Team
University of Minnesota
Carolyn Porta, Principal Investigator
Carolyn Porta is the Principal Investigator for RE Lab. She is a nurse scientist committed to advancing health in partnership with patients, communities, and systems. Porta is International Association of Forensic Nursing (IAFN) board-certified to provide adolescent/adult forensic nursing care (SANE-A) and sees patients through the Regions SANE program based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is Associate Vice President for Clinical Affairs and a professor at the University of Minnesota.
Ellen Frerich, Project Manager
Ellen Frerich is the Project Manager with the SANE Community of Practice Program. Before becoming a nurse, her background was in public policy and social work. As a nurse, she worked in hospital, clinic, and public health settings with a focus on trauma-informed care and sustainable systems of support for health care workers and those they serve.
Cynthia Sherraden Bradley
Cynthia Sherraden Bradley is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Simulation at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She has served as a consultant for simulation programs and presents regularly at national and international nursing conferences. Her program of research is focused on simulation, debriefing, and the intersection of technology and learning to improve the preparedness of health care professionals in delivering safe, high-quality patient care.
Lou Clark
Lou Clark is the Executive Director of M Simulation with the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs and an Associate Professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the Medical School at the University of Minnesota (UMN). As M Simulation Executive Director, she provides oversight and guidance for health care simulation education and training across health sciences programs and system campuses at UMN. Dr. Clark's disciplinary background combines an MFA and professional experience as a theater artist, as well as a doctorate in Human Communication with an emphasis on health and organizational communication. Her related, specific work as an educator focuses on co-creating simulation programs for healthcare trainees to practice advanced communication skill development such as breaking bad news, counseling for patients with suicidal ideation, partnering with LGBTQIA+ patients, providing informed consent, and training providers to support patients who experience sexual assault. Full bio and more information on M Simulation may be found here.
Sarah Hoffman
Sarah Hoffman is an Assistant Professor in the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She studies intergenerational trauma in war affected families and the longitudinal health effects of trauma from torture and war. Prior to her appointment at the University, Hoffman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa, a human rights intern in South America, and a nurse on the inpatient unit of the Johns Hopkins Hospital AIDS service. In conjunction with her faculty position at the University, Hoffman is a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. She teaches and advises in the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs at the school and serves as an affiliate faculty member to the Master of Human Rights program.
Alla Hassan
Alla Hassan is a simulation program specialist, with a focus in simulation. In addition to her work with RE Lab, she is an advocate for victims/survivors of sexual violence. She currently serves as the Ramsey County Sexual Assault Protocol Team coordinator and an anti-violence advocate with Sexual Violence Services (known as SOS). With a background in public health, she’s committed to primary prevention and fostering safe and healthy communities for all. In her free time, she enjoys tending to her plants, listening to Crime Junkies podcast, journaling, and eating good food.
Amal Aaden
Amal Aaden is a volunteer with AMPact, the Americorps initiative focusing on Public Health. She is a University of Minnesota graduate with a degree in Cellular and Organismal Physiology. In her first year with Americorps, she served on the Hennepin County Public Health Assessment Team. This year, she is eager to delve even deeper into the field of public health. During her free time, she enjoys spending time in nature, including exploring Olympic, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National parks this past summer.
Kiran Nabi
Kiran Nabi is a graduate research assistant. She is a 2nd year dental student at the University of Minnesota. She is 22-years old and is half Pakistani and half Indian. Nabi was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Through her strong passion for health equity, she hopes to provide equitable and accessible dental care in the future!
Olivia Plamann
Tara Dillon
Tara Dillon is a graduate research assistant with a focus on the residency and mentorship programs. She recently graduated from the University of Minnesota Master of Nursing program and previously earned a MA (Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology and BA (Communication Studies) from the University of Minnesota. Prior to pursuing a career transition to nursing, she worked for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities as a career and academic counselor and instructor, with a focus on empowering female and BIPOC students. She is a MNCASA certified sexual assault advocate and served on the University of Minnesota Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee for 4 years.
Vedushi Jain
Vedushi Jain is a graduate research assistant for the RE Lab team with a focus in dissemination. She is an internationally trained dentist from India currently pursuing MPH in Health Administration and Policy. She is fervently dedicated to advancing healthcare research, driven by a goal to integrate her expertise in healthcare with the dynamic realm of public health. She is currently involved in research focused on nursing workforce development at the University of Minnesota, School of Nursing Health Systems Co-Op, gaining valuable insights into the intricacies of healthcare systems. Through her work, she actively strives to make a positive impact on community well-being and promote equitable access to healthcare resources.
Lexy Lipsh
Lexy Lipsh is an undergraduate research assistant for the RE Lab team, assisting with the SANE clinical residency, mentorship program, and technical assistance. She is currently a third-year student at the University of Minnesota in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and a part of the University's Honors Program. In addition to her work with RE Lab, Lexy works as a nursing assistant.
Minnesota State University- Mankato
Amy Haycraft
Amy Haycraft is an Assistant Professor at MNSU and practices in a community behavioral health clinic as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. She has an extensive history working with survivors of trauma. She is also an adult nurse practitioner and certified pain nurse with specialization in substance use disorders.
Kelly Krumwiede
Dr. Kelly Krumwiede has 27 years of experience in community and public health nursing in rural communities. She is a nurse educator with experience in simulation scenario development.
Renee Kumpula
Renee Kumpula is an Associate Professor and Graduate Research Faculty at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Her career expertise includes public health nursing, faith community nursing, palliative care/ hospice nursing, and population health. In nursing education, she has developed online courses for academic courses and continuing education for nurses and interprofessional teams. She has served as the director of continuing professional development with the University of Minnesota, School of Nursing.
Program Consultants
Ellen Johnson
Ellen Johnson has been a nurse for 46 years, specializing in Emergency nursing. She has been a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner since 2002 and now devotes all her time to that specialty. Ellen has supervised the SANE program at Regions Hospital since 2005. Regions Hospital SANE Program currently provides sexual assault exams at 5 hospitals in the East metro area. Ellen enjoys collaborating with community partners and is a frequent presenter locally and nationally on forensic nursing through the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), the Sexual Violence Justice Institute (SVJI) and the Ramsey County Sexual Assault Protocol Team. She has been an instructor for the 40-hour SANE didactic course since 2006 and has hosted IAFN clinical skills labs at Regions Hospital since 2015. Ellen is a lifetime member of both IAFN and ENA, and is active in both IAFN and the MN chapter of IAFN.
Linda Walther
Linda Walther is the Clinical Coordinator for the Statewide Medical Forensic Policy Program SVJI@MNCASA. She has over 40 years of nursing experience and has been a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for 15 years. Currently, Walther is a SANE with the Regions Hospital SANE team. She provides training on the medical forensic exams for hospitals and coordinates SANE trainings in Minnesota.