Physician Assistant Studies Faculty and Staff

Prof. Davis is the Director of the School of PA studies. Prior to becoming the Director Prof. Davis served as the Associate Director, the founding Director of the Global Health Care Track, led the Skills and OSCE curriculum, served as the interim clinical coordinator, and taught in both the Didactic and Clinical phases of the program. Prof. Davis now teaches in her areas of passion in PA professional policy and advocacy, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Global Health; as well as in her professional areas of expertise in sexual health and surgery.

Prof. Davis is an alumni of the Pacific School of PA studies and returned to teach in 2011. She practiced in pediatrics in a tribal health facility, emergency medicine in a critical access hospital, neurosurgery in a level 2 trauma center, urgent care and rural family practice prior to becoming an academic. Her areas of research interest include Interprofessional and Global Health education, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in PA Education. Prof. Davis is passionate about the PA profession and has served for 9 years (and counting!) as an Oregon House of Delegates Representative for the AAPA House of Delegates: One of her proudest moments was casting one of the unanimous votes for Optimal Team Practice! She has also served a six year term in executive leadership for the Oregon Society of Physician Assistants in the President Elect, President, Immediate Past President roles. She has spent untold hours serving representing PA’s on national and state level committees, and believes that is what passion does!

Outside of her passion for education and the PA profession – she loves all things farmers markets, fresh produce and PICKLES!!

Prof. McLellan is the Director of Academic Education and Didactic Faculty for the School of PA Studies.  She has served as principal didactic faculty at two other PA programs before joining the Pacific University School of PA Studies in 2017. Prof. McLellan has been a PA since graduating from the Midwestern University – Arizona PA Program in 2006. She practiced several years in obstetrics/gynecology in various practice settings including an urban underserved clinic as the sole on-site provider. She also practiced in breast surgical oncology, and she now practices at a local free clinic providing gynecologic care.  Her areas of research interest include assessment and professional development. Prof. McLellan is passionate about giving back to the PA profession; she has spent many years serving on national PA education committees as well as state level committees. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, friends, and animals. Pets bring her great joy, and she loves to meet and spend time with other's pets as much as possible.

Melanie joined Pacific University in 2017 and has been with the PA program since 2021. She is responsible for recruitment and retention of preceptors for Supervised Clinical Practice Experiences (PA Student Clinical Rotations) and also provides instructional and marketing support for the program. She graduated from the University of Oregon with bachelor’s degrees in history and romance languages, and has a master’s degree in adult education from Indiana University. She has over 15 years of experience working in adult and higher education, including nearly a decade spent teaching and building skills in curriculum and lesson materials design in Tokyo, Japan. Her professional interests include User Experience design (UX), instructional design and adult learning theory. Outside of work, she also enjoys learning about new things (current topics: macramé, history of medicine, and growing houseplants), volunteering for her local community library, watching murder mysteries, and spending time with her dogs.

Professor Cozens is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physician Assistant Studies. She joined Pacific University in 2021 and teaches in cardiology, clinical skills, reproductive medicine, nephrology, and neurology. Professor Cozens has been a family practice PA since 2014, and maintains a part time clinical practice. Within the broad scope of family medicine she especially enjoys preventative medicine, infectious disease, and gender affirming care. Outside of work, Professor Cozens spends most of her free time running, gardening, traveling, fixing up her old house, and spending time with the people she loves.

Gabbie Hering is the Coordinator of Clinical Administration for the School of PA Studies. Gabbie received her Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science from Oregon Tech in 2023 with dual minors in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Sustainability. Prior she became a licensed Emergency Medical Technician in 2018 and trained in multiple locations in the Portland metro area. Her areas of interest include equality, inclusion and accessibility in the natural science fields. Outside of work, Gabbie can be found camping at the coast or spending time enjoying the outdoors with her dog.

Krystal is the Program Administrator and has served in this role since 2012. She provides operational and administrative management for the program including budget manager responsibilities. She is the Chair of the Admissions Committee and is heavily involved in all aspects of the admissions process. She also plans and executes all major events for the School including Orientation, White Coat, and Graduation. She is a certified DISC behavioral consultant, a BLS instructor, and is interested in grant writing. Her previous experience includes working as a paralegal and as an emergency room coordinator for a level 1 trauma center.  Krystal graduated from Oregon State University, magna cum laude in 2005 with two Bachelor of Arts degrees: Political Science and Sociology. She enjoys traveling, bowling, hosting dinner parties and spending time with her labradoodle and niece and nephew.

Professor Olsommer is didactic faculty for the School of Physician Assistant Studies and leads the Nephrology and Emergency Medicine modules. She lectures broadly in other modules, including Pulmonology, Musculoskeletal, Geriatrics, GU/Reproductive Health, and Surgery/Hospital Care. Additionally, she leads our EKG and Ultrasound longitudinal curriculum. She maintains clinical practice as an emergency medicine PA at a Level I Trauma Center in Seattle. Professor Olsommer has 15 years of experience as an Emergency Medicine PA, practicing in community hospitals, critical access hospitals and trauma centers and holds an Emergency Medicine CAQ. Her areas of interest are emergency medicine, curriculum development focusing on vulnerable populations and DEI in PA practice and education, POCUS, EKG and case-based learning. Outside of the classroom, Professor Olsommer enjoys gardening, travel, biking, her cats, and true crime documentaries.

Prof. Pestka has worked for Pacific University’s School of PA studies since 2016. She is currently Didactic Faculty in the School of PA Studies, and previously held positions as Clinical Faculty and Academic Coordinator. She teaches in Derm/EENT, GI, Genitourinary/Sexual Health, and the Graduate Project. Prof. Pestka has over 10 years of experience as a PA across different areas in clinical medicine including travel medicine, urgent care, occupational health and internal medicine. Her areas of research include student professionalism, Global Health, justice, diversity, equity and inclusion in PA Education and Practice. Professionally, Prof. Pestka is passionate about education, and she has worked with the Oregon Society of Physician Assistants for several years on their Continuing Medical Education (CME) Committee, both as a Co-Chair and member of the committee. In her free time, she can often be found hanging out with her family and two doodle-dogs, as well as traveling both domestically and internationally.

Sheryl Sanders is an anatomist who teaches for the Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant Programs.  She also manages the Human Anatomy Lab.

Diane joined the PA program in 2006. Diane negotiates and maintains affiliation agreements with clinical rotation sites. Alongside the Clinical Faculty, she analyzes student patient encounters to ensure that the school continues to provide a viable rotation experience at each clinical site.