us achieve our mission. Are you ready to volunteer? We're looking for volunteers passionate about their work and the advancement of their nurse colleagues. We've got positions open to fit your desires. Email us at [email protected] for more information. Specifically, we're looking for Chapter Leaders and Conference Committee Members.
Meet Your Elected Leaders
Meet Your Elected Leaders
Elected leaders hold 3-year terms of office for a maximum of two terms. Congratulations to our newest officers, Megan and Mary!
Megan Ludeña, MN, RNC-OB, NPD-BC
Megan Ludeña, MN, RNC-OB, NPD-BC
Chair || [email protected]
2023 - 2026
Megan is a Nursing Professional Development Specialist at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. She has been a nurse since 2005 and her direct care experience was most often as a Labor & Delivery nurse or Neonatal Resuscitation Specialist. She has a special interest in nursing education and has taught in both academic and clinical settings. Megan’s special interests outside of perinatal nursing include nursing workforce diversity, racial and ethnic healthcare disparities and transitions to practice.
Mary Hanson, MSN, RNC-OB
Mary Hanson, MSN, RNC-OB
Secretary / Treasurer || [email protected]
2023 - 2026
Mary is an Associate Nurse Manager in Labor and Delivery at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. Her nursing career started as a postpartum nurse in 1994 and the year following she became a labor and delivery nurse. She has experience in low and high risk antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care as well as Level II nursery. In 2017, she took on her current role at Kaiser Sunnyside. She is passionate about caring for the long term antepartum patients and their unique needs.
Meet the Rest of Your Leadership Team
Meet the Rest of Your Leadership Team
Jen Atkisson, BSN, MSN, IBCLC, RN, RNC
Jen Atkisson, BSN, MSN, IBCLC, RN, RNC
Legislative Co-Coordinator
Legislative Co-Coordinator
Jen is a labor and delivery nurse, clinical educator, speaker, patient and nurse advocate, and consultant on standard of care with over 15 years of unique experiences in nursing and consulting. She's reviewed hundreds of cases in 30+ different states, been invited to present multiple times at the National AWHONN, National American Association of Justice Conferences, and the Pacific Perinatal Groups Annual Conferences. She is an AWHONN Fetal Monitoring instructor, hospital consultant, and clinical educator.
Kathryn Dailey-Deaton, RN, BSN (she/her/hers)
Kathryn Dailey-Deaton, RN, BSN (she/her/hers)
Legislative Co-Coordinator
Legislative Co-Coordinator
Kathryn studied Anthropology at University of Oregon, and after taking an anthropology course on Human Reproduction she found her passion in reproductive health. She then completed her BS with a major in Nursing at OHSU in 2012. She began her perinatal nurse career at Providence Everett in Washington. After living abroad for a year and a half, she came back to Oregon and has been working at Emanuel/Randall in L&D and postpartum as well as an RN in the Legacy Midwifery Clinic. When not working, she enjoys exploring life and the world with her two little ones and spouse.
Donna Talain, C-EFM, RNC-OB, BSN, MBA
Donna Talain, C-EFM, RNC-OB, BSN, MBA
Communications Director
Communications Director
Donna’s obstetric experience spans over 10 years. She began her nursing career as a Staff Nurse in Women’s Services at Legacy Emanuel Hospital working both in the Family Birth Center and Labor & Delivery. She then became a nurse at Legacy Medical Group -- Maternal-Fetal Medicine helping women with high-risk pregnancies navigate this joyous yet nerve-racking time of their lives. After a short stint in Clinical Informatics, she returned to her passion of patient care in Perinatology at Kaiser. While she is currently out of the OB world, she continues to volunteer in this area that she loves.
Rosemary Clark, RN-BSN, RNC-OB
Rosemary Clark, RN-BSN, RNC-OB
Social Media Director
Social Media Director
Rosey grew up in Oregon, graduated from OHSU School of Nursing- Portland campus in 2013 and fell into labor and delivery nursing. She has been practicing L&D nursing for over 7 years, and has recently trained to be a resuscitation nurse for newborns. This has given her a great respect for every aspect of a person's birth experience. She has a wonderful husband and two wild fur-babies at home.
Randa Bates, MSN, RN
Randa Bates, MSN, RN
Conference Co-Chair
Conference Co-Chair
Randa has been a NICU nurse for 18 years in various roles. These include bedside nursing, charge nurse, perinatal and pediatric/neonatal flight nurse, Nurse manager (for NICU, Neonatal transport, Family Birthing, Pediatrics, and Lactation). Currently she is a Clinical Professional Practice Development Specialist working to ensure quality education and professional development for Women’s and Children’s Caregivers. This education and professional development often extends in the rural emergency departments. Randa has always had a passion for education, especially when it had significant impact the outcomes for women, neonatal, and pediatric patients. Randa earned her Masters of Nursing from Western Governors University and her Bachelors from Montana State University.
Deidre Miller, MSN-Ed, RNC-NIC
Deidre Miller, MSN-Ed, RNC-NIC
Conference Co-Chair &
Evidence-Based Liaison - Neonatal
Conference Co-Chair &
Evidence-Based Liaison - Neonatal
Deidre is a nursing education and practice specialist that supports neonatal care for Legacy Health. She has worked as a NICU nurse and NICU nurse educator and program developer for nearly 18 years. She started her career at UCSF Children’s Hospital where she was an orignal member of the nation’s first Neuro-Intensive Care Nursery—a unit dedicated to the neuroprotection and development of newborns. She also has special interests in quality improvement, policy development, neonatal resuscitation, and trauma informed care. Outside of work Deidre enjoys spending time with her family and is an avid runner—always training for an upcoming event.
Kara Johnson, DNP, RNC-OB, CNS
Kara Johnson, DNP, RNC-OB, CNS
Evidence-Based Liaison - Women's Health
Evidence-Based Liaison - Women's Health
Kara has over twenty years of experience as a staff nurse, charge nurse, and clinical educator for high-risk labor and delivery, antepartum, and postpartum. Currently she is a Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist and Regional Program Manager Clinical Standardization-Perinatal at Providence Health and Services. Kara earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), a Master of Nursing, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her focus is to support clinical teams with current practice, quality, and research so that they can provide evidence-based care to families throughout their pregnancy and entire birth experience.
Shayla Stankwitz, RN, RNC-OB
Shayla Stankwitz, RN, RNC-OB
Membership Coordinator
Membership Coordinator
Coming soon...
Meet Your Chapter Leadership Team
Meet Your Chapter Leadership Team
Debbie Castile, MN, CNS, NE, RNC-OB, C-EFM
Debbie Castile, MN, CNS, NE, RNC-OB, C-EFM
Chapter Liaison
Chapter Liaison
Deb is a Clinical Nurse Specialist with 20 plus years experience in High Risk Obstetric care. Deb's passion is on patient safety and quality of care. She offers NRP and Fetal Monitoring education but finds her most rewards with direct patient care. Deb is an independent perinatal nurse consultant and she holds a Resource Nurse position in Labor and Delivery at OHSU. When she is not working, Deb loves to spend time with her husband, her extended family (especially 4 grandsons), traveling and of course spending time in her garden and with her chickens.
Jennifer Jamieson, MSN, RNC-OB, C-ONQS, C-EFM
Jennifer Jamieson, MSN, RNC-OB, C-ONQS, C-EFM
Portland Metro
Portland Metro
Jennifer is a Nursing Education and Practice Specialist at Legacy Health with 20 years of experience in perinatal nursing. She is passionate about providing care throughout the Women's Health continuum. Her professional interests include education, documentation, and quality improvement. In her personal life, Jennifer enjoys knitting, cooking, and gardening.
Brenda Saling, MBA-HCM, BSN, RNC-OB
Brenda Saling, MBA-HCM, BSN, RNC-OB
Portland Metro
Portland Metro
Brenda has been a nurse in Labor and Delivery for over 20 years. Currently she is serving as the Manager of Obstetric Subspecialties over Perinatology, UroGynecology and GynOncology at Kaiser Permanente. Prior to this she led the Kaiser Sunnyside Labor and Delivery department for 6 years. She achieved her Masters degree with a focus on HealthCare Administration during the pandemic. Brenda is passionate about the sacredness of birth and our professional responsibility to provide the highest level of care in compassion as well as quality. In her expanded role she hopes to build teams that will continue to provide compassion and quality along the continuum of care.
Randa Bates, MSN, RN
Randa Bates, MSN, RN
Central Oregon
Central Oregon
Randa has been a NICU nurse for 18 years in various roles. These include bedside nursing, charge nurse, perinatal and pediatric/neonatal flight nurse, Nurse manager (for NICU, Neonatal transport, Family Birthing, Pediatrics, and Lactation). Currently she is a Clinical Professional Practice Development Specialist working to ensure quality education and professional development for Women’s and Children’s Caregivers. This education and professional development often extends in the rural emergency departments. Randa has always had a passion for education, especially when it had significant impact the outcomes for women, neonatal, and pediatric patients. Randa earned her Masters of Nursing from Western Governors University and her Bachelors from Montana State University.
Kerensa Ritchie
Kerensa Ritchie
Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon
Bio coming soon...
Meet Your Conference Committee
Meet Your Conference Committee
Our annual Fall Conference is put on by an amazing group of people who volunteer their time to ensure all of you benefit from our premiere event. If you have questions about the Fall Conference or would like to learn more about volunteering, please contact us at [email protected].
Name | Role |
---|---|
Randa Bates | Conference Co-Chair |
Deidre Miller | Conference Co-Chair |
Megan Ludena | President, Social Event Coordinator |
Mary Hanson | Treasurer, Diaper Drive Coordinator |
Andrea Smith | Charity Coordinator |
Brooke Jensen | TBD |
Deb Castile | EWEB, Donations, Raffles, AWHONN Store Coordinator |
Donna Talain | Communications, Registration Coordinator |
Jen Atkisson | Continuing Education Coordinator |
Jennifer Jamieson | TBD |
Rebecca Johnson | Vendor Coordinator |
Rosemary Clark | Social Media, Audio/Visual Coordinator |