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Staff Profiles
Administrative
Diane
Business Office Specialist
Having grown up in a family with nine brothers, Diane learned the importance of family from the very beginning of her existence. Originally raised in Minnesota, Diane married a military man and spent a few years on the west coast, inhabiting states such as California and Washington. When her husband was sent overseas, Diane returned to the familiar comfort of her home state, Minnesota. She worked as a stay-at-home mom, pausing to explore the world of employment when the youngest of her three children was in elementary school.
Diane came to be at MCRH by fate, it would seem. When the OB/GYN clinic where she had been employed for the past eight years closed its office, Diane found herself seeking employment at MCRH through the referral of a nurse friend that had come across the clinic through her own line of work. Since MCRH found her nearly eight years ago, Diane has discovered a family within the personal relationships she has developed with the patients and staff members while working here. Overall, Diane has described her experiences with MCRH as “an opportunity to help people through a very difficult part of their lives” and has given her “a new appreciation for God’s gifts.”
Joanne
Data Coordinator
Joanne joined the family at MCRH in 1996 as a data coordinator. Originally hired to address the need for SART (Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies) regulations, Joanne is an integral part of the inner-workings of MCRH.
Having grown up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, Joanne made the move to the Twin Cities area in 1985. Most likely owing to her deep-rooted loyalty and love for Wisconsin, Joanne found the transition to her new home in Minnesota a bit like moving to another world. However, she found that despite tense rivalries between the two states, remaining loyal to her Wisconsin heritage was important in finding her niche in Minnesota. Joanne and her husband now enjoy traveling throughout the United States to spend time with each of their four children and fourteen grandchildren.
Karla
Clinical Administrator, Registered Nurse
Karla is one of the founding members of the MCRH team and plays a critical role in everyday workings of the clinic. Although currently guiding the office management aspect of MCRH, Karla originally joined the team as head nurse.
Her decision to become a nurse was influenced by a number of factors, an interest in biology coupled with an intrigue for caring for people. Originally, Karla was hired by Mayo Clinic to work in the blood bank/IV team and eventually was offered the chance to help establish and coordinate the intra-operative auto-transfusion program. This included work at both St. Mary’s and Methodist hospitals in Rochester and expanded to the organ transplantation team. Having switched to the field of women’s health in 1987, it wasn’t until Dr. Corfman came to Mayo in 1989, to re-establish the in vitro fertilization program that she truly found her niche in the field of infertility. In 1992 when the decision was made to leave Mayo and set up a new practice, Karla decided to re-locate and help establish The Midwest Center for Reproductive Health, P.A., “an opportunity of a life-time”.
Having grown up in a close-knit family of seven on a farm in southern Minnesota, Karla understands and appreciates the importance of family. When questioned about the identity of her mentors, Karla responded that her parents succeeded in making each child feel like individual in her family, even being an identical twin. She attributes her parents to instilling in her a thirst for greater knowledge and a drive to go above and beyond in her life. Today, Karla maintains a close relationship with her family, frequently attending family gatherings and remaining loyal to her roots. She cherishes time with friends, road trips and music of all kinds.
Kirsten
IVF Coordinator
Kirsten came to MCRH as the IVF Coordinator in 2003 after working for a total of nearly twelve years in several other areas of medicine. Originally interested in business management, Kirsten looked up to her mother, a self-taught businesswoman. Eventually, Kirsten found that she missed having the personal connections that she made with direct patient care and opted to begin working in infertility. She found that the attitude towards patients and the atmosphere of the staff was like that of a family.
Born in the Twin Cities area, Kirsten moved to a small town just outside the cities before high school but has remained in the Twin Cities area since that time. Today, Kirsten spends the majority of her time with her husband raising their baby daughter and with her they seek to instill a strong sense of community and compassion through volunteering and giving to children in need.
Laramie
Business Office Coordinator
Laramie came to be at MCRH in 1997 after having worked for 11 years prior in the medical field. Having studied law enforcement originally in school, Laramie eventually made the switch to business administration following an interest in business that was kindled during high school.
Having grown up in a small town in Minnesota, Laramie and one of her two younger brothers remain in their home state. Laramie remains close to her family today, attributing her pursuit of a career in infertility to the births of her nieces and nephews, offering a testament to the joy that children bring into the world. In addition to spending time with her family, Laramie looks forward to the opportunity to travel and has become interested in documenting her adventures through the use of scrapbooking
Sandra
Clinical Service Specialist
Sandi joined the MCRH team in July of 2005 after having worked previously at a sleep clinic as well as a home medical equipment company. As an undergraduate, Sandi’s primary interest lay in the fields of biology and chemistry and her volunteer experiences at a local hospital led her to pursue her career in medicine.
A Twin Cities native, Sandi grew with seven siblings in a blended family and attributes much of her success to the mentorship of her parents and husband for encouraging her to seek her goals. As the daughter of a health administrator, Sandi is always eager to volunteer for activities and programs at the Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare and the Ronald McDonald house. Sandi is also an accomplished flutist and regularly teaches lessons to children in the community in addition to assisting youth programs at her church.
Tami
Licensed Practical Nurse
From the age of sixteen, Tami knew she wanted to be a nurse. Beginning as a nurse’s aid at the nursing home where her grandfather lived, Tami gathered her first experiences with nursing and continued her education to become an LPN. Tami has now been with us at MCRH since 1998.
Tami grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota with her family and four older brothers. At sixteen, Tami had the opportunity to live with a family in Germany for a few weeks and quickly discovered a love for travel. Today, she leads an active family life, having coached her children’s basketball team and having volunteered at their schools. Tami still finds time to enjoy herself while taking time to enjoy the outdoors while golfing and relaxing at her cabin.
Tina
Administrative Assistant
Variety seems to be the spice of life for Tina. Originally, Tina began secretarial work in the area of corporate law, but decided to pursue other options. Seemingly fit for her chosen career from birth, Tina has demonstrated exceptional organizational skills both in her personal and professional life. Having done administrative work previously at a local school system, in 2001 Tina found her place among the staff at MCRH and has remained an essential part of the team since that time.
In her spare time, Tina enjoys outdoor activities such as fishing and trapshooting as well as playing baseball with her children. In addition to spending time with family and friends, Tina likes to participate in the Race for the Cure and other fundraising activities.
Laboratory
Beth
IVF Laboratory Director, MS, ELD
Beth came to be a part of the MCRH team in 2002 after having further developed her lab skills at St. David’s IVF program in Austin, Texas. Having completed her formal training at the University of Wisconsin, Beth was trained by several key pioneers in the embryology field including Austin lab director Tom Turner, MS, ELD, and UW professor, Barry Bavister, Ph.D.. While in Austin, Beth performed the lab work that enabled bicyclist Lance Armstrong to have his children.
During her undergraduate training at the UW-Stevens Point, Beth developed an intense interest in biology, particularly reproductive biology. Initially planning for a career in the veterinary field, Beth pursued an internship at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. that involved performing in vitro on endangered species.
Having been born and raised on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, Beth learned early on the importance of taking care of life and has developed a strong work ethic as well as a sense of the centrality of family. As the oldest of four children, Beth now has two children of her own and her focus lies with them. A lover of the outdoors, Beth strives to expose her kids to the natural beauty of the land. In addition to spending time with her family, Beth also enjoys scrapbooking and working out in her free time.
Jodi
Andrology Lab Supervisor
Jodi came to join the MCRH lab in 2000. It was in high school that Jodi realized she wanted to have a career in the medical field and she began taking special courses for students going into health occupations. Having begun her training in physical therapy, Jodi was advised to seek other options professionally due to a previous injury that she was told would interfere with her duties as a physical therapist. Influence from her then future mother-in-law led Jodi to seek opportunities in a clinical lab and after other jobs in both clinical and research lab work, Jodi came to be at MCRH.
As a wife and the mother of two small children, Jodi remains in the Twin Cities area near her hometown. Jodi and her family try to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors that surrounds them whenever they are able and cherish the time spent with family and close friends. Always loyal to her native Minnesotan roots, Jodi is a huge fan of Vikings football and shares a love for all sports with her family.
Kris
Medical Laboratory Technician
Kris is part of the reproductive biology lab here at MCRH, joining the team in 1994. Her interest in the workings of the lab date back to her high school days, beginning with an intense interest in chemistry. With the encouragement of her chemistry teacher as a mentor, Kris’ interest in chemistry developed further and her career path through life was revealed to her.
Since that time, Kris has developed her skills and become an accomplished clinical lab technician. In addition to spending time with her husband and two children, Kris cherishes her quiet time and spends much of it reading and gardening.
Melissa
Medical Laboratory Technician
Melissa joined the MCRH lab team in 2008. Melissa completed her training at Lake Superior College in Duluth where she lived for twelve years before moving to Cold Spring, MN in the fall of 2007.
Melissa grew up in the small town of Hibbing, MN with several siblings and her parents. Her mother, a hospital accountant, and her father, a medical engineer, both worked in the medical field and served as her first introduction to medicine.
Melissa and her three children enjoy a variety of activities. They love the outdoors and can often be found camping, hiking, enjoying water sports and rollerblading. In her spare time Melissa enjoys volunteering at her children’s schools. She attributes her positive attitude to her father.
Nursing
Jennifer
Registered Nurse , BSW, Nursing Supervisor
Jennifer came to join the MCRH family in 2003 as a nurse. Prior to nursing training, Jen completed her social work degree but decided that nursing would be a better personal fit. Jen completed her nursing degree with the intent of practicing in public health and soon found that MCRH fit her own philosophy towards patient care. Today, Jen enjoys seeing the direct results of her work in helping people to extend their families.
As a kid, Jennifer spent nearly three years on a farm in southern Minnesota, moving to the southern part of the country with her two older brothers. Jen attended undergraduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, describing the experience as ‘eye-opening’. As a student, Jen spent much of her time with the homeless, learning their stories and preparing for her social work degree. Today, Jen is actively involved with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program and is an active member of her neighborhood fighting to keep the Dutch Elm disease to a minimum.
Judy
Registered Nurse
Judy began her nursing career in the field of OB/GYN (postpartum / maternal child). She also worked in the field of plastic surgery only to learn that her true love was in OB. After working in OB for a while, Judy decided to entertain the idea of a more challenging position, yet wanted to remain the OB/GYN field. This move brought her to MCRH. Judy has been working at MCRH since 2001.
Judy grew up with four sisters and five brothers in a small town in central Minnesota. She gives a lot of credit to her mother, her greatest mentor, for teaching her everything she’s needed to know about being the greatest mom and person she can be.
Judy married her high school sweetheart and together they have two young children. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, shopping, dining out and going to movies. One important characteristic Judy chooses to incorporate into her activities of daily life is a sense of humor – “a good laugh can make tough days better and good days brighter.”
Julie
Registered Nurse , Third Party Coordinator, Nurse Program Manager
Julie has seen many different aspects of children’s healthcare before coming to be involved with infertility at MCRH in 1998 and as the third-party coordinator in 2001. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Julie began her interest in nursing by becoming a nurse’s aid at the nursing home where her mom worked. Out of nursing school, Julie began work in a pediatric intensive care unit in Illinois, eventually moving to the areas of pediatric clinic and homecare.
Julie grew up in with strong ties to her parents and four siblings in a small town in Illinois, graduating in a high school class of twenty-seven. Julie now resides with her three teenage children in the Twin Cities area and is actively involved in volunteering at the kids’ schools and supporting her children at their activities.
Kelly
Registered Nurse
In 1996, Kelly joined the MCRH team after having worked as a nurse in both a family practice and a postpartum clinic. Originally Kelly pursued a degree in child psychology wanting to be involved with family counseling or nursing. Her interest in helping children eventually led her to be involved in obstetrics and eventually to infertility here at MCRH. Kelly is now able to apply her concern for the welfare of children to helping people who would make good parents achieve pregnancy and have families of their own.
Growing up in a family of four, Kelly lived in the same house from the time she was born until she graduated from high school. Having a tennis coach and teacher for a father, Kelly played tennis throughout high school and college learning the discipline and perseverance that still serve her today. As the proud mother of two active boys, Kelly and her husband are heavily involved with their sons’ functions but still find time to travel and keep active with golf and tennis.
Luanne
Registered Nurse
Originally from Minneapolis, Luanne grew up in a family of five girls. As the daughter of a physician, her interest in the medical field began to grow at a young age. After beginning her career in medical/surgical nursing, she took time away from work to raise her son and daughter as a stay at home mom. During this time, Luanne stayed connected to nursing by working in a crisis nursery as well as doing some work as a school and camp nurse. After living in Duluth for 29 years, Luanne returned to the Twin Cities to work in a long term care facility before joining the Midwest Center team in July of 2006.
In her spare time, Luanne enjoys a variety of hobbies. She is a voracious reader and loves to cook. She loves the outdoors and can often be found canoeing, walking, or doing anything that involves physical fitness. She has also enjoyed church involvement as a pianist, choir director, and youth leader.
Luanne attributes much of her resiliency to the support of her family; her parents who served as life long mentors, her four terrific sisters, and her children who are her source of joy and courage. Because of this support, she has learned to always appreciate the wonder of life and realizes that in every situation, there is always something good to hold on to. At the Midwest Center, Luanne intends her “something good” to be helping others experience the miracle of life.
Niki
Registered Nurse
From the age of thirteen, Niki knew she had a passion for the medical field. Growing up in Brooklyn Park with her parents and younger brother, she started fulfilling this dream by becoming an EMT when she was a senior in high school. While working as an EMT, she realized the potential of becoming a nurse and began nursing school at North Hennepin Technical College. Throughout school and following graduation, Niki worked at the Hennepin County Medical Center in the surgical neuro trauma ICU. However, her interest in helping others achieve their goals of becoming parents brought her to the Midwest Center where she joined the staff in the fall of 2006.
Niki and her husband currently live in Brooklyn Park with their two cats Tanner and Trent. Besides taming their rebellious cats, they enjoy living life a bit on the edge themselves. They enjoy music and concerts, horror movies, and motorcycling. Niki has also enjoyed activities such as skydiving, swimming with sting rays, and riding a zip line through the rainforest canopy in Belize. She loves to take risks and justifies it with a smile by saying, “You only live once!”
Niki attributes her adventurous spirit to her mother’s support and presence in her life. As a graphic designer turned dental assistant, her mother has taken risks herself and has successfully overcome many obstacles to do well in life. This encouragement, along with Niki’s empathy and desire to help others has led her to the Midwest Center where she is excited to be a piece of the field that she has always described as amazing and fascinating.