Bio's

At the tender age of 9, Christian declared that he “could learn more on the streets than at school”. Despite his lack of confidence in the traditional education system (and because his parents forbade his dropping out in 3rd grade), Christian went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2019 and began medical school that same year. Two COVID years in, Christian found that although he could locate the humerus and all its landmarks, there was very little to tickle his funny bone. Harkening back to his childhood, Christian took to the streets and found his way to Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy where he is the guy who will happily do “anything that needs to be done.” When not working his “day job”, Christian can be found behind any open mic in the Phoenix Metro area. A semi-finalist in the recent “Funniest Person in the Universe” contest, Christian continues his quest to prove that laughter really is the best medicine!

Dr. Melissa K Valenzuela is an educational counselor with 30 years of experience working in the educational system. Dr. Valenzuela specializes in training for crisis prevention and interventions. She has a passion for creating suicide safer communities. A trainer for Living Works, QPR and Youth Mental Health First Aid enables her to facilitate training in any community. She has grown up and continues to live in the Queen Creek area. 

Question,Persuade,Refer

QPR is intended to teach those who are in a position to recognize the warning signs, clues and suicidal communications of people in trouble to ACT vigorously to prevent a possible tragedy. QPR offers hope through positive action.

 Nancy Tolman, BSN, RN Maricopa County Department of Public Health Public Health Nurse-Nurse Generalist Nancy Tolman currently works as a Nurse Generalist for Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH). She is a graduate of Grand Canyon University Nursing Program. Nancy has worked in different areas of nursing throughout her career. She started as a nurse on the Medical/Surgical floor, at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, and Chandler Regional Medical Center. Two years later, she obtained a permanent RN position at the Maternal Child Health (MCH) Department of Chandler Regional Medical Center (CRH) where she became Lead Nurse. Nancy has always loved teaching and when the opportunity to teach Childbirth Classes along with Baby Your Baby Classes, at CRH, presented itself, Nancy was very happy to apply for the Community Outreach RN position. Because of her bilingual skills and experience working with the community, Nancy was offered the job. She really enjoyed educating the community and understood its great need for education and resources. While working for the Community Outreach Department, Nancy coordinated its immunization program, became a Certified Diabetes Educator, participated in oral health education, promoted breast cancer awareness, and provided hearing and vision screenings for children. In addition, Nancy worked at Chandler Regional Medical Center’ Wound Center as well as the Employee Health Clinic. After leaving Chandler Regional Medical Center, Nancy started working for Sage Hospice, very spiritual work, that she enjoyed, but still she had always wanted to return to community health nursing and when MCDPH had a job opening, Nancy quickly applied. She currently enjoys her Nurse Generalist position at MCDPH where she is at the forefront of public health needs and feels she is making a difference. Nancy is married, has 2 children, and her hobbies are her four small grandchildren 

   Kristen Meliska graduated from Marquette University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She is certified pediatric nurse. Soon after graduating, Kristen discovered her passion for special needs children and their families. She has been in her current position for 14 years as the Nurse Program Coordinator the Trach and Airway, Neuromuscular, Complex Cocci, and Synagis Programs at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Kristen provides support and education to children and their families with new and established tracheostomies or difficult airways. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 sons, running, bowling, and volunteering for the Higley High School marching band.

  Christine (Tina) Mahoney MSN-Ed, RN is a married mom of two and grandmother of three with one on the way. In 1988 she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Curry College in Massachusetts. She began her 35-year nursing career as a Psychiatric Nurse and Home Health nurse, working for Children’s Hospital in Boston and then Desert Vista Hospital in Mesa Arizona.  When her two girls entered grade school, she made the choice to jump into school nursing to be on the kid’s schedule, and in support of work and family balance. She worked 2 years at Las Sendas and Falcon Hill elementary schools in Mesa before moving to Shepherd Junior High, also in Mesa, for the next three years. Pursuing an interest in teaching, Tina went to East Valley Institute of technology and Brookline College to teach nursing assisting for the next 5 years. Eventually, Tina came back to what she hopes is her final work destination and role with Mesa Unified School District.  Merging her love for nursing and teaching, as the Department Specialist for the Health Services Department, she works heavily with placement and transition of students with complex medical needs and in partnership with the Medicaid department in training and supporting the nurses on IEP development and billing. She enhanced her experience and role by earning her master’s in nursing education from Western Governor’s University in 2018. Tina has also been the School Nurses’ Organization secretary and board member for the last 7 years, assisting and collaborating with ADE, AZNA and individual school districts in conference planning, presentations, and professional development opportunities.

   Maureen Roland, BSN, RN, CSPI is the Managing Director for Banner Poison and Drug Information Center (BPDIC). A graduate of Arizona State University, with Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and minor in Human Development, she has a twenty-year professional background in critical care nursing, pediatrics, and public health.  Maureen started her career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. She then spent several years as a Registry RN and Community Health Nurse, before returning to pediatric nursing at Cardon Children’s Hospital. 

Maureen has been with the BPDIC for twelve years. She started as a Specialist in Poison Information (SPI) for one and a half years, before stepping into the Clinical Manager role. She then became a Certified Specialist in Poison Information (CSPI) and Clinical Educator. In 2019, Maureen stepped into the Managing Director position where she has hands on involvement in designing activities and policies and procedures to improve day to day efficiency. 

Her experience includes community outreach efforts with a proven ability to develop and implement procedures and data quality assurance standards. She has functioned as a liaison between physicians, staff, patients, and external agencies for data collection and interpretation. Maureen has also presented in and coordinated national conferences.

Dr. MaryRuth Hackett loves historical fiction, a good cup of coffee, watching her children play soccer, and traveling as much as possible. She earned a PhD in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on Lifespan Human Development, with the goal of helping mothers and fathers better understand themselves and their children. Through her writing and diocesan podcast Parenting Smarts, MaryRuth offers parenting tips and insights based on theory, research, and her own practical experience as a wife and mother to four children. She is a regular contributor at SpiritualDirection.com and contributing author of a number of books and devotions offered through the online women's ministry Blessed is She. MaryRuth is happy to announce the 2022 release of her first book Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter available now in both paperback and ebook. Find out more about her at www.maryruthhackett.com.

       Stephanie is a passionate speaker about the impact of drug abuse on American culture today.Stephanie Siete began her career with Community Bridges, Inc. (CBI) in 2002 as a drug prevention specialist and has worked her way up in the prevention field educating students, teachers, parents, police and universities about drug dangers and trends. Over the years, she moved into the roles of the Public Relations Director and Community Education Director to her recent position of Public Information Officer (PIO). In an ever-changing world of substance abuse, the role of the PIO is to inform the public, first responders and corporate offices (etc.) via media and trainings about new drugs, risks to use and exposure, and provide resources for help on care and addiction. She has spent her career training and networking with local and national police and fire departments, healthcare providers and governmental agencies. She has hosted seminars for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Arizona School Resource Officer Association (ASROA), High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) in Florida and Ohio, International Narcotics Interdiction Association (INIA), and International Latino Gang Investigators Association (ILGIA). Her work with the FBI earned her the honor of the 2016 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award – Phoenix Division. She was recognized in Washington DC by former FBI Director, James Comey, in April 2017. https://www.fbi.gov/about/community-outreach/dcla/2016/phoenix-Stephanie-siete and in late 2017 also received the Sierra Tucson Hope Recognition Award from her colleagues in the field of addiction. She became a member and speaker for PAVE (Parents Against Vaping and E-Cigs) and TFK (Tobacco Free Kids) in 2020.

Sue Ellen Sanchez, RN BSN

Maricopa County Public Health

Nurse Generalist

Sue Ellen is a Nurse Generalist with Maricopa County Public Health (MCDPH). She was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. She graduated from Maryvale High School and started her medical career as a Navy Hospital Corpsman right after high school and transitioned to public health after her time in the service.  

Sue Ellen graduated from Phoenix College’s Bilingual Nursing Program and received her bachelor’s degree from Grand Canyon University. Her nursing career has led her to work in many different areas of nursing. Her favorite and most rewarding has been in Public Health.  

Throughout her career, Sue Ellen has always been involved in the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), Phoenix Chapter. She served on the board as the Community Outreach Committee Chair for two years and most recently as the Scholarship Chair. Sue Ellen enjoys teaching and being involved in her community. She has a servant’s heart and is always willing to help anyone in need. She is married, has a new baby girl Evelyn (Evie), and has 2 fur babies Milo a Jack Russell Mix and Espie a Blue Nose/American Pit Mix.

      Shannon David earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Detroit-Mercy in 1984. She began her 39 year nursing career as an emergency and critical care nurse in suburban Detroit where, over 11 years, she held positions as staff nurse, charge nurse, assistant clinical nursing administrator and staff development educator with an expertise in emergency cardiac care, Shannon was a past speaker for national conferences of the Emergency Nursing Association (Heart Failure) and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (Women and Heart Disease). As a Clinical Nurse Preceptor for Genentech, Shannon helped to develop and present content to educate nurses on the use of new therapies for the treatment of MI and PE. In 1995, Shannon relocated to Tempe, Arizona and began working as an ER nurse and adjunct clinical faculty for Maricopa Community Colleges. In 2006, she transitioned to school nursing. A Nationally Certified School Nurse since 2011, Shannon has been a strong advocate for the profession of nursing and the specialty of School Nursing. As a clinical instructor for the U of A MEPN program, she has mentored nursing students and introduced them to the world of school nursing. As coordinator for Diocesan nurses from 2017 - 2022, Shannon helped to develop policies and protocols used throughout 23 schools and during COVID was instrumental in helping students return to in-person learning in August 2020. She is passionate in her belief that with a competent nurse at school there should be few barriers to a child attending school!

Rachel Calendo is a pediatric diabetes nurse practitioner and manages the diabetes education

program for Banner Children’s. She has over 24 years’ experience working with patients and

families. She sincerely loves her patients and teaching our community about diabetes. To that

end, she and the team spend time at local diabetes events to help teach families as well as

schools about managing diabetes. She also started the program’s teen and family support

groups to further that goal.

Project Director

Division Chief of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine

Professor - University of Arizona

Cori Daines, MD is a Professor of Pediatric  Pulmonary Medicine at the

University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona an Division Chief of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine. Dr. Daines received her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University and her medical degree from St. Louis University.

She completed her residency in Pediatrics at St. Louis University/Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and her fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at the University of North Carolina. She was faculty at Cincinnati

Children’s Hospital prior to coming to Tucson in 2007. She serves onseveral national committees for the American Thoracic Society and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.