Board of Directors & Staff

Dr. Sanford earned her BSN and MSN in Rural Health Nursing with a specialization in Nursing Education from the University of North Dakota and completed her DNP in Public Health and Policy at Rasmussen University. Dr. Sanford later earned a postgraduate certificate in Applied Clinical Nutrition to close the research-practice gap to address vitamin D deficiency in patients, populations and the nursing workforce, improving physical, maternal, and mental health and decreasing healthcare costs.

Her 30 years of nursing experience have encompassed bedside care, public and community health, education, research, and health policy. She has worked and volunteered with underserved populations locally and globally, including tribal communities, incarcerated and homeless teens in the U.S. and Canada, orphans in Mexico, rural communities in the Amazon and human trafficking survivors in Asia. In 2005, she lived in China for five years, where she served as a Nurse Consultant and teaching English. After relocating to Fargo, she co-founded a non-profit supporting micro-businesses for women in poverty in Afghanistan and further served local underserved populations through refugee health advocacy.

Beth is deeply committed to strengthening the nursing profession through education, workforce development, advancing health policy, and fostering professional growth. She enjoys serving on the Board of Directors for the North Dakota Nurses Association, advocating for nurses and nursing students across the state and nation.

Shila Blend, PhD, MSN, RN-BC is currently employed with the State of North Dakota as the Health Information Technology Director, who is responsible for overseeing the North Dakota Health Information Network, the health information exchange for North Dakota. 

She is currently a member of the federal Health Information Technology Advisory Committee.  She is a board-certified cardiac vascular registered nurse and received her Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing with a Health Systems focus from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Mary, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from MedCenter One College of Nursing. 

Shila brings more than a fifteen years of experience leading people and projects in the healthcare space, including patient care, implementation of healthcare technology and statewide programs.  Her leadership experience includes significant stakeholder engagement with state, local and tribal partners as well as health care associations, emergency management and legislative members.  Shila has served as adjunct faculty for University of Mary’s graduate nursing program. 

She is a systems thinker passionate about improving nursing and our rural health care systems.  

I graduated from Alexandria Technical and Community College’s (MN) nursing program in 2009. From 2017-2019, I attended the University of Mary in Bismarck and graduated with my master’s degree in nursing with an emphasis in nursing leadership and management. I’ve had the pleasure of working in a variety of settings, from acute care on the medical surgical floor to being the clinical nursing supervisor in a multi-specialty clinic and most recently, a nurse educator.

Throughout my nursing career, I have found that for me, teaching our future nurses is far more than just a profession, it has become my passion. It would be an absolute pleasure to not only make a difference in the lives of the nursing students I teach, but all nurses throughout the state of North Dakota and beyond. My diverse leadership background will allow me to partner with other leaders throughout the state to promote and advocate for positive changes that will benefit our patients, families, and communities we serve.

Amy recently completed a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Leadership from the University of North Dakota. In addition, she serves as the Chair of the Nursing Department at Minot State University. Previously, Amy was the Director of the Learning Resource Center and Simulation at Minot State University. She began her nursing career in 2010 and obtained a Master of Nursing in Education in 2015. She worked as a Clinical Nurse Educator in Labor & Delivery, Mother Baby, and Lactation at Indiana University Health before moving to Minot in 2018. With a passion for nursing simulation and a natural inclination toward leadership, Amy has dedicated her academic and professional journey to making a positive impact in the field of nursing.

My name is Ashley DeMakis. I graduated from UND in 2001. I worked in Grand Forks for a few years before returning to my hometown in Minot, ND. I am married with 2 children. I worked at Trinity for 15 years in different departments. While working in Clinical Informatics, I found my passion in educating others. I returned to school to get my Master's in Nursing Administration from the University of Phoenix. Currently, I am an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Minot State University. I teach the senior nursing students in their leadership and practicum courses. I enjoy teaching students about this amazing profession! 

I have been a past president and secretary of the Omicron Tau chapter of Sigma. I am a current delegate for Omicron Tau, and I am also on the Education committee.  This committee offered multiple nursing conferences to educate nurses on recent topics, offering continuing education units. Recently, I have become more interested in the legislative issues related to nursing.

I came to nursing later in life, having been an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)-Paramedic for many years. As an RN BSN, I have worked in both rural hospitals and long-term care, specializing in emergency medicine and geriatrics. I have served on many committees, helping to write policies related to influenza pandemics and mass casualty events. I continued to serve my local community as an EMT for nearly 20 years, retiring only after earning my Master's degree in Nursing Education.

As a lifelong learner, I recently completed my PhD. Utilizing both the work of Bandura and Benner, I investigated how experiencing death on the job affected the self-efficacy of newly graduated nurses who were still in the advanced beginner stage of their careers. It was an interesting look and provided insight for nursing retention. Having recently left the academic arena, I am now the owner of P Doc CPR, a mobile CPR/AED/First Aid unit that brings American Heart Association training and certification directly to the customer. In addition to the NDNA, I also sit on the boards of the North Dakota Center for Nursing, the Stutsman County Human Rights Coalition, the Zonta Club of Jamestown, and am the Governor-elect for Zonta International District 7. I feel my experience and connections will help guide me in the Director of Advocacy position. I firmly believe in introducing young, new nurses to the legislative issues that we face as a profession. They need to know that together, nurses have a voice through the NDNA!

Sarita Wanner is a nurse at St. Alexius CHI Dickinson in the ED, and is also PRN at the Sanford Clinic in Dickinson.

I want to serve for various reasons:

 -to strengthen representation for all of ND, but specifically the western/southwestern area

 -to be an advocate for other nurses, patients, students, and potential students

 -to be “in the know” and at the forefront of information so it can be shared

 -to influence others about the importance of involvement

 -to learn from and network with other professionals