Welcome to our New Faculty and Staff! Whitney Johnson, MA Admissions Counselor, RVUCOM-SU Whitney is a native of Santa Clara, Utah. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (with an emphasis in Zoology) and a Master of Science degree in Professional Communication (with an emphasis in Health Communication) from Southern Utah University. She has worked as an advisor for pre-health students and as a counselor at a substance abuse treatment facility. Whitney was first hired in a part-time capacity in 2013. During the past three years, she has served in many roles to help bring the Southern Utah campus to fruition: assistant to the Dean, Clinical Rotations Coordinator, GME development...to name a few. While she was only working during that period, she quickly learned that RVU was a family: "My favorite thing about my time with RVU is that I always feel that my opinion is respected and valued. I'm very excited to be joining the Utah team full-time!" Whitney is married to an amazing artist, Chase, and they have two dogs. They enjoy going to the various lakes in Southern Utah and traveling the world. They also belong to an improv comedy troupe called, "Off the Cuff" in Cedar City. She says, "It’s like the show, Who’s Line Is It, Anyway...it's a great hobby! We have been doing it since college and it’s an amazingly cathartic and characterbuilding activity." Welcome, Whitney! Mike Jorgensen, PhD Assistant Professor of Anatomy Director of Anatomy Fellowship Mike is from Olathe, Kansas. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at University of Kansas, where he studied amphibian anatomy. He then took a year off to study the reproductive behavior of glass frogs in Central America. Then he moved to Cleveland, where he completed a Master of Science degree in Biol-
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ogy at John Carroll University. He continued his work, studying the evolutionary morphology of frog locomotion, and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biology from Ohio University. During this time, Mike was introduced to graduate medical education as a teaching assistant (for which he earned an Outstanding Graduate Teaching award) in the gross anatomy lab. Upon graduating, he worked at University of Missouri School of Medicine, where he was a gross anatomy instructor for first-year medical students and course director for the Human Anatomy and Summer Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy courses. The choice to work at RVU was an easy one for Mike as it combines two of his favorite things: teaching anatomy and enjoying the beauty of the Colorado wilderness: "I am so excited to work with students, faculty, and staff at RVU. It is such a privilege to be able to do what I love in a place that I love!" Mike enjoys hiking through the Colorado wilderness and tromping through streams in search of slimy creepycrawlies. He has a cat and looks forward to adopting another in the near future. Welcome, Dr. Jorgensen! Ashley Moran, MA Registrar Ashley hails from Sarasota, Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Art degree in English and American Literature at the University of South Florida and a Master of Art degree in Education (with a concentration in Higher Education) at Ashford University. She has worked in higher education for many years as an academic advisor, a teaching assistant, and in the registrar’s office. Ashley says that she is excited to be at RVU because everyone here truly cares about the success of the school and the students. In her spare time, she enjoys puzzles, sewing, painting,
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