Team
University of Minnesota
Carolyn Porta, Principal Investigator
Carolyn Porta is the Principal Investigator for Re LAB. She is a nurse scientist committed to advancing health in partnership with patients, communities, and systems. Porta is International Association of Forensic Nursing (IAFN) board-certified to provide adolescent/adult forensic nursing care (SANE-A) and sees patients through the Regions SANE program based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is Associate Vice President for Clinical Affairs and a professor at the University of Minnesota.
Ellen Frerich, Project Manager
Ellen Frerich is the Project Manager with the SANE Community of Practice Program. Before becoming a nurse, her background was in public policy and social work. As a nurse, she worked in hospital, clinic, and public health settings with a focus on trauma-informed care and sustainable systems of support for health care workers and those they serve.
Cynthia Sherraden Bradley
Cynthia Sherraden Bradley is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Simulation at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She has served as a consultant for simulation programs and presents regularly at national and international nursing conferences. Her program of research is focused on simulation, debriefing, and the intersection of technology and learning to improve the preparedness of health care professionals in delivering safe, high-quality patient care.
Sarah Hoffman
Sarah Hoffman is an Assistant Professor in the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She studies intergenerational trauma in war affected families and the longitudinal health effects of trauma from torture and war. Prior to her appointment at the University, Hoffman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa, a human rights intern in South America, and a nurse on the inpatient unit of the Johns Hopkins Hospital AIDS service. In conjunction with her faculty position at the University, Hoffman is a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. She teaches and advises in the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs at the school and serves as an affiliate faculty member to the Master of Human Rights program.
Alla Hassan
Alla Hassan is a simulation program specialist, with a focus in simulation. In addition to her work with Re LAB, she is an advocate for victims/survivors of sexual violence. She currently serves as the Ramsey County Sexual Assault Protocol Team coordinator and an anti-violence advocate with Sexual Violence Services (known as SOS). With a background in public health, she’s committed to primary prevention and fostering safe and healthy communities for all. In her free time, she enjoys tending to her plants, listening to Crime Junkies podcast, journaling, and eating good food.
Kiran Nabi
Kiran Nabi is a graduate research assistant. She is a 2nd year dental student at the University of Minnesota. She is 22-years old and is half Pakistani and half Indian. Nabi was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Through her strong passion for health equity, she hopes to provide equitable and accessible dental care in the future!
Olivia Plamann, Evaluation Specialist and Research Assistant
Tara Dillon
Tara Dillon is a graduate research assistant with a focus on the residency and mentorship programs. She recently graduated from the University of Minnesota Master of Nursing program and previously earned a MA (Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology and BA (Communication Studies) from the University of Minnesota. Prior to pursuing a career transition to nursing, she worked for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities as a career and academic counselor and instructor, with a focus on empowering female and BIPOC students. She is a MNCASA certified sexual assault advocate and served on the University of Minnesota Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee for 4 years.
Lexy Lipsh
Lexy Lipsh is an undergraduate research assistant for the Re LAB team, assisting with the SANE clinical residency, mentorship program, and technical assistance. She is currently a third-year student at the University of Minnesota in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and a part of the University's Honors Program. In addition to her work with RE Lab, Lexy works as a nursing assistant.
Program Consultants
Ellen Johnson
Ellen Johnson has been a nurse for 46 years, specializing in Emergency nursing. She has been a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner since 2002 and now devotes all her time to that specialty. Ellen has supervised the SANE program at Regions Hospital since 2005. Regions Hospital SANE Program currently provides sexual assault exams at 5 hospitals in the East metro area. Ellen enjoys collaborating with community partners and is a frequent presenter locally and nationally on forensic nursing through the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), the Sexual Violence Justice Institute (SVJI) and the Ramsey County Sexual Assault Protocol Team. She has been an instructor for the 40-hour SANE didactic course since 2006 and has hosted IAFN clinical skills labs at Regions Hospital since 2015. Ellen is a lifetime member of both IAFN and ENA, and is active in both IAFN and the MN chapter of IAFN.
Linda Walther
Linda Walther is the Clinical Coordinator for the Statewide Medical Forensic Policy Program SVJI@MNCASA. She has over 40 years of nursing experience and has been a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for 15 years. Currently, Walther is a SANE with the Regions Hospital SANE team. She provides training on the medical forensic exams for hospitals and coordinates SANE trainings in Minnesota.
Patrice Sinkfield-Morey
Dr. Sinkfield-Morey, who was the first, and for many years the only, Black nurse at a large hospital, brings excellence in clinical practice (named 2019 Caregiver of the Year by the Minnesota Hospital Association) and authentic leadership (leading an innovative salon response in her hospital in the wake of George Floyd’s killing). Her work with Re LAB on wellbeing, and how to overcome barriers for any nurse to succeed as a SANE.
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