MEET THE BOARD

We are here to serve you.

Jessica Daynes

President
​president@utahstudentnurse.org​

Jessica Daynes is a nursing student from the Bay Area in California! She loves helping and serving people, and she believes leadership positions are simply opportunities to serve others and make a difference. Whenever she has the opportunity, she loves playing volleyball, going to sporting events, and dancing. She loves her family and is the second of five children. As the President for Utah SNA, she hopes to leave a legacy and make it happen! She intends to work with the board to create incredible events for the nursing students of Utah to enable them and help them become the best nurses they can be!

Megan Cox

Vice President
vicepresident@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

Megan Cox is currently a nursing student at Snow College. She plans to pursue a career in women's health as a Nurse Practitioner, and is excited to use the opportunity of UtSNA to further that goal. She is currently working as a CNA at a rural hospital and loves it! She loves traveling and trying new foods with her husband, Quincy. She also loves to craft, read and learn new things. Enjoying the sunshine with her dog Lucy is her favorite way to pass the time. Megan has a deep passion for health care, and is excited to share it with others! She is ecstatic to serve the state of Utah in this capacity, and looks forward to a great year!

Wheeler Heck

Secretary
secretary@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

Wheeler is a BSN student at the University of Utah. He has extensive experience with peoples living with intellectual disabilities. Wheeler served as the Head of Delegation for two years with the U of U Special Olympics Utah Team. His healthcare repertoire includes Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy assisting work on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Wheeler plans to pursue a DNP in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. He and his husband live in Salt Lake and enjoy spending time traveling and walking their yellow lab, Beau.

 

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Jennifer Salazar

Treasurer
treasurer@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

wait for it...!

Emmy Smith

Convention Director
conventiondirector@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

wait for it...!

Kristen Wheelhouse

Communications Director
communicationsdirector@​UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

Bianca Bowes

Breakthrough to Nursing
btndirector@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

My name is Bianca Bowes. I am originally from Brooklyn, New York. I am the first American in my South African family. I am in my final year of nursing school, working towards my BSN. I am the treasurer for Eagle Gate College’s chapter of the NSNA. I plan to continue my education after I receive my BSN and work towards my Master’s in Family Medicine and become a Nurse Practitioner. I hope that my input in the Utah Student Nurses Association will be impactful. I am eager and excited to bring a positive outlook for new nursing students and those interested in the medical field. I will continue to encourage as many as I can to keep pushing forward toward their dreams and influence change through my position to help uplift and motivate the lives of others.

Taylor Noyes

Regional Director 1
region1director@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG
​

Taylor Noyes is a student nurse at Eagle Gate College for Nursing graduating with his BSN in December. He has a background in healthcare as a pharmacy technician, EMT, CNA and phlebotomist. He enjoys meeting new people, helping others in his cohort understand pharmacology and being the class jokester. Outside of school Taylor enjoys spending time in nature, traveling to new destinations, gaining new knowledge, and looking for opportunities to help those in need. As Region 1 Director, Taylor looks forward to reaching out to the student of his schools and making their experiences in SNA special and meaningful. He hopes to help increase membership in his region by meeting with students and teaching about the amazing organization that is NSNA.

Dakota Venegas

Regional Director 2
region2director@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG
​

Hello! I am a current nursing student in my first semester at Southern Utah University. My goal is to work abroad as a nurse and I am also interested in flight nursing. I am excited to be a part of USNA so that I can reach out to anyone who may be interested in nursing and invite everyone to explore the SMORGASBORD of options within this career field! I love to travel, play guitar and be outside hiking, biking, climbing, snowboarding, paddle boarding...anything that puts me out in the sunshine :)

Sophia Almeida

Region 3 Director
region3director@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

My name is Sophia Almeida. I am a second semester nursing student at Brigham Young University and work as a CNA at Utah Valley Hospital. I am also in my second year of studying Portuguese. I enjoy hiking, soccer, art, and spending time with my friends and family. I love SNA, and I am excited to be a part of the Utah SNA Board!

Shawntae Gagnon

Region 4 Director 
region4director@UTAHSTUDENTNURSE.ORG

Shawntae Gagnon grew up in Brigham City, Utah. She met her husband at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, where they are both attending school. Shawntae is a current nursing student at SUU and has aspirations to pursue an advanced degree in midwifery and women's health. Shawntae enjoys spending time with her family and friends, dancing, and of course, being a member of the Utah Student Nurses Association board of directors! Shawntae is honored and excited to serve as this years Region 4 Director and hopes to bring increased engagement and involvement to all Southern Utah nursing schools!

Allison Swenson

Faculty Advisor
facultyadviser2@utahsutdentnurse.org

Allison began her nursing career in 1997 as an LPN. She has since received her RN in 1999, BSN in 2003, and MSN in 2011. She has worked in pediatrics and float nursing for most of her career. She has also done some administrative nursing as well, working in clinical education, case management and patient placement. Allison started teaching in 2010 and is currently an Associate Professor in the Nursing Department at Utah Valley University teaching in the fundamentals and pediatric courses. She loves serving as a Faculty Advisor for the Utah Student Nurses Association. "I enjoy teaching and working with nursing students. Their knowledge, enthusiasm, and drive to learn and succeed is inspiring."

Rieneke Holman

Faculty Advisor
facultyadviser1@utahstudentnurse.org
​

Rieneke has been a nurse since 1997. She received her PhD in 2018 from University of Nevada, Las Vegas and focused her research on teaching pharmacology in the clinical setting. She currently teaches the first semester pharmacology course and is the Associate Program Director at Weber State University. She specialized in labor and delivery nursing and loves to teach maternity nursing as well as pharmacology. Rieneke loves working with students and believes in promoting professionalism in nursing beginning at the student level. She has enjoyed serving as a faculty consultant to the state board because she has been able to get to know nursing students from all over the state.

Jennifer Harrington

Faculty Advisor
facultyadviser3@utahstudentnurse.org

I began my career in health sciences in 2002 as an EMT, advancing to an Intermediate-Advanced EMT in 2003 before changing focus and working as a medical assistant (MA). My interest to pursue a nursing career, spurred from those experiences and my journey towards a career in nursing officially began with my certification as a nursing assistant (CNA) in 2008, then a nursing degree (RN) in 2010, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 2013, and a master’s degree in nursing education and leadership (MSN) in 2017. As a nurse, I have been fortunate to practice in a variety of settings, including oncology, home health/rehab, long-term care, and hospice as well as nursing education. Currently, I am an Instructor and Program Coordinator in the DSU CNA program, Advisor to the Dixie Student Nurses Association and a Faculty Advisor for the Utah Student Nurses Association. I enjoy helping students learn, and I am committed to students' success!