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School of Nursing & Health Innovations Faculty

The faculty of the University of Portland School of Nursing & Health Innovations faculty brings their deep health care expertise to life as educators. As lifelong learners, our faculty are involved in a number of areas of research including ethical dilemmas in nursing, best practices for clinical education, nursing workforce retention, integrative health, capacity building in disadvantaged communities, and many others. Each faculty member embodies our values of social justice, academic excellence, integrity, and compassion, and all are committed to educating health care leaders of the future.

Faculty Highlights

Assistant Professor Layla Garrigues

“People are gems of inestimable value. I have worked with many different populations from different backgrounds in rural to urban settings, locally and globally. The application of social justice in nursing practice and in our interactions with each other is where we can truly see the threads of humanity and love that bind us all together.” – Dr. Layla Garrigues

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UP alum Lisa Le-Vaughan '15 back on The Bluff as a School of Nursing Instructor

Lisa Le-Vaughan graduated from the University of Portland with a bachelor of science in nursing in 2015. Prior to returning to the University of Portland, Lisa worked on the orthopedics unit at Providence Portland Medical Center, a dedicated educational unit. Here, she had the opportunity to work with UP students and found how much she enjoyed mentoring students. Lisa realized teaching was her passion and decided to continue her education. She graduated with a master of science in nursing education from the University of Texas at Tyler in May 2020.

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Meet Our New Faculty

Assistant Professor Marjorie Attis-Josias

Marjorie Attis-Josias has worked in a variety of nursing settings, including rehabilitation, long-term care, cardiac transplant, home health, medical-surgical, neuroscience, respiratory, mother-baby, and education. She received her B.S.N. from Rutgers University in 1996 and obtained a master of science in nursing from the University of Central Florida in 2013. Marjorie is certified as a clinical nurse leader (C.N.L) and accepted a C.N.L. position in an acute care facility in the Pacific Northwest in 2014, where she was asked to open and manage a new neuroscience unit. She completed her Ph.D. in nursing education at Capella University in 2020.

Associate Professor Andrew Lafrenz

Professor Andrew Lafrenz is the Director of the Public Health & Wellness program and previously taught at UP in the Biology department for 11 years. His love of health and wellness started early on as a student-athlete on the UP Cross-Country and Track Team as an undergraduate. His background is in behavioral epidemiology and maternal and child health with a focus on obesity, physical activity and nutrition behavior across the lifespan. He also worked as an epidemiologist and infectious disease investigator on the COVID-19 Response Team for Columbia County.

Instructor Corey Pressman

Corey Pressman is an instructor in the Integrative Health & Wellness program. He is a trauma-informed personal coach and is both a writer and an artist. He is co-founder of Intangible, a consulting firm that works with clients to help them envision and enact human-centered innovation and to nurture a vital organizational culture. Corey's approach to creativity has led him to develop, lead, and collaborate on cultural and strategic projects with Google, Adidas, REI, and Nike.

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Full-time Faculty

Adjunct Faculty