Our People
When we say “community,” we don’t just mean the broader Hampton Roads community. It takes a community of talented people to bring everything together. Here are just a few of the people that keep ODU Community Care up and running.
Clinical Providers
Grace Gustin, MSW
Behavioral Health Provider
She is the lead Clinical Social Worker for ODU Community Care Clinic at PiN and manages all telehealth activities throughout our clinics. Grace additionally supervises Human Service and Social Work students within our clinics. She has had the amazing opportunity to have been working with disadvantages populations, particularly the homeless population for 7 years. She has a passion for caring for those experiencing the spectrum of homelessness while educating inter-professional clinical students to care for vulnerable populations.
Emily Horvath, DNP, FNP-BC
NP Provider Lead PiN Clinic & FNP Clinical Coordinator
Dr. Emily is the Director of Clinical Education of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program and the lead nurse practitioner for ODU Community Cares at PiN, a university and homelessness ministry community partnership clinic. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of our Nurse-Led Integrated clinic at PiN. She cares for those experiencing the spectrum of homelessness while educating inter-professional clinical students to care for vulnerable populations.
Key Faculty and Staff
Carolyn Rutledge, PhD, FNP-BC
Project Director
Carolyn Rutledge is a Professor of Nursing at ODU. She is the project director of ODU Community Care and the Co-Director of the Center for Telehealth (C-TIER). Professor Rutledge has been a Family Nurse Practitioner for 35 years. In 2022, she was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). In 2014, she received the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award for Virginia.
Tammy Speerhas, DNP, FNP-C, CEN
Clinic Director
She is the Director of the Old Dominion University Community Care Initiative. She will oversee the Nurse Led-Patient Run clinics, including care on the new Mobile Health Unit that will target care in the South Hampton County area. Her nursing background includes emergency medicine, urgent care, administration, geriatrics, and pediatrics. She is passionate about providing care to underserved populations, as well as growing and educating students in the healthcare arena. In her free time, she enjoys golfing, hiking, and gardening.
Tina Gustin,
DNP, CNS
Telehealth Director
Tina has over 35-years of advanced practice nursing experience. She is currently an Associate Professor at Old Dominion University (ODU) School of Nursing where she teaches in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program. Her most recent appointment was as the Co-Director of the college’s Center for Telehealth Innovation, Education, and Research (C-TIER). The center serves as a telehealth learning hub and research center not only for the state but also the United States. She is the clinical manager for the Pediatric Telehealth program at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk Virginia. Dr. Gustin has been responsible for the development of this new program and assuring clinical competence of the telehealth providers. She is the PI and Co-PI for several Health and Human Services Administration (HRSA) grants totally over 6 million dollars. These grants have aimed at reaching the rural and underserved though telehealth and interprofessional collaboration. Dr. Gustin was instrumental in the development and guidance of the grants Nurse-Led Integrated Clinic housed at the People in Need (PiN) ministry aimed at caring for those living in homeless in the City of Virginia Beach. Dr. Gustin has extensively published and presented on both interprofessional team-based care and preparing providers for telehealth both nationally and internationally. She served on the American Nurses Association task force for technology and was most recently elected to the Center for Telehealth and eHealth Law (CTeL) Advisory Board, she is the telehealth advisor for the Virginia Mental Health Access Program (VMAP) that aims to connect pediatric providers with behavioral providers state wide. She also serves as a board member for PiN. She has been invited to several nursing and medical schools to assist in the development of a telehealth curriculum and to present her work.
Jessica Parrott DNP, CPNP-PC, CNE
PNP Track Coordinator
Dr. Jessica Parrott is originally from the Washington, D.C. area and has been in Hampton Roads, VA for 25 years. She is a trifecta graduate from Old Dominion University, receiving her bachelor’s in nursing, master’s in nursing and doctorate in nursing practice degrees all from ODU. Dr. Parrott completed her master’s in nursing with a focus on the pediatric nurse practitioner role and additionally received a postgraduate certificate in nursing education. Dr. Parrott is dually certified as a pediatric nurse practitioner and nurse educator. She is currently an Assistant Professor at ODU, teaching in the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. Dr. Parrott also has an extensive background in undergraduate and graduate nursing education, educational leadership, and accreditation. Dr. Parrott has been a nurse practitioner for almost 20 years in pediatric primary care and pediatric urgent care settings. She currently practices with Children Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD) Division of Urgent Care and is a member of the inter-professional Quality Improvement Committee. Additionally, Dr. Parrott is adjunct faculty for Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS). Dr. Parrott has a practice, research, and grant background focusing on underserved/underrepresented groups in healthcare, inter-professional practice and education, and quality improvement to include systematic evaluation.
Tinnikka Robertson-Jones, DNP, CNS
Undergraduate Coordinator
She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University (ODU) in the Undergraduate School of Nursing. Dr. Robertson-Jones has over 18 years of experience in the healthcare field with a focus on clinical practice, community and globalhealth, health disparities, education, and research. She is originally from Detroit Michigan and received her Associate Degree in Nursing from Henry Ford Community College, Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing from the University of Detroit Mercy, Master of Science in Nursing as well as an advance practice degree as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist from Eastern Michigan University, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Chatham University. She is board certified as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. Dr. Robertson-Jones is also a Certified Nurse Educator through the National League for Nursing. Her clinical practice background includes, medical surgical nursing, infectious disease, post anesthesia care (PACU) and Cardiovascular Intensive Care (CVICU). Dr. Robertson-Jones is passionate about nursing
and education. She believes to whom much is given, much is required, and it is imperative to always continue to empower and equip others for optimal outcomes. Her research interest includes new graduate nurses’ transition to practice, health disparities, health literacy and global/community health initiatives. Dr. Robertson-Jones serves as a Co-PI for the HRSA grant that is creating the mobile van. Her primary responsibilities are as the undergraduate faculty liaison, with a focus on facilitating the onboarding, training, coordination, and evaluation of undergraduate students experiential learning experiences with ODU Community Cares, primary patient care services.
Michele Bordelon, MSEd
Project Coordinator
Ms. Bordelon has worked with the ODU School of Nursing since 2010 with a focus on Telehealth education programming, develop and grant project management. She has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science and Wellness from ODU. As the Grant Project Coordinator, her role is to coordinate meetings and educational activities. track data, arrange SP encounters and Clinical rotations. She also oversees the placement of students, coordinates HRSA grant reports and supports Telehealth education programs.
Kelli Garber, MSN, DNP
Clinical Assistant Professor, Director of the DNP Advanced Practice Program
Dr. Garber is a Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with over 27 years of experience including private practice, school-based health, and virtual care. Dr. Garber is a published author and an accomplished presenter on the topics of telehealth best practices, APRN telehealth practice, telehealth policy, telehealth education, and school-based telehealth. Prior to joining ODU, she was a seminal member of the Medical University of South Carolina School-based telehealth program, contributing to the development and expansion of the statewide program in SC.
Dr. Garber proudly serves as a Member-at-Large on the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) Executive Board and as a member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing. She received her BSN at Johns Hopkins University, MSN at the University of Maryland, and DNP from Old Dominion University.
Frankie Speerhas
Healthcare Coordinator
Frankie has a background in customer service as well as medical billing and coding. She’s been working with the underserved population since 2013 both abroad in Mexico and locally. She serves ODU Community Care as the Healthcare Coordinator doing in-person and behind-the-scenes work for our three locations. Her primary job site is at the Housing Resource Center site where she manages patient registration and check-in. When she’s not in the clinic, you can find her running reports and pulling data for our grant team, helping to secure funding for ODU Community Care’s current and future endeavors.
Interprofessional Faculty
Kristy Carlisle Ph.D.,LPC-R (VA), HS-BCP
Undergraduate Program Director
Dr. Kristy Carlisle is an Associate Professor in Old Dominion University’s (ODU) Counseling and Human Services Department where she is the Human Services Program Director and the Chief Editor of Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration. She has work experience as a PK-12 teacher, school counselor, mental health counselor, and case manager/supervisor; and she has served child, adolescent, and adult populations in school, inpatient residential, and community mental health settings. Her research interests include addictions & addictions education, crisis & trauma education, and interprofessional collaboration & education (IPC/IPE).
Tom Campbell Ph.D., LAT, ATC
Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr. Tom Campbell currently serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at Old Dominion University where he acts as the Director of Clinical Education for the Master of Science of Athletic Training program. Tom received his Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania in 2012, then went on to receive his Master of Science degree in Athletic Training from ESU in 2013. Most recently, Tom was employed by Bridgewater College where he acted as an Assistant Athletic Trainer then a Visiting Assistant Professor. Tom’s primary research interests include the identification of concussion biomarkers and the improvement of concussion prevention, diagnosis, and management practices. Originally from Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, Tom currently resides in Moyock, North Carolina.
Michelle Boulanger Thompson PhD, MS, OTR/L, QMHP
Assistant Professor - Occupational Therapy
Michelle Thompson is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy. She has practiced as a occupational therapist for 34 years, working on community-based interdisciplinary teams with individuals with disabilities and their families across the lifespan in early intervention (birth to age 3), public schools (ages 2-22), and adult home health. She serves on the Board of Directors for Mosaic, a national organization supporting community living needs for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), serves in a leadership and research role for the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities’ (AAIDD) Creative Arts special interest network, and serves on the Virginia Division on Early Childhood’s (VA-DEC) leadership board. Dr. Thompson’s research interests include the importance of play and creativity across the lifespan, parent/caregiver empowerment, benefits of assistive technology (AT), and the importance of belonging and community for individuals with disabilities and their families. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her husband and dogs, Deacon and Cali.
Adaira Howell, RDH, BSDH, MS
Lecturer and Community Outreach Coordinator - Dental Hygiene
Adaira Howell has experience in the field as an educator, researcher, and clinical dental hygienist. Adaira is a published author in the Journal of Dental Hygiene. Her research focuses on increasing the access to dental care for the underserved population. She has a true passion for serving others and strives to create a community that focuses improving health equity for all.