UWS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Education Administrator
- Vice Provost / Dean, College of Graduate Studies
Dr. Bates is a higher education administrator with a deep background in educational best practices for quality teaching and learning experiences in collegiate courses. She earned her PhD in Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy from Michigan State University. She also holds an MA in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech and a BA from The College of William & Mary in psychology. Prior to arriving at UWS, Dr. Bates served in various roles in higher education, including Dean of the College of Education, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, Director of the online Masters of Arts in Teaching program, and tenured faculty. Her primary scholarly agenda includes work in mentoring and supervision of clinical experiences, with research publications and a book on supervision and mentoring. Dr. Bates is driven by her commitment to high quality, intellectual professional experiences for educators at all levels (PK-20), empowering them in their roles as educated professionals who are able to provide quality learning and assessment experiences for students.
Job Titles:
- Sport and Performance Psychology Student
Bio: Alli McKee is a driven, high performer who is passionate about well-being and human performance. She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has a combined background in fitness and performance training and project management. One of Alli's most notable accomplishments in the fitness industry was co-founding Girls Gone Strong (GGS) in 2011; a movement, resource, and community dedicated to women's health, strength and empowerment.
In 2019, years after handing off GGS and a chapter in project management, Alli set out to build a program for teenage girls that focused on developing physical strength and mental skills for empowered performance in and out of sport. This program endeavor was tabled however, due to COVID-19, and led Alli to expand her passion for physical performance into her current pursuit of sport and performance psychology (SPP) at UWS.
Dr. Sims holds a PhD in education with an emphasis in higher education and online education from Capella University. She has served in higher education administration roles for 13+ years. Her previous roles included director of academic affairs, associate faculty, director of instructional design, director of online faculty, director of faculty development and director of teacher education. Dr. Sims' expertise and experience in teaching and learning spans from childhood learning theory to adult learning theory and from traditional campus-based courses to fully online courses. She is skilled at managing, supporting, assessing and training educators, both online and campus-based.
Dr. Sims' years in higher education administration have included administrative oversight of online education programs as well as health care administration and nursing programs. She has publications on instructional design, educational leadership and adult learning. Dr. Sims' passion is excellence in teaching and learning which was explored in her dissertation research on the connectedness of adult learners in fully online courses. She has won awards for service and educational leadership and teaching, including Faculty Member of the Year. Her teaching portfolio includes ethics of leadership, issues in education, integrated math and science, and learning, instruction and assessment.
Dr. Emily Kahler is originally from southern Maine. She earned a bachelor's degree in general and human biology at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, where she also played collegiate field hockey. Dr. Kahler is a graduate of University of Western States in Portland, Oregon. She enjoys working with all patient populations, utilizing a variety of chiropractic techniques. Dr. Kahler was selected as a UWS clinical intern to work with Dr. Bill Moreau, UWS chief medical officer and Dr. Jasmine Piper, UWS chiropractic clinician, before being chosen for the UWS Clinical Fellowship program. At the UWS clinic, she provides care for patients, educates chiropractic clinical interns, and helps manage the UWS concussion clinic.
In 2022, Dr. Kahler earned a certification in sports medicine from the American Chiropractic Board of
Sports Physicians™ (ACBSP™) as a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP®). She also served as an ACBSP Presidential adviser to Dr. Moreau. She uses her advanced skills as a CCSP® to help individuals of any age who are interested in their health, wellness and healing.
Outside of clinical care, Dr. Kahler enjoys baking, reading, traveling, playing field hockey and going to the movies.
Dr. Shamira Rahim graduated from University of Western States in 1998. She also holds post-graduate credentials with the Academy of Chiropractic Family Practice, Full Body Certified
ART®, SFMA, DNS, and other pediatrics and rehabilitation courses. It is her belief that long-term wellness is about prevention, and that with the right tools and support, patients can create a sustainable state of health for themselves. She also has a personal interest in the mind-body connection, and continuously pursues knowledge that supports the innate healing capacities in all of us.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President of Student and University Affairs
Job Titles:
- Standardized Patient Program Coordinator
Lara Baker is (almost) a native Oregonian. Born in New Mexico, she moved to Oregon with her family at age one. Lara was raised on the South coast but has been in the Portland Metro area for more than 20 years.
A professional stage and screen actor for more than 15 years, Lara joined UWS as a standardized patient in 2017. In addition to acting, Lara's background in customer service, corporate training and independent film production have helped shape her unique skillset and have contributed greatly to her position as standardized patient program coordinator.
When not working, Lara enjoys camping, sushi, online research, TV and movies, (very) amateur gardening and spending as much time as possible with her husband, daughter, two dogs and two cats.
Lisa Lopez serves as the university's chief business officer. Lopez transitioned to UWS from Alaska in 2010, bringing more than 15 years of accounting experience to the university. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of Nevada, Reno and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness
Job Titles:
- Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer
- Executive Vice President
Hello! My name is Sidney Yau and I'm from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I've always wanted to be part of a profession that was able to make a positive impact on people's lives. Therefore, combining my interests in musculoskeletal injuries, rehab and sports led me to the chiropractic profession. My passion for the profession grew throughout high school as I worked with many while I was competing for the Canadian National taekwondo team. Working with chiropractors and experiencing the benefits myself played a big role in why I wanted to pursue this profession.
Job Titles:
- in 2020 As the Clinic Health Care Analyst
Solome Mekbib joined the University of Western States in 2020 as the clinic health care analyst. She serves as a data analyst and a liaison between UWS clinic and Oregon Community Health Information Network (OCHIN); evaluating clinic performance metrics to improve efficiency, interoperability, safety and quality of patient-centered care delivery. Solome enhances clinical decision support through analyzing clinical data, developing workflow initiatives, process maps, enhancement packs and audit reports to optimize patient outcomes and communicate the current trends in the health care system. She provides EPIC leadership and training to clinicians, students and front office staff to improve user experience. She is scientific research pioneer who published an information systems and neuroscience article i.e. The Application of Biometric tools in Understanding Cognitive behavior.
Her interests are patient care, chronic care management, population health and clinical informatics. She is a member of American Medical Informatics Association, Oregon HIMSS and the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine.
Solome is of Ethiopian decent and likes sightseeing, waterfalls and visiting exotic places. Solome enjoys hiking in the Pacific Northwest, gardening, drawing and playing the piano.