Welcome

President : Meghan Foster, RNC - term expires 2019

Hello all and thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving you as your President. I have been involved in SDPA for several years, starting with planning committee member, board member, President elect and now President. I have enjoyed every moment of being involved in SDPA. I thoroughly enjoy meeting all of the members and working with speakers to produce a fantastic conference. I have worked in the Avera Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 12 years as a bedside nurse, transport nurse and currently as clinical nurse educator. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my 6 year old daughter, Madelyn. We enjoy camping with family and enjoying the nice weather for the short time we have it here in South Dakota.  I also enjoy crocheting accessories  for those cold weather months.

Past President: Lisa Lubbers, CNP- term expires 2019

I am a Board member for SDPA as of 2013 and served as President Elect for 2015-2017.  I'm also active on the Planning Committee.  I have been a member SDPA for many years.  I love being part of an organization that understands the importance of ongoing learning and collaboration with all types of professionals in the area of women's and children's health.

I currently work in the NICU at Sanford Health as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.  I have received degrees from USD, SDSU, and Vanderbilt University.  I'm a born and raised South Dakota girl and appreciate the diversity of cultures we have in this great state.

 I'm married and have a daughter who is a senior at Minnesota State University and a son who is a junior at Roosevelt High School.  I also enjoy my three dogs, camping, going for drives, walks, and reading.

 I look forward to many more years of contributing to SDPA.  I also look forward to representing all of SDPA as a board member and President. Please don't hesitate to contact me or any other board member if you have suggestions to make our organization even better. 

President Elect: Renae Buehner, RNC - term expires 2019

 I graduated from  Dakota Wesleyan University with my associates degree in 2001. I went back to get my bachelors degree and graduated from University of Phoenix in 2012.

I have worked the majority of my nursing career on labor and delivery. I am an AWHONN fetal monitoring instructor and teach a portion of the Avera Perinatal practicum. I am currently the unit Supervisor for Labor and Delivery.

For family, I married my high school sweetheart and we have 3 beautiful daughters that keep us busy.

Secretary Treasurer: Lisa Jorgenson  - term expires 2021

.I currently work in the NICU at Avera McKennan Hospital. I was a NICU nurse from 2003-2008, have been on the NICU transport team from 2005- present, and a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner from 2008 to present. I graduated from Creighton University in 2003 with my BSN and from the University of Nebraska Medical Center with my MSN in 2008. My clinical interests include: quality improvement activities, staff education, and reviewing Vermont Oxford Data.

I am born and raised in Sioux Falls. My husband Jay and I have four children- Jonah (11), Jack (8), Lucy and Liam (5 year old twins).

Executive Assistant: Susie Petersen, RNC

Kerri Bjornson, CNP - term expires 2019

My name is Kerri Bjornson and I am currently the Secretary/Treasurer of the South Dakota Perinatal Association thru 2017. I have been a member of SDPA since starting at Sioux Valley/Sanford in 1998.

I have been a NICU nurse since 1997 until I return to complete my Master's in Nursing for Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in 2006. I was on the flight team for 9 of those years.

I am married to Tige Bjornson, NNP and we have 2 very busy kids, Alexzandra who is 14 and Ben who is 11.

Katherine Wang, MD - term expires 2020

I was born in Los Angeles, CA and moved to the Midwest to attend the University of Michigan Medical School.  That is where I met my wonderful husband (a Midwesterner) and have since become a Midwesterner myself.  I trained at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, OH before moving here to Sioux Falls.  I am currently a neonatologist at Avera McKennan Hospital and have two lovely young boys who remind me daily of all the things you don’t learn in medical school.

Laurie Hogden, MD - term expires 2018

Laurie Hogden, MD is a neonatologist at Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls.  She is a Wisconsin native and moved to Sioux Falls 2 years ago.  In addition to attending in the Boekelheide Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Laurie see patients in the NICU follow-up clinic and enjoys teaching pediatric residents in the simulation lab and at the bedside.  She has a special interest in supporting parental tobacco cessation in the NICU setting through support of a March of Dimes grant.  Laurie works with a multi-disciplinary group to manage the local Vermont Oxford Network database. 

Laurie lives with her husband and black lab in Sioux Falls.

Jason Picconi, MD - term expires 2019

Tige Bjornson, CNP - term expires 2019

Newly appointed board member for SDPA.  Nurse Practitioner at Sanford Medical Center and Children's Hospital.  I am involved in the NICU for the past 11 years.  I graduated from SDSU with a BSN in nursing in 2001.  I pursued and obtained a MSN in nursing specializing as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in 2008 from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

I am married, my wife is the treasurer of SDPA and is also a Nurse Practitioner in the NICU at Sanford.  We have 2 kids, Alexzandra who is 14, and Ben who is 11.

I enjoy spending time with my family, riding my Harley, golfing, and playing guitar.

Ann Rowenhorst, RN - term expires 2018

Heather Solon, RN, CCE - term expires 2018

I have been a RN since 1996. I attended Nursing School at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln ( UNMC) and graduated in 1996 where I received my BSN.  I then worked at United Medical Center Hospital in Cheyenne, WY from 1998-2000 in the Level I and Level II Newborn Nursery/NICU.  I stayed home for a few years to raise my two girls for awhile before I returned to work again. My next position was at Rapid City Regional Hospital in 2005, where I have been working on the Maternal Child Floor in Obstetrics, the Newborn Nursery, and also in the NICU as well since then. I also worked at Rapid City Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic from 2011-2012 as a PRN RN.

I joined SDPA in 2009 and have been serving on the planning committee. I recently became a board member  in 2014 and look forward to that new role as well as being on the planning committee.

I have been a Childbirth Educator for Rapid City Regional Hospital since 2013, and received my Certification as a Certified Childbirth Educator in 2014. I help teach the Postpartum/Nursery Childbirth Education  classes at Rapid City Regional Hospital.

I live in Kadoka, SD. I am married to Patrick, and have 4 children. Two daughters and two sons. Shaina is 16, Savannah is 14, River is 8 and Ridge is 2 1/2.  I enjoy gardening of all types, reading, swimming, traveling, and watching movies, and chasing the children around.

Beth Graff, BSN - term expires 2020

I graduated from SDSU with a BSN in nursing in 1992. I have worked my entire nursing career at Madison Regional Health System in Madison, SD. I have worked in this critical access hospital in many capacities over the years. I have worked in all areas of the hospital but my true love is in obstetrics. In 2006 I accepted the OB Supervisor role. I taught childbirth education classes over the years and I am also an NRP instructor. I work closely with our local providers to deliver top notch obstetrical care for our community.

I live in Wentworth, SD with my husband, Tim. We have 4 children. Mandie is 24, Matt is 20 and my twins, Mariah and Marissa are 19. We also have 3 grandchildren. I have been blessed to attend the birth of all 3 of my grandchildren, now ages 4, 18 months, and 13 months. I enjoy spending time with family, watching movies, and volunteering with our youth at church.

Charissa Ortman Brockmueller - term expires 2020

I graduated from Augustana University in 1999 with a Bachelor's of Arts in Nursing and then began my nursing career at Sioux Valley/Sanford Health.  After 5 years of NICU nursing experience, I entered into a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program at Vanderbilt University and graduated with a Master's of Science degree in 2006.  I currently work full-time at Sanford Health as a NNP in the NICU and with the flight team.  My clinical areas of interest include simulation training, flight team, and mentoring.

My husband, Brad, and I live in Sioux Falls and we have a daughter named Alexa in middle school who is active in music, athletics, and academics.  I play the trombone in a community brass choir and enjoy traveling all over the country to visit friends and family and/or sightseeing.