Dr. Sandra Pennington, Board Chair
Dr. Sandra Pennington brings more than 50 years of experience in nursing, higher education, and academic leadership. She holds a PhD and an MS in Nursing from the University of Kentucky and a BS in Nursing from Eastern Kentucky University.
At Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Dr. Pennington held senior roles including Academic Dean, Provost, Executive Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Initiatives, and Chief of Staff to the President. After nearly 20 years of service, she was named Administrator Emeritus. Earlier in her career, she held an endowed chair in nursing at Berea College, where she was later named Professor Emerita.
Dr. Pennington serves as a peer evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and has contributed to accreditation and evaluation work for the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. She currently serves on the board of Wasatch Educational, Inc., and has served on the board of Neumont University.
Her work has focused on accreditation, governance, assessment, strategic planning, and data-informed decision-making. She co-authors Abrams’ Clinical Drug Therapy and has written and co-written other nursing texts, book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles.
Morris D. Linton, J.D., Board Vice Chair
Mr. Linton served as Senior Counsel at Intermountain Healthcare from 1982 until 2016. His career at Intermountain Healthcare focused on corporate law, computer law, bioethics, and HIPAA regulation. Mr. Linton completed his undergraduate studies at Yale and Brigham Young University and earned his Juris Doctorate degree from BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1978. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Frank Q. Nebeker, a judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and then for the Honorable Ralph R. Mabey, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Utah.
Mr. Linton was a member of the Utah Constitutional Revision Commission from 1994 to 2006. He also served on the Health Information and Technology Committee of the American Health Lawyers Association. For the past two years, Mr. Linton has advised and been appointed to be the chief legal officer of a biotech company based in Provo. Mr. Linton has been an adjunct professor at BYU’s law school, teaching legal drafting since 2008. He also serves on the Alumni Advisory Board of the law school and on the Religious Freedom Committee of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. He is a member of Scribes, the American Society of Legal Writers.
Jennifer Danielson, Secretary
Jennifer Danielson is a healthcare executive who is passionate about harnessing the power of technology and data to serve people while never losing sight of the critical human element. Over the course of two and a half decades, she has held many leadership positions focused on helping healthcare work better for people. She currently serves as Chief Health Plan Officer of HealthPartners, an eight-hospital health system offering medical and dental insurance to 1.8 million members across six states. Jennifer is passionate about helping young women leaders understand and develop their potential and opportunities, and has served as the Chair of the Board of Friends of the Children, Utah, an organization committed to ending intergenerational poverty through a data-driven professional mentorship model. She and her husband live in the Twin Cities area and are the parents of five children, and five step-grandchildren.
Linda Makin, Board Treasurer
Linda Makin recently retired from Utah Valley University having most recently served as Vice President for Planning, Budget & Finance/CFO. She brings 43 years of higher education experience and leadership in the areas of administration, budget, finance, planning, program development, policy, compliance, Title IX/EEO, institutional research, accreditation, and human resources. She continues to serve as a peer evaluator for the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities. She earned her Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University and her Bachelor of Accounting from Utah Valley University.
Reflective of her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, Linda served as UVU’s Utah Women in Higher Education Network chapter executive liaison, founding co-chair of UVU’s Women’s Council, an ambassador for the Utah Women’s Leadership Project, and mentor for the Utah Women’s Leadership Exchange. She is committed to student success and has received numerous recognitions for her leadership in higher education.
She is active in the community serving as Chair of the Board of Directors for Utah Community Credit Union and as a member of the United Way of Utah County Board.
Andrea E. Clarke, Member-at-Large
Member-at-LargeAndrea E. Clarke holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business and a Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Management from Columbia University. Andrea’s early career included working in computer electronics for some of the world’s fastest-growing organizations—Megahertz, US Robotics, and 3COM. Years later, she transitioned her sales career to the pharmaceutical industry where she was recognized as a top sales representative.
Andrea has dedicated her life to her family and makes time to support a number of causes in her community and abroad. She is a member of the board of the Stella H. Oaks Foundation, CharityVision, Bridle Up Hope—the Rachel Covey Foundation, The Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, and serves as a Governor-appointed Trustee for Utah Valley University, as well as Past-Chair of the UVU’s Women’s Success Center Advisory Board.
With her exceptional background in nonprofits, Andrea closely oversees the affairs of The Labor and Honor Foundation, the Clarke family charity, which focuses on poverty alleviation, education, and the arts. The name of the foundation is derived from the Clarkes’ English family crest dating back centuries, which instills that whether a task be great or small, ALL work should be done with honor. The Clarkes’ hope is that through their efforts, they might improve the lives of others by giving back with humble thanksgiving for life’s many blessings.
Sean R. Curzon, D.O., Board Member
Dr. Curzon specializes in Internal Medicine and is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Curzon received his D.O. degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1999. He completed his internship and residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Dr. Curzon is affiliated with Utah Valley Hospital, Timpanogos Regional Hospital, and American Fork Hospital as a physician with Revere Health. He functions also as a medical director of both a Skilled Nursing Facility and Hospice and Palliative Care team. Dr. Curzon is a member of the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons. He supports MAP International, a nonprofit organization providing life-changing medicines and health supplies to people in need around the world.
Francis Gibson, MSW, MBA, Board Member
Francis Gibson, MSW, MBA serves as CEO of the Utah Hospital Association. Previously, he was CEO of Spanish Fork Hospital for Intermountain Health. He received his MBA in Business and Health Care from Utah State University and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Houston after completing his undergraduate work at Brigham Young University.
Francis served in the Utah State Legislature for 13 years and was a city councilman in Mapleton city for one term or four years. Francis has been committed to helping children in need by serving on the Children’s Justice Center Board for 12 years, and the United Way of Utah Board. “I believe everyone should get the chance to be their best as defined by them”. Francis loves to serve in a number of areas that will assist others to become what they want to become.
Francis and his wife Sheila have four children, a son and daughter-in-law, and one granddaughter. He coaches high school football and loves to compete at just about anything, so golf is his current competitor that often times beats him.
Vanessa Halvorsen, D.O., Board Member
Dr. Halvorsen was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Halvorsen graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Exercise Physiology. She then continued her education at the Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine as the salutatorian, earning her D.O. degree in 2018 and serving as Student Body President of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Halvorsen also served as the only third-year student representative on the American Osteopathic Association’s Bureau of Emerging Leaders.
Dr. Halvorsen was elected to serve on the executive board of the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP), a student division of AACOM. Dr. Halvorsen was then elected to be the American Osteopathic Association’s sole student member on its Board of Trustees. She received the American Osteopathic Foundation’s “Golden Ticket” award for excellence in academic performance and leadership. Dr. Halvorsen is an Otolaryngology/Facial Plastics resident at Freeman Hospital in Missouri through KCUCOM, with expected graduation in 2023.
Gary Herbert, Board Member
Gary R. Herbert served as the 17th governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021 and was the nation’s longest-serving governor when he left office. During his tenure, his focus was on economic development, education, energy, and efficiency in government. As a result, Utah is recognized as a premier business destination and a great place to live and raise families, with an unsurpassed quality of life.
Herbert has long been a strong advocate for excellence in public and higher education in Utah. He is currently dedicating his time and resources to benefit the students at Utah Valley University, launching UVU’s Herbert Public Policy Institute. The Institute develops future policy leaders, gathers the community, and builds trust in civic institutions.
Megan Johnson, Board Member
Megan Johnson, MPH, MBA, BSN, RN, serves as President of Spanish Fork Hospital for Intermountain Health. With more than two decades in healthcare, Megan began her career in hospital housekeeping before becoming a nurse and advancing through clinical, operational, and executive leadership roles. Her experience across the continuum of healthcare has shaped her belief that exceptional patient care begins with strong relationships, trust, accountability, and a deep respect for the people who provide that care.
Megan earned her Associate Degree in Nursing in 2005 and Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2008 from Utah Valley University, followed by a Master of Public Health in 2014 and Master of Business Administration in 2025. She is passionate about strengthening relationships between nurses and physicians, developing the next generation of healthcare professionals, and building meaningful partnerships between healthcare, education, and the communities they serve. As a leader, she remains grounded in her nursing roots and committed to ensuring that operational and strategic decisions ultimately support patients, caregivers, and community health.
Megan is actively involved in her community and believes deeply in service, education, and creating opportunities for others to grow. She and her husband, Brian, live in Spanish Fork with their two boys and enjoy sports, travel, and spending time together as a family. Megan is known for her relationship-driven leadership, fierce loyalty to the people she serves alongside, and her belief in staying connected to your “why”, and that sometimes a good hug really is a superpower.
Chiarra Milo
Executive President of the Student Government AssociationChiarra Milo, B.S. Neuroscience, OMS-II, serves as the official student representative on the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine Board of Trustees. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Saint Louis University.
Chiarra currently serves as Executive President of the Student Government Association, following her service as OMS-I Class President. Through her leadership at Noorda, she has worked to strengthen student representation within institutional decision-making, expand opportunities for student research and professional development, and advocate for initiatives supporting the academic and overall student experience. Her involvement extends beyond Noorda-COM through participation in national student leadership and advocacy, including the Council of Osteopathic Student Government Presidents (COSGP) and the American Osteopathic Association House of Delegates.
As a first-generation Bosnian and Croatian American, Chiarra also maintains a strong connection to her heritage through service and philanthropy. Through her involvement with CRO-Med, she supports initiatives that strengthen Croatian medical education. Chiarra hopes to pursue a career in orthopedic surgery while continuing to incorporate leadership, research, advocacy, and service throughout her career in medicine.
John F. Nemelka, MBA, Board Member
John F. Nemelka, MBA, was raised in Mapleton, Utah. He earned his MBA degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Brigham Young University in 1990. Mr. Nemelka founded NightWatch Capital Advisors, LLC in 2001 and served as Chief Executive Officer of the public company SWK Holdings. Previously, he was a partner at Graham Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in technology-driven companies.
While at Graham Partners, he also managed the Graham Group’s alternative investment portfolio. Prior to Graham Partners, he worked for Smith Barney in the Industrial and Transaction Development Groups and worked for the Head of the Investment Banking Division, working on strategic planning and operational issues.
Mr. Nemelka currently serves on the Board of Directors of SANUWAVE Health, Inc., a medical technology company, and is a strategic partner at TractusMed, LLC, which is developing the largest diagnostic cancer database in the U.S. Mr. Nemelka is also a co-founder of the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine.
BRENT NOORDA, BOARD MEMBER
Brent Noorda is a slow thinker who practices charity, entrepreneurship, humor, music, nursing, parenting, software engineering, studying, and writing. As a Trustee of the Ray & Tye Noorda Foundation, Brent has been involved with Noorda-COM since its conception.
In 2014, Brent returned to school for a career change from software startups to nursing. That initiation into current education and healthcare practices made Brent hopeful that innovations in teaching methods will lead to more doctors providing more care to more people in more locations, and optimistic that Noorda-COM will play an important part in making that happen.
Dana Oaks, Board Member
Dana Oaks is a senior healthcare executive who has served in several key leadership positions. Dana led ERH Healthcare as the President of Operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In that role, Dana oversaw five critical care hospitals and three nursing homes in Georgia and Texas and a behavioral health hospital in Las Vegas. Prior to ERH, Dana spent 14 years as an executive with HCA Healthcare. During his tenure, Dana was the Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital and Medical Center, now known as Woodmont Hospital, in Tamarac, Florida. Under Dana’s leadership, the 317-bed community hospital enhanced several services, grew in profitability and weathered hurricane Irma.
Preceding his appointment at University Hospital, Dana was the CEO of JFK Medical Center North Campus, formerly known as West Palm Hospital. Dana led the 245-bed hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida, from 2011 to 2017. In 2016, he orchestrated the hospital’s merger with JFK Medical Center, a 472-bed hospital, and the largest hospital in Palm Beach County. This merger created a 717 bed, two-campus, hospital with a common brand and identity to better assist the citizens of Palm Beach County. The merger paved the way for facility expansions and included the creation of a common governance structure including board, medical committees, and medical staff members.
Dana has also held positions as Chief Operating Officer of Ogden Regional Medical Center in Ogden, Utah, and Associate Administrator at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, CA.
Dana holds both a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After completing an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, he worked as Director of Business Development at Molina Healthcare of Utah. Dana currently enjoys teaching in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University where he is a professional in residence.
Rebeccah Rodriguez Regner, D.O., FACOFP, FAOASM, Board Member
Dr. Becca Rodriguez Regner, Team USA Physician, graduated from KCOM and is board-certified in Family Medicine and has a CAQ in Sports Medicine.
Dr. Rodriguez served the USOPC as a Team USA physician and was on the medical staff at the Olympic Training Site in Chula Vista, CA as team physician for 10 years. She served on the USOPC Physician Advisory Board and USA President’s Council Science Board. Dr. Rodriguez served as the Medical Director for the high performance center for Team USA at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. She was part of the medical staff as Team USA physician at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima. Peru.
Dr. Rodriguez currently is a team physician for USA Women’s Waterpolo and USOPC, and has supported the performing arts as company physician for the San Diego Ballet for 11 years.
Dr. Rodríguez Regner participates as a medical commission board member for USA Deaf Olympics, stays involved with national ACOFP committees, and is an AOASM past president. She is in private practice in Encinitas, CA and is the Assistant Program Director for Southwest Healthcare, Temecula Sports Medicine Fellowship.
Dr. Rodriguez Regner is passionate about connecting with students, residents, and fellows to continue osteopathic education and training, and advancing sports medicine and women’s healthcare education.
Greg Stuart, Board Member
Mr. Stuart is founder and CEO for Strategic Partners Group based in Bountiful, Utah. Mr. Stuart started his real estate career in 1977, specializing in industrial real estate brokerage. In 1979, he co-founded Commerce Properties, which grew to become the largest commercial real estate brokerage company in the Intermountain area. During his time at Commerce, Mr. Stuart served as President and CEO, as well as the chairman of the industrial committee overseeing all industrial activity at Commerce.
In 2012, Mr. Stuart exited Commerce to pursue the full-time development of commercial and retail properties throughout the United States. This has resulted in developments exceeding 1,000,000 square feet in 16 states. Strategic Partners Group has developed properties for Walgreens, Tractor Supply, O’Reilly Auto, Dollar General, Family Dollar and Shopko. Mr. Stuart is also a co-founder of the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Mitch Wasden, Board Member
Mitch Wasden has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has served as CEO of multi-hospital systems, academic medical centers, medical groups and health insurance plans. He is currently the CEO of Superior Health Plan in Austin, Texas.
Mitch has served on the boards of hospitals, health plans, a medical device company and hospital associations in multiple states. He is passionate about organizational culture, innovation and impacting the social drivers of health (SDOH) and health equity through the use of technology.
He holds a BA from Brigham Young University, a Master’s of Health Administration from The University of Michigan and a Doctorate in Human & Organizational Learning from George Washington University. Mitch is married and has three adult children and one amazing granddaughter.
Dr. Norman Wright, PhD, Ex-Officio Board Member, President and CEO
President & Chief Executive OfficerDr. Norman Wright was appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine effective February 1, 2022 following a national search. Prior to his position at the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, he served as the Dean of the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University for eleven years, leading that institution through the introduction of several new undergraduate and graduate programs, two accreditation renewals, significant fundraising, a doubling of the student body and faculty team, creation of a world-class advisory board, and building a new 200,000 square foot business building.
Dr. Wright holds a Ph.D. in Management from Wharton as well as an M.A. degree in Management from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Public Administration degree and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Brigham Young University. Prior to joining the Woodbury School of Business, Dr. Wright served in academic administration for nine years in the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, and Hawaii.
In addition to his academic work, Dr. Wright maintains close connection with industry through consulting and board service including with organizations such as Kahuku Community Hospital, the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Academy for Creating Enterprise, and Provo City Power.
