Kelly Aldridge
Kelly is the Faculty and Staff Administration Manager for Physician Assistant Education and Sciences. She is responsible for faculty affairs, faculty recruitment, human resource management, and assisting with business operations. Kelly has 22 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
Amy Amann
Amy is the Administrative Director of the Division of Physician Assistant Education and Sciences. She is responsible for the administration and management of the division including oversight of operations, 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 including 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 with her family.
Email: amy.amann@utah.edu
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
Tiffany Baires
Tiffany is the Director of Accounting & Finance for the Division of Physician Assistant Education & Sciences. She is responsible for all things budget and finance. She graduated from Westminster University with a BA in Accounting and has spent her career working for the non-profit sector since 2010. In her spare time, Tiffany enjoys spending time outdoors, doing yoga, and Latin dancing.
Email: tiffany.baires@utah.edu
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
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
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
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
Mayumi Kasai
As the Director of Education, Student Advising and Activities for the PA program, Mayumi provides various resources to PA students and advises them on day-to-day activities, while she assists faculty with administrative tasks, Master’s Projects, and the admissions process. She has more than 15 years of advising experience at the University of Utah. She earned a Bachelor's degree in International Studies, a Master’s degree in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, and an Education Doctoral Degree from the University of Utah.
Email: mayumi.kasai@utah.edu
Brandyn Parisette
Brandyn is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the IVC Teleconferencing equipment within the PA Division. 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
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
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.
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
