Board Members

Lisa Alexander BSN, RN, NCSN

LiAlexander@pusd11.net

Lead Nurse Peoria Unified School District

623-486-6081 

Lisa Alexander has been the Nursing Coordinator for the Peoria Unified School District for the past 9 years, worked as the School Nurse for Centennial High School for 13 years and she is in her 19th year total with Peoria Unified. Peoria Unified has 42 schools, 36,000 students, and 4000 employees. In August of 2021, Peoria Unified awarded Lisa with the honorable Raymond S. Kellis award, which goes to the top 1% of employees. Prior to working for Public Education, Lisa worked as an oncology nurse, rehabilitation nurse, renal/diabetic nurse, telemetry nurse, and as a post-partum nurse. She also volunteered as a crisis interventionist with the Phoenix Fire Department, where she committed to helping community members on their worst days. Lisa acted as an adjunct professor to Grand Canyon University students enrolled in the Community Nursing course. 

Lisa Alexander graduated from Plattsburgh State University of New York in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and earned her Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN) July of 2022. She is the chair of the School Leadership Committee with the Arizona Department of Education and has been accepted into a mentorship program with Arizona School Nurse Access Program (ASAP), where Lisa acts as a mentor for a school nurse entering a leadership position. She is currently enrolled in a School Nurse leadership Certification Course through Northeastern University School Health Academy, and she is a member of the National Association of School Nurses. Lisa is a proud parent to three children, four chihuahua’s, and has been married for 20 years. 

Rachel Muth RN, MBA NCSN

rmuth@pvschools.net

District co-lead Nurse

Horizon High School

Rachel Muth obtained her BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) in 1989 from University of

Missouri, St. Louis. She completed both Masters of Arts in Healthcare Management and a

Masters in Business Administration concurrently at Webster University graduating cum laude.

Rachel began her nursing career as a staff nurse in intensive care at Jewish Hospital at

Washington University Medical Center where she received national certification in critical care.

In 1995, Rachel joined the YWCA St. Louis Head Start Program as Health Services

Administrator. This is where her passion for public health began. During her tenure with Head

Start, she worked as a regional consultant to the National Head Start Association and won

multiple national awards for health services coordination as well as served on the Missouri State

Immunization Coalition. She was awarded the Focus (formerly COR) Women in Leadership

Fellow in 1999. In early 2004, Rachel moved with her family to Scottsdale, Arizona, where she

began her career in school health as a high school nurse for Paradise Valley Unified School

District. She became one of the lead nurses in the district in 2019. Rachel currently serves as

Team Lead for the District Crisis Team, a member of the District Emergency Response Team,

Instructor Trainer for the American Health and Safety Institute, and a mentor nurse for the

Arizona School Nurse Access Program. Rachel is also a member of the Arizona Medical

Reserve Corp and volunteers on the Maricopa Vaccination Strike Team providing vaccinations

for childhood immunizations, Hepatitis A, Flu and COVID. She is trained as a Maricopa POD

(Point of Dispensing) Team Leader. She was recently elected to the position of President Elect

of the School Nurse Organization of Arizona and is currently a member of the 2023/2024 cohort

for the Northeastern University School Leadership Academy. Rachel is a widow and mom to

two children and four rescue dogs.

Denise Schooley, RN, BSN, NCSN

 denise.schooley@greathearts.org 

 Denise is a Southern California native that relocated to Arizona 22 years ago. She has  been married for 27 years and they have 4 beautiful children. She has been a nurse for 26 years, worked mostly in the Women and Infant services. Her first love of nursing was antepartum at Banner Good Samaritan and Banner Estrella. She was introduced to school nursing 8 years ago when I started at Archway Trivium West, a Great Hearts Charter School in Goodyear, Arizona. School nursing was much different than the hospital and quickly became a newfound love in her nursing career. She was promoted to the Director of Nursing position three years ago and she has absolutely loved her new role. There is so much to still learn in nursing and adapt to as our profession is always changing. Her favorite food is sushi, She loves to read her bible and dance in front of her kids just to embarrass them. She looks forward to being the SNOA Vice President and captivating all the position has to offer. 

Alana Parker MSN-Ed, BSN, RN, NCSN

Email: amparker3@mpsaz.org

School Nurse

Mesa Public Schools

Alana Parker is a high school nurse for Mesa Public Schools in Mesa, Arizona.

She has been a registered nurse since 2009. Her career began performing pediatric and adult wound care in the home health setting after receiving her associate degree in nursing through Rio Salado college in 2009. Wanting to pursue more education, she began studies at Arizona State University (ASU) and graduated in 2011 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She began school nursing while volunteering to precept nurses from Arizona State University and Grand Canyon University (GCU) as needed for public health in the school setting. She loved teaching so she went back for her master’s in nursing education at Grand Canyon University, graduating in December of 2019. Her consistent goal to increase her learning led her to apply for the Arizona School Nurse Access program (ASAP) in which she became a nurse mentor for other nurses in Arizona in August of 2022. She achieved her National Certification in School Nursing, March 2023. Alana is currently enrolled in Northeastern University’s School nurse Leadership academy to further her knowledge in how to become a better advocate and leader. In her free time, she loves to spend time with her 4 boys and husband. She also loves to hike, bake and read.

 Sarah Portle currently serves as the Program Manager for the Arizona School Nurse Access Program (ASAP), working with the Arizona Foundation for the Future of Nursing. Sarah is a graduate of both Aurora University, with her BS in Nursing and of Eastern University, with her M.Ed. in School Health Services. She is currently working on her PhD in Nursing and Health Innvoation at ASU. She has been a school nurse for over 14 years, working in almost every school health care setting. In her free time, Sarah enjoys hiking and travelling with her family. Sarah is excited to use her passion for students and nursing to advance the practice of school nurses in Arizona. 

Sarah T. Portle, M.ed, RN, NCSN 

sarah@azffn.org

sarahportle@gmail.com

Sandra Brown RN

skbrown@mpsaz.org

Mesa Public Schools

Education (Conference Committee) Volunteers