Norvin Perez, MD
Dr. Norvin Perez is a board-certified physician and and devoted community leader who has dedicated his life to providing quality medical care and making a lasting impact on the lives of those he serves. He has extensive experience in emergency medicine, occupational medicine, travel medicine, and primary care.
Dr. Perez was born in Puerto Rico and completed his studies at Tulane University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He then trained in Emergency Medicine at the Albert Einstein Program at Long Island Jewish Hospital and completed a Wound Healing Research Fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard University. Subsequently, he became an Associate Professor of Columbia University while working at Harlem Hospital and eventually served as the Emergency Room Director at West Hudson Hospital.
Dr. Perez has owned and operated an urgent care practice in Juneau, Alaska for the past eight years, offering both urgent care and primary care services. He is committed to providing quality healthcare that is accessible, affordable, and convenient while maintaining high standards of patient satisfaction. To this end, he actively participates in community outreach programs and lectures.
Dr. Norvin Perez is a highly accomplished and professional and humanitarian who has established a unique bi-coastal lifestyle, dividing his time between New York City and Alaska. He is a dedicated family man who finds the time to enjoy camping, fishing, history, art, and connecting with his community while raising a family.
Laura Jean-Francois, GNP-BC, WCC
Laura Jean-Francois is a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner whose expertise in gerontology has led her to provide compassionate primary care services for Older Adults and their families for the majority of her career. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2000 and Nursing in 2003, as well as her Master’s in Gerontological Nursing from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2005. She started her nursing career as a Rehabilitation Nurse at University of Michigan Health System, and has practiced in the areas of General Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, Primary Care, Palliative Care, Mobile Medicine as a Nurse Practitioner. She has also served as a Nursing Instructor for five years at Alma College in Michigan. She has a passion for health education, and believes that ‘prevention is the best medicine’. Laura lives in Anchorage with her family, and Old English Sheepdog, Ezra. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors, and painting.
Nathan George, DNP
Nathan George is a Nurse Practitioner, who enjoys working with patients to improve their quality of life. He believes in preventative medicine and getting to know his patients. He has come to enjoy medicine through years of experience in oncology, hematology, emergency medicine, and urgent care. He has been abroad with trips to Honduras and Mexico to provide medical and translation services in those regions. Nathan has recently moved to Alaska from Wyoming where he grew up dairy farming. He enjoys fishing, hunting, camping, snow machining, and enjoying the outdoors. He and his wife have three children, all of which are still at home. He and his family are happy to be in Alaska, as his wife grew up in Alaska. Nathan received his baccalaureate degree in Nursing, then he completed his Doctorate as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming.
Wanda Sprenger, PMHNP
Wanda is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She received her ASN in 1984 from Dickinson State University in Dickinson North Dakota and retuned to DSU to complete her BSN in 1993. She completed her Master’s in Nursing in Psychiatric Mental Health from the University of San Diego, California. Her focus of care is minimizing the use of medication providing education on lifestyle choices. She spend most of her life in ND, seven years in California, moving to Alaska in July 2020. She has 2 adult married children, son and daughter, granddaughter and a grandchild expected in March 2023. Her interests include hiking, biking, camping, and working out.
Rachel Rekow, DNP APRN FNP-BC
Rachel grew up in Northern Virginia and earned her bachelor’s in Nursing at James Madison Nursing and her Master’s in Nursing at George Mason University. She moved to Alaska in 2020 on a whim and now she never wants to leave. She has been working in healthcare since 2016 and has worked in a variety of settings to include mental health, pediatrics, and family practice. In her spare time Rachel enjoys exploring all that Alaska has to offer. Her favorite activities include dip netting, berry picking, white water rafting, kayaking, ice climbing, glacier exploration, hiking with her husband and golden retriever.
Candice Faria, FNP
Candice Faria is a Family Nurse Practitioner dedicated to improving patient outcomes through education, preventive care, patient collaborative care. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alaska Anchorage and upon graduation worked in outpatient oncology as an infusion nurse. She obtained her Master of Science in Nursing also from the University of Alaska Anchorage specializing as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She has practiced in primary care, outpatient medical oncology, and hematology. She served as the president of the Alaska Nurse Practitioner Society and as the secretary of the Denali Oncology Nursing Society. During her undergraduate education, she was awarded the Spirit of Nursing award and received the Evidence-Based Practice award during her graduate education. Candice has lived in Anchorage area for over 30 years. In her free time, she enjoys playing hockey, gardening, reading, fostering cats and dogs, and spending time with her husband, two Belgian Malinois, and four cats.
Brandie Banks, FNP
Brandie, a native of Mobile, AL, is certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner by American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB). She achieved a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL. She completed the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Walden University in Minneapolis, MN. Brandie has 17+ years of healthcare experience, practicing in medical-surgical, telemetry, corrections, community health, pediatrics, oncology, occupational medicine, and geriatrics. Brandie enjoys spending time with her 3 daughters, her husband and 2 dogs.
Rhonda Price-Burt, M.A., CCC-SLP
Rhonda is a certified member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and holds licensure to practice Speech and Language Pathology in the State of Alaska. Rhonda received her Bachelor of Science and her Master of Arts degrees from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She was recently nominated for and consequently received the Sour Dough Award from the Alaska Speech-Language Hearing Association for ‘outstanding contributions and long-term dedication to issues in Speech-Language Pathology.’ Rhonda has been in the field since 1995 and has practiced in the states of New Mexico, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska. Although born in New Mexico, she has been a resident of Alaska since 1981. Rhonda was recruited for Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in 2004 from Providence Alaska Extended Care in Anchorage. Rhonda was then recruited for Maple Springs in Wasilla in 2019 and is currently with Atlas Medical in Wasilla. She has been working in the valley for 19 years, giving her over 29 years of work experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Her specialities include aphasia, voice therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, swallowing disorders, dementia, and traumatic brain injuries. She was one of the first therapists in Alaska to become certified in the use of Vital Stimulation for the treatment of swallowing disorders. She loves working with the adult and geriatric populations in helping them reach their communication goals. Rhonda and her husband, Chuck, enjoy traveling, camping, riding their tandem bike, golfing, and fishing.
Darlene Dunn, NP-C, PhD
Dr. Darlene Dunn has been an Advanced Nurse Practitioner for more than three decades, providing quality adult primary care to her patients and specializing in well-woman gynecology and a wide range of cosmetic medicine. Her experience is strengthened by her PhD in Psychology, which she uses to provide mental health care and promote self-esteem.
After two successful decades in North Carolina, Dr. Dunn moved to Alaska and found it the perfect place to continue her work of providing healthcare to remote and underserved areas. She was quickly captivated by the beauty of the land and the culture of its Native people. She loves living in Alaska and giving back to its people – something she is honored to be a part of.
Dr. Dunn lives in Wasilla and is proud to call it her home. She loves animals – especially rescue animals – and enjoys spotting the many moose roaming around her neighborhood. On weekends throughout summer, she can often be found kayaking in the area and enjoying quality time with her two adult daughters.
Michelle Vanderpool, FNP-C
Michelle is a Nurse Practitioner who received her ADN in 2015 from Charter College. From 2016-2023 she worked in a variety of acute care settings including medical-surgical, orthopedic, rehabilitation, and telemetry. It was during this time that she obtained her BSN from Western Governor University and immediately began working towards her master’s degree. Michelle graduated from Purdue University Global in July of 2022 with a Master’s Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner. As an FNP, Michelle’s goal is to focus on preventative care by empowering patients to live healthier lives through proper education and shared decision making.
Michelle was born and raised in Hawaii, but moved to Alaska in 2012. Outside of work, Michelle enjoys reading, fishing, camping, and spending time with her husband and three daughters.
