Meet Our Board.
Allison Anderson, President
Allison is a CPNP at Latitude Food Allergy Care in Redwood City, CA. She is the SF Bay Area chapter president, and previously served as the chapter's community outreach co-chair (2017-2019). Allison graduated from the UCSF PNP program in 2017, and has experience in school nursing as well as asthma and allergy care for pediatric patients. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, indoor gardening, hiking and SUP.
Claudine Cho, Past President
Claudine is a PNP in primary care through John Muir in San Ramon and is a graduate of the UCSF PNP program. She has been a part of the SF Bay Area NAPNAP board since 2015 in various roles, including newsletter, CE co-chair, and last year's president. She hopes to continue serving the NP community in the coming years.
Emilie Menard, Treasurer
Emilie works as a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, San Francisco where she began her nursing career in 2007. She joined the SF Bay Area NAPNAP Board as a student representative in 2012, transitioned to Membership Chair, and then served as President for the 2016-2017 year. In addition to her service hours she has a special interest in ICU sedation and vascular access. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, camping, wine tasting in Sonoma, and traveling with her husband. She also recently welcomed her daughter, Madeline, into the world.
Torrie Patton, Secretary
Torrie graduated from UCSF in 2013. She and worked in primary care for 5 years before starting as a Kidney Transplant NP at Stanford Children's Health in 2018. She has served on the SF Bay Area NAPNAP Board since 2015 first as Legislative Chair and now as Secretary.
Catie Straut, Continuing Education Co-Chair
Catie works as a PNP in primary care in San Rafael, CA. She graduated from the UCSF PNP MSN program in 2018, with a minor in Global Health. Prior to living in the Bay Area, Catie completed her BSN at Columbia University School of Nursing in New York, where she was an Academic Nursing Scholar and a Macy Scholar of Narrative Medicine, and she also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. Catie lives in San Francisco with her husband and their labradoodle puppy, Gus.
Megan Pugh, Continuing Education Co-Chair
Meaghan works as a PNP in pediatric primary care at Pinwheel Pediatrics in Concord. She also teaches the Heart to Heart class for LPCH speaking to parents and pre-teens about puberty and growing up. She graduated from the PNP program at UCSF in 2012. When she is not working or teaching, she enjoys being outdoors hiking, biking or skiing with her husband and rambunctious toddler.
Gina Dagher, Community Outreach Co-Chair
Gina graduated from the PNP program at UCSF in 2017 and was previously a SFNAPNAP Student Representative in 2016. Gina also takes on an editorial role with NPstudent.com, a curated source of free online resources for pediatric trainees. NPstudent.com is an active collaborative project between the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of NAPNAP, UCSF School of Nursing, and volunteer editorial staff. Prior to entering the nursing field, Gina worked in oncology research studying novel mechanisms in which cells acquire DNA damage. Her interest in nursing was fueled by the intent to combine a love for science with the art of compassion. In her free time Gina enjoys playing soccer and exploring the Bay Area.
Michele Santilhano, Community Outreach Co-Chair
Harriott "Hattie" Silliman, Continuing Education Co-Chair
Vanessa Puschendorf, Legislative Co-Chair
Vanessa works as a Primary Care PNP at Native American Health Center School-Based Health Clinics in the East Bay. She graduated from the UCSF MSN program in 2016. She is passionate about immigrant rights and child and adolescent health advocacy. Vanessa was a recipient of the 2018-2019 NAPNAP Advocacy Scholars Award.
Colleen Surmay, Legislative Co-Chair
Colleen is currently working as a PNP for the LPCH Eating Disorders Program. Her MSN is from UNC- Chapel Hill, with a concentration in Primary Care, and her BSN is from the University of Pittsburgh. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the Bay Area and hanging out with her very sweet Cavalier King Charles puppy, Baloo.
Rumi Yokota, Membership Chair
Rumi went to UCSD then graduated from Samuel Merritt's ELMSN program in 2012. She has been working in pediatric primary care and pediatric cardiology since then. She currently works as a NP in Stanford Children's pediatric cardiology department, SFGH's pediatric primary care and pediatric cardiology outpatient clinics. She also works at Kaiser SF's newborn nursery.
Kristin Cosner, Website Chair
Kristin works in the Lucile Packard Children's Oncology Department. She recently graduated from UCSF as a PNP and obtained her CPNP-AC license. After her daughter finished cancer treatments, she founded and directs Team G Childhood Cancer Foundation. She received the UCSF Chancellors Award for Public Service and the Nursing Alumni Student Award for Meritorious Service. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her daughters playing in the surf in Santa Cruz, biking, skiing, and running.
Mia MacLean Vernic, Newsletter Chair
Mia is a recent graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing PNP-PC program. At VUSN, she was a recipient of the Hilliard & Nancy Travis Scholarship and was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Mia has experience working as a school nurse and currently volunteers as an RN at RotaCare’s free clinic. She is now studying for her PNP-PC board certification exam and working on getting her California licensure. Mia also completed her bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt University, where she played division one SEC soccer, studied child development, and worked in the Children’s Learning Research Lab. As a San Francisco native, Mia enjoys running, yoga, being outdoors, and trying new restaurants in her free time!
Amber Curry, ACPNP Student RepresentativeNa
Amber is entering her 2nd year in the ACPNP program at UCSF while working at Benioff Children's Emergency Room at an RN. She grew up in Golden, Colorado and received her BS from CalPoly in San Luis Obispo, CA in Kinesiology, then went back to school for her BSN at Baylor in Dallas, Texas. She has been working in pediatric EDs across the country as a staff and travel nurse since 2012. She loves the outdoors, traveling, hiking, yummy food and her dog Roscoe.
Katie Machado, PCPNP Student RepresentativeKatie is currently a primary care PNP student and LEAH trainee at the University of California, San Francisco. During her time at UCSF, Katie has been dedicated to serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our community as the Clinic Director of the UCSF Shelter Clinic and Street Nursing team board member. Through this work, she has become passionate about working with children at risk for homelessness, particularly children within and aging out of the foster care system. Katie currently works as an Acute Crisis Stabilization Nurse at Edgewood Center for Children and Families. At Edgewood, Katie works with children experiencing cute psychiatric crises and also conducts medical assessments for the Childhood Protection Center for children entering the foster care system. In addition to her work with this population as a nurse and future primary care PNP, Katie hopes to expand her career to help these children through health policy interventions at the state and federal level.
Allison is a CPNP at Latitude Food Allergy Care in Redwood City, CA. She is the SF Bay Area chapter president, and previously served as the chapter's community outreach co-chair (2017-2019). Allison graduated from the UCSF PNP program in 2017, and has experience in school nursing as well as asthma and allergy care for pediatric patients. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, indoor gardening, hiking and SUP.
Claudine Cho, Past President
Claudine is a PNP in primary care through John Muir in San Ramon and is a graduate of the UCSF PNP program. She has been a part of the SF Bay Area NAPNAP board since 2015 in various roles, including newsletter, CE co-chair, and last year's president. She hopes to continue serving the NP community in the coming years.
Emilie Menard, Treasurer
Emilie works as a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, San Francisco where she began her nursing career in 2007. She joined the SF Bay Area NAPNAP Board as a student representative in 2012, transitioned to Membership Chair, and then served as President for the 2016-2017 year. In addition to her service hours she has a special interest in ICU sedation and vascular access. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, camping, wine tasting in Sonoma, and traveling with her husband. She also recently welcomed her daughter, Madeline, into the world.
Torrie Patton, Secretary
Torrie graduated from UCSF in 2013. She and worked in primary care for 5 years before starting as a Kidney Transplant NP at Stanford Children's Health in 2018. She has served on the SF Bay Area NAPNAP Board since 2015 first as Legislative Chair and now as Secretary.
Catie Straut, Continuing Education Co-Chair
Catie works as a PNP in primary care in San Rafael, CA. She graduated from the UCSF PNP MSN program in 2018, with a minor in Global Health. Prior to living in the Bay Area, Catie completed her BSN at Columbia University School of Nursing in New York, where she was an Academic Nursing Scholar and a Macy Scholar of Narrative Medicine, and she also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. Catie lives in San Francisco with her husband and their labradoodle puppy, Gus.
Megan Pugh, Continuing Education Co-Chair
Meaghan works as a PNP in pediatric primary care at Pinwheel Pediatrics in Concord. She also teaches the Heart to Heart class for LPCH speaking to parents and pre-teens about puberty and growing up. She graduated from the PNP program at UCSF in 2012. When she is not working or teaching, she enjoys being outdoors hiking, biking or skiing with her husband and rambunctious toddler.
Gina Dagher, Community Outreach Co-Chair
Gina graduated from the PNP program at UCSF in 2017 and was previously a SFNAPNAP Student Representative in 2016. Gina also takes on an editorial role with NPstudent.com, a curated source of free online resources for pediatric trainees. NPstudent.com is an active collaborative project between the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of NAPNAP, UCSF School of Nursing, and volunteer editorial staff. Prior to entering the nursing field, Gina worked in oncology research studying novel mechanisms in which cells acquire DNA damage. Her interest in nursing was fueled by the intent to combine a love for science with the art of compassion. In her free time Gina enjoys playing soccer and exploring the Bay Area.
Michele Santilhano, Community Outreach Co-Chair
Harriott "Hattie" Silliman, Continuing Education Co-Chair
Vanessa Puschendorf, Legislative Co-Chair
Vanessa works as a Primary Care PNP at Native American Health Center School-Based Health Clinics in the East Bay. She graduated from the UCSF MSN program in 2016. She is passionate about immigrant rights and child and adolescent health advocacy. Vanessa was a recipient of the 2018-2019 NAPNAP Advocacy Scholars Award.
Colleen Surmay, Legislative Co-Chair
Colleen is currently working as a PNP for the LPCH Eating Disorders Program. Her MSN is from UNC- Chapel Hill, with a concentration in Primary Care, and her BSN is from the University of Pittsburgh. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the Bay Area and hanging out with her very sweet Cavalier King Charles puppy, Baloo.
Rumi Yokota, Membership Chair
Rumi went to UCSD then graduated from Samuel Merritt's ELMSN program in 2012. She has been working in pediatric primary care and pediatric cardiology since then. She currently works as a NP in Stanford Children's pediatric cardiology department, SFGH's pediatric primary care and pediatric cardiology outpatient clinics. She also works at Kaiser SF's newborn nursery.
Kristin Cosner, Website Chair
Kristin works in the Lucile Packard Children's Oncology Department. She recently graduated from UCSF as a PNP and obtained her CPNP-AC license. After her daughter finished cancer treatments, she founded and directs Team G Childhood Cancer Foundation. She received the UCSF Chancellors Award for Public Service and the Nursing Alumni Student Award for Meritorious Service. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and her daughters playing in the surf in Santa Cruz, biking, skiing, and running.
Mia MacLean Vernic, Newsletter Chair
Mia is a recent graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing PNP-PC program. At VUSN, she was a recipient of the Hilliard & Nancy Travis Scholarship and was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Mia has experience working as a school nurse and currently volunteers as an RN at RotaCare’s free clinic. She is now studying for her PNP-PC board certification exam and working on getting her California licensure. Mia also completed her bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt University, where she played division one SEC soccer, studied child development, and worked in the Children’s Learning Research Lab. As a San Francisco native, Mia enjoys running, yoga, being outdoors, and trying new restaurants in her free time!
Amber Curry, ACPNP Student RepresentativeNa
Amber is entering her 2nd year in the ACPNP program at UCSF while working at Benioff Children's Emergency Room at an RN. She grew up in Golden, Colorado and received her BS from CalPoly in San Luis Obispo, CA in Kinesiology, then went back to school for her BSN at Baylor in Dallas, Texas. She has been working in pediatric EDs across the country as a staff and travel nurse since 2012. She loves the outdoors, traveling, hiking, yummy food and her dog Roscoe.
Katie Machado, PCPNP Student RepresentativeKatie is currently a primary care PNP student and LEAH trainee at the University of California, San Francisco. During her time at UCSF, Katie has been dedicated to serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our community as the Clinic Director of the UCSF Shelter Clinic and Street Nursing team board member. Through this work, she has become passionate about working with children at risk for homelessness, particularly children within and aging out of the foster care system. Katie currently works as an Acute Crisis Stabilization Nurse at Edgewood Center for Children and Families. At Edgewood, Katie works with children experiencing cute psychiatric crises and also conducts medical assessments for the Childhood Protection Center for children entering the foster care system. In addition to her work with this population as a nurse and future primary care PNP, Katie hopes to expand her career to help these children through health policy interventions at the state and federal level.