Evelyn’s nursing career began after leaving the military. Encouraged by her husband, she became a licensed practical nurse. It was as an LPN that she realized that she’d found her place. Evelyn describes having an epiphany that she was where she was meant to be. She loved that she could really make a difference in her patients’ lives. 

She worked in med surg at St. Clare for 4 years before returning to school. After graduating in 2000, she found herself back at St. Clare but, this time, in the operating room.

Evelyn discovered that she really enjoyed being in the OR – the pacing, making a difference for patients in a new way, and the regular breaks. She was amazed to get two breaks and lunch each day. She spent the rest of her nursing career in the OR. 15 years at St. Clare and another 10 years at Capital Medical Center. At Capital, she found a new passion sharing her knowledge by providing education to fellow nurses to ensure best practices were followed. She is proud of her work there to help professionalize and standardize practices.

While at St. Clare, she took on leadership roles – first with staffing and nurse practice committees and then co-chair of the local unit. From there, she moved on to leadership roles at WSNA. She served on the ENGW cabinet, WSNF Board and the WSNA Board of Directors.

While at St. Clare and involved in leadership at her local unit and WSNA, Evelyn also became active in PCNA leadership. She served several terms on the board as a director as well as two terms as President. During her presidency, PCNA began to evolve. There was a mission to increase educational opportunities, scholarships, and member engagement. She worked closely with the Executive Director to professionalize the association – putting in place policies and procedures, implementing a new pointing grid for awarding scholarships, bringing in a bookkeeper to provide detailed monthly financial reports, and, the long process of, transitioning the association from a 501(c)6 to a 501(c)3.

Evelyn’s leadership was and is marked by a passion to move PCNA, now RONA, forward. She was on the board when the association transitioned from a district to a region. As a resident of Thurston county, she had a positive vision for how to navigate this transition. Her leadership during this time was integral to our successful evolution.

In addition to serving on the board, Evelyn has served on the scholarship committee, finance committee, banquet committee and most recently is serving as both a co-chair of the banquet committee and as our newsletter editor. Newsletter committee is not just responsible for the printed newsletter but is also taken on social media. While social media might not be Evelyn’s first language, she can steer any committee. Organized, passionate and an excellent communicator, Evelyn knows how to gather input from a team and support them in determining realistic next steps.

We often ask our board members to share their why with us. Why have they stepped up to lead and why do they stay involved. Evelyn has answered this question many times. In 2019, she shared that it’s about supporting her fellow nurses but also to have fellowship with peers – to talk to others who understand the challenges of being a nurse. She’s also said “to laugh at the end of a hard day.”

Now retired, Evelyn is spending her time with her husband, daughter and their beloved dog, Budke. She is also diving into her new passion quilting. She is very involved with a quilting guild. Recently, they spent time at a local elementary school teaching the students to sew and make quilt squares. She once again enjoyed teaching and sharing her passion with the students.

Thank you Evelyn for your years of service. Our association would not be what it is without your leadership.