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Administrative Manager

Kelly Aldridge

Kelly is the Administrative Manager for the Divisions of Family Medicine and Physician Assistant Studies. She is responsible for assisting with business operations in the Family Medicine and Physician Assistant Studies programs including faculty and staff onboarding, accounting, and human resource management. Kelly has 20 years of experience working at the University of Utah. She likes to travel and spend time with her grandchildren. She also likes to attend the Utah Football games…Go Utes!

Email:  kelly.aldridge@utah.edu

Kelly Aldridge

Associate Director of Clinical Education

Amy Amann

Amy is the Associate Director of Clinical Education for the Divisions of Family Medicine and Physician Assistant Studies. She is responsible for the administration and management of Family Medicine and Physician Assistant Studies programs including oversight of clinical operations, clinical training programs, budget and finance, strategy and development, and human resource management. She received her MBA from the University of Utah and has many years of experience in healthcare administration with operations, management, program development, compliance, contracting, and revenue integrity. Amy is originally from Colorado, and in her spare time she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time outdoors hiking, biking, and snowshoeing with her family.

Email:  amy.amann@utah.edu

Amy Amann

Program Manager

Brenden Ashdown

Brenden is the Program Manager for the PA Division. He is responsible for maintaining clinical site and preceptor contracts for clinical student rotations. Brenden holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Utah and a Masters in Criminal Justice from Weber State University. When not working, Brenden is an avid Freestyle BMX rider and competes nationally in contests during the summer and Snowboards in the winter.

Email:  brenden.ashdown@hsc.utah.edu

Brenden Ashdown

Clinical Coordinator

Kari Bryan

Kari is the Clinical Coordinator for the Clinical Team at the St. George Campus. She is primarily responsible for collection and maintenance of student credentialing documents, tracking preceptor licensing, as well as working with faculty and staff to ensure student clinical rotation needs are met promptly. With a background including roles in education, non-profit organization, and running a business, Kari brings a wide variety of skills to her role. When she isn’t working, she can be found wrangling her 4 sons, spending time with her husband, or baking.

Email:  kari.bryan@utah.edu

Kari Bryan

Academic Program Manager

Leslie Cepeda

Leslie is the Academic Program Manager for the UPAP didactic team at the Salt Lake City campus. Leslie works closely with UPAP faculty, staff, and instructors to address Salt Lake City student needs during their didactic year. Leslie graduated from the U with a B.A. in Anthropology Health Emphasis and a minor in Human Biology in 2015, and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Policy in 2019. She has worked at the U in various roles as a Student Success Advocate, Undergraduate Research Advisor, Graduate Assistant in Housing & Residential Education, and College Access Advisor. Thus, Leslie has experienced working with students from diverse backgrounds and different stages in their educational journey. These experiences together with her research, community engagement, and leadership involvement have helped her shaped her student-centered approach to her work in higher education: she focuses on being culturally responsive to the stories and strengths that each student brings to the U.

Email:  leslie.cepeda@utah.edu

Leslie Cepeda

Director of Admissions

Doris Dalton

As Director of Admissions for the PA program, Doris is responsible for applicant advising and the development and implementation of admissions policies and processes. She earned her Master of Public Adminstration at the University of Utah, and joined the program in 2005. In addition, she serves as a member of the Recruitment and Admissions Council of the Physician Assistant Education Association, and chairs the Enhancements Committee for the national Central Application Service for Physician Assistants, CASPA.

Email:  ddalton@upap.utah.edu

Doris Dalton

Administration Manager

Melissa Husebye

Melissa is the Division Manager for the Division of Physician Assistant Studies. She manages PA staff and is responsible for budgeting and financial operations within the Division. In addition, she also works with the leadership team on projects related to ARC-PA accreditation and as well as support for grant financial administration. Melissa has a BS in Environmental Studies and over 10 years of experience in higher education.

Email:  melissa.husebye@hsc.utah.edu

Melissa Husebye

Program Manager / Clinical Coordinator

Mandy Johnson

Mandy is the Program Manager and Clinical Coordinator for the Clinical Team at the Salt Lake Campus. She is primarily responsible for Recruitment and Retention for Clinical sites & Preceptors. She maintains Affiliation Agreements, is responsible for the day to day management of the clinical rotation schedule, and oversees student scholarships. Mandy loves to write YA Speculative Fiction and is slowly working on an English MFA in Creative Writing. She also enjoys playing the piano, singing, playing the flute, hiking and biking with her family, and travelling the world. Mandy is from Tucson, Arizona. She graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona and even though she loves the mountains and the change of seasons in Utah, an Arizona sunset will always take her breath away.

Email:  mandy.johnson@hsc.utah.edu

Mandy Johnson

Director of Student Activities & Advising

Mayumi Kasai

As the graduate advisor for the PA program, Mayumi provides various resources to PA students and advises them on day-to-day activities. She also assists with the Master’s Projects and PA program admissions process. She has almost 15 years of advising experience at the University of Utah. She earned a Bachelor's degree in International Studies and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Utah.

Email:  mayumi.kasai@utah.edu

Mayumi Kasai

Computer Technician

Brandyn Parisette

Brandyn is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the IVC teleconferencing equipment within the St. George campus classrooms. As a Tech graduate, accomplished Project Manager with Fortune 500 companies and business owner for over 16 years, His knowledge is shaping the "Student-centric" experience through the support of IT infrastructure and services while benefiting a connected learning space to all of the Students within the program. Additionally, Brandyn provides enterprise IT support and leadership for the continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology environment throughout the University.

Email:  brandyn.parisette@utah.edu

Brandyn Parisette

Graduate Coordinator

Bethany Perkes

Bethany is the Didactic Education Coordinator for the Division of Physician Assistant Studies. She works together with faculty & staff to ensure that PA students have access to the resources they need during their didactic year of the program. They have been part of the advising community at the U since 2016, working with undergraduate students in both the Academic Advising Center, and the College of Social & Behavioral Science, and joined DFPM in 2022. She was born and raised in Utah and earned both their A.S. degree at SLCC and B.S. degree at the U as a non-traditional transfer student. When they're not working, Bethany can be found road tripping with her wife, crafting, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and avoiding cooking.

Email:  bethany.perkes@utah.edu

Bethany Perkes

Computer Technician

John Rogers

John is responsible for assisting with the IVC classroom equipment at the Salt Lake City campus. John ensures that our classroom technology works well to keep our SLC and St. George students and instructors connected. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1995, and taught classes for seventeen years for the Dept. Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Besides working for the DFPM, he is also working on a series of guidebooks for the Wasatch Mountains area.

Email:  j.rogers@utah.edu

John Rogers

Administrative Assistant

Erika Van Hove

Erika's title is Administrative Assistant working in the Family Practice and Physician Assistant area reporting to Kelly Aldridge. She is originally from Minnesota, graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and has also lived in California, Oregon, British Columbia, and Illinois. She has a background in a variety of industries and roles such as Marketing and Market Research in Food Service, Financial Services, Mining, and a few others. While new to Academia and Health Services she is nonetheless excited for the new challenges, friends and experiences she knows she will find here. She is married, a mother of two daughters and grandmother of two lively grade schoolers. She enjoys books and book clubs, Netflix and its cousins, and loves to get together for laughs with her family and friends as often as possible.

Erika Van Hove

Academic Program Manager

Karen Winningham

Karen is the Academic Program Manager for the UPAP didactic team at the St. George campus. She has worked with the University of Utah 1999 working in the Containing Education and Community Enrichment (CECE) department and more specifically in the Professional Education department. Karen joined UPAP in 2018 and works closely with faculty, staff, instructors, and students to address St. George campus needs during the didactic year.

Email:  karen.winningham@utah.edu

Karen Winningham