DEAPA Board


President

Erika Pierce PA-C President
Erika Pierce PA-C President

  • Erika Pierce PA-C
  • President
  • Email: erikasnowman@hotmail.com
  • Bio:
  • Erika is a native of Maine. She was raised in St. Albans and now resides there with her husband Bill and their 4 year old daughter, Julia. Erika attended PA School at Nova Southeastern University in Ft Lauderdale. Since becoming a PA in 2005 Erika has served on the DEAPA Board of Directors for seven consecutive years. Erika currently serves on the Maine Medical Association’s Legislative Committee and takes an active role in DEAPA’s advocacy efforts on behalf of Maine PAs as chair of DEAPA’s Government Affairs Committee. Erika enjoys teaching both as a preceptor for UNE PA students and as an academic detailer for the Maine academic detailing pilot program called the Maine Independent Clinical Information Service. Erika works clinically at Redington Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan and at Waterville Family Practice. In her spare time Erika enjoys skiing, gardening, and spending time with her family.


President-elect

Emily Kumagae PA-C President-elect
Emily Kumagae PA-C President-elect

  • Emily Kumagae PA-C
  • President-elect
  • Email: emilykumagae@gmail.com
  • Bio:
  • Emily has recently received her Master’s degree from UNE and PA certification, which has been a long time goal. She felt privileged to be elected as a Student Director to the DEAPA Board of Directors in 2009 and has actively served since that time. She brings an unwavering energy and passion for the PA profession. Thankful for the significant contributions of both past and present leadership, she looks forward to serving as an advocate for Maine PAs. She holds undergraduate degrees in Dance, Multimedia Arts and Technologies, and Liberal Studies. An injury in college led her to develop a strong interest in trauma and medical science. She expanded her tracts of study to include Exercise and Health Science and Fitness Instruction with an emphasis in personal training. She has spent the last ten years working in physical therapy, with adults with developmental and physical disabilities, and in a multi-disciplinary alternative pain clinic. Recent transplants from Southern California, Emily and her husband Evan enjoy living Freeport and exploring all Maine's outdoor adventures.


Vice-President

Nate Sherman PA-C Vice-President
Nate Sherman PA-C Vice-President

  • Nate Sherman PA-C
  • Vice-President
  • Email: nate.sherman429@gmail.com
  • Bio:
  • Nate works at the Family Medicine Institute in Augusta and provides family medicine care to patients of all ages. A graduate of the University of New England's Physician Assistant Program in Portland, he is certified by the National Committee on Certification of Physician Assistants. He is a member of MaineGeneral Medical Center's Professional Services Staff and a faculty instructor at the Maine Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency in Augusta. Before studying to become a PA, Nate earned his Bachelor’s degree from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire and Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. Nate and his wife Amy live in Cumberland. He enjoys music, fishing, home brewing and adventures with his dogs.


Treasurer

Gordon Murphy PA-C Treasurer
Gordon Murphy PA-C Treasurer

  • Gordon Murphy PA-C
  • Treasurer
  • Email: gmurphy1@mail.une.edu
  • Bio:
  • Gordon recently graduated from the University of New England PA Program. He has a BA in History from the University of New Hampshire and worked for 12 years as a sales associates for a database software development and consulting firms such as NCR Teradata and the Peppers & Rogers Group. He has also been an EMT/Firefighter for Cumberland and Yarmouth for a number of years, which is what spurred his interest in practicing medicine. He is currently employed at Maine Medical Center Emergency Department. He and his wife Megan have three children and enjoy skiing, boating, and baseball.


Secretary




House of Delegates

Shawn McGlew PA-C House of Delegates
Shawn McGlew PA-C House of Delegates

  • Shawn McGlew PA-C
  • House of Delegates
  • Email: shawnerpa@urgentcareofmaine.com
  • Bio:
  • Shawn has served on the DEAPA board continuously for the past 12 years. He served as president for several years, Liaison to the Board of Licensure in Medicine and has been a delegate to the House of Delegates during that same time period. He was awarded the Robert J. Lapham Outstanding Service Award in 2002. Shawn graduated from the Northeastern University PA program in 1993 and worked ever since in the ER at MaineGeneral Medical Center until just 2 years ago. In January 2008, Shawn incorporated as UrgentCare of Maine, P.A., and started ExpressCare, a walk-in urgent care facility in Waterville. Shawn and his wife Kerri (a former Vice President of DEAPA) have regularly lobbied Congress on PA issues since 2000. They live in China with their three children and hope to find time to do some boating this summer.


Kirsten Thomsen PA House of Delegates
Kirsten Thomsen PA House of Delegates

  • Kirsten Thomsen PA
  • House of Delegates
  • Email: kthomsen7@gmail.com
  • Bio:
  • Kirsten moved to Maine in 2010 from Washington DC where she was faculty at George Washington University PA Program since 2003, served with Emergency Medical Reserve Corps (sent to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina) and headed up the Healthcare for the Homeless community service team at GW. Prior to DC she lived in New Mexico for 13 years, practiced family medicine/urgent care in Albuquerque and served 5 years (2 as chair) on the NM Board of Medicine PA Advisory Committee. Hired by The University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 1994 she developed and implemented the first PA program for the state, was faculty in the department of Family and Community Medicine and the first director of the UNM PA program. Active on the local, state and national level with healthcare and policy issues, as well as with professional PA organizations, she also served on the board of directors of numerous organizations among them: Physician Assistant Education Association, NMAPA, and DCAPA. She has had articles published on healthcare and professional issues and has presented on these issues at national and international conferences. In 1996 she was selected to do a U.S. Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellowship in Washington DC and served twice as president of its interdisciplinary alumni organization, the Society of Primary Care Policy Fellows. Thomsen also served as Ambassador for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) since 2003, Commissioner on the National Commission of Vision and Health (NCVH) since 2008, national CHIPRA Expert Panel since 2011, faculty at UNE until June 2012, Maine Health Policy Study Group, and as AAPA HOD delegate or alternate since 1992.





Director-At-Large

Elizabeth Bailey-Scott PA-C Director-At-Large
Elizabeth Bailey-Scott PA-C Director-At-Large

  • Elizabeth Bailey-Scott PA-C
  • Director-At-Large
  • Bio:
  • Employed by Inland Hospital, I have practiced in Family Medicine at a Rural Health Clinic in Skowhegan for seven years, and truly enjoy the PA profession. As we approach a time of reimbursement change, Medical Home and Accountable Care, I am excited and ready to be part of the collective voice that we share. In addition to serving as Director at Large on the DEAPA BOD panel, I am also current Chair for the CME Committee. I have experience in the ED setting, precepting PA students for UNE, as well as lecturing at a local community college. Prior to my post graduate studies, I taught high school level science, and appreciate the opportunity to bring my commitment to continued education to the PA profession, at this level. I am a native of Maine and currently reside in China Village with my husband, Troy, and children, Damon and Amelia. In addition to my career, I enjoy skiing, reading, boating and a host of outdoors activities, as well as spending time with family.





Student Director Class of 2013

Caitlin Mahoney PA-S Student Director Class of 2013
Caitlin Mahoney PA-S Student Director Class of 2013

  • Caitlin Mahoney PA-S
  • Student Director Class of 2013
  • Email: caitlinmahoney86@gmail.com
  • Bio:
  • Caitlin is a Maine native, growing up in Millinocket. She spent much of her childhood at her parents’ campground near Baxter State Park enjoying nature and the beauty of Maine. She graduated from Stearns High School in 2004, and the next year left the state for college education. She attended Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Biology. In January of 2009, she returned to Maine to work at Acadia Hospital in Bangor. She enjoyed her time there but realized the limitations of a Bachelor’s degree, and decided to pursue higher education as a PA. She was accepted as a member of the UNE PA Class of 2013, and now serves as a DEAPA Student Representative. In her free time she enjoys yoga, walking, cooking, and jewelry making.


Cheryl Deane PA-S Student Director Class of 2013
Cheryl Deane PA-S Student Director Class of 2013

  • Cheryl Deane PA-S
  • Student Director Class of 2013
  • Email: cherylrdeane@gmail.com
  • Bio:
  • Cheryl was thrilled to move to Maine in 2007 after spending two exciting years living on a small island off the coast of Sweden. Originally a native of upstate NY, she has a Bachelor's of Science in Natural Resources, and has volunteered countless hours banding migratory songbirds. She has worked as a paralegal in a non-profit legal aid office, a cheesemaker, a ski lift operator, and most recently as a medical assistant in an allergy practice in southern Maine. Cheryl considers it a privilege to represent the Class of 2013 on the DEAPA Board and really looks forward to helping educate her classmates on state and nationwide issues related to PA practice. Since starting PA school this past June, "free time" is a distant memory, but her family reminds her that she used to love reading, knitting, skiing and kayaking. She lives in Portland with her husband, Joshua Henry, and two adorable Australian cattle dogs.


Student Director Class of 2014

Nilaya Palmer PA-S Student Director Class of 2014
Nilaya Palmer PA-S Student Director Class of 2014

  • Nilaya Palmer PA-S
  • Student Director Class of 2014
  • Email: nilayacurran@gmail.com
  • Bio:
  • Nilaya is a Maine native that left for school, work and travel for ten years before realizing that Maine is the place that she aspires to work and raise her family. Attaining her BA from Evergreen State College she pursued a career in wilderness education. Continuing to trial work experiences in boat building, gardening, retail management and nurses assistant, she realized that the perfect fit for her was to become a Physician Assistant. Attending University of New England’s PA program is allowing her to become acquainted with the career potentials in the PA community in Maine. Joining the DEAPA board of directors as a student member in 2012 enables Nilaya to be a part of growing the very profession that she looks forward to being part of once she graduates in 2014. In between exams Nilaya enjoys frolicking in the outdoors, whether it be skiing, biking, swimming, rowing, running, or just walking on the beach under the stars.


Mary Claire Walsh PA-S Student Director Class of 2014
Mary Claire Walsh PA-S Student Director Class of 2014

  • Mary Claire Walsh PA-S
  • Student Director Class of 2014
  • Email: mwalsh7@une.edu
  • Bio:
  • Mary Claire is originally from Vermont but is loving all that Maine has to offer. She has a B.A. in Human Ecology from Kenyon College and prior to beginning her studies at UNE’s PA program, had been working as a clinical research coordinator at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine. Mary Claire is excited to being working with the DEAPA board and to serve as a DEAPA student representative for the Class of 2014. Her free time is spent backcountry skiing, cycling, and backpacking with her pup, Sprout.