Committee Chair

Committee Chair

John Peleuses has more than 30 years experience in the health care sector.  John completed his respiratory therapy training at Indiana Universityin 1972 and began his career in hospitals immediately following his education.  John has held numerous positions over the years both in the clinical and non-clinical areas of hospital administration as well as clinical education.  These positions include direct patient care, department management, clinical instructor and internal corporate consultant.  John has also served as a member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway medical team for the past 34 years.  In his current position as Director of Respiratory Care at Irvine Regional Hospital, John also facilitates the Continuum of Care Team and coordinates the reporting of data for the Hospital?s Balanced Scorecard program measuring overall hospital performance focusing on, Quality, Service, People, Cost, and Growth.

MSN, CNS, RN
Director of Accreditation/Licensure & Regulatory Affairs
Kaiser Permanente-Riverside Medical Center, Riverside, CA
Conflict Management

Karen Sirski-Martin holds a Master''''s Degree in Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Critical Care and has a specialty in education. She has held such positions as Clinical Nurse/Critical Care, Clinical Supervisor Emergency Department/Urgent Care, Clinical Educator, Director of Critical Care/Emergency Department/Gastrointestinal Laboratory Services, House Supervisor, Director of Education , Director of Nursing, and Independent Nurse Consultant.

She has traveled as far as the Ukraine to assist in the Education of Missionary Nurses on ways and means to bring Health Care in a third world country to the 21st century.

Director of Education, Kaiser Permanente-San Diego
Marlene received her Nursing diploma from the Uniontown Hospital School of Nursing in Uniontown Pennsylvania in 1960. She began her nursing career holding staff nursing positions in obstetrics and operating room nursing from 1960 through 1968 at several San Diego hospitals including: Mercy Hospital, Villa View, College Park, and Kaiser Foundation. In 1968 she became the Director of Nursing Education at Kaiser Foundation Hospital. The job and title have changed over the years with added scope of responsibility, adding patient education in the early 80''''s, research in the mid 80''''s and finally in 1994 changing the title to Director of Education and Consulting Services for all areas  of staff education from MD to Environmental Services. She also returned to academia and obtained a BSN and MA in Education from San Diego State University in 1975 and 1979 respectively. While working at Kaiser Foundation she has taught at many of the academic programs in the community and has served or had representatives from her department on most of their advisory boards. She is co-developer of the SD Consortium for the placement of all nursing students clinical experience. Marlene coordinated and teaches in the Nursing NCLEX review for the San Diego Welcome Back Program.

Active in professional groups, Marlene is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, The Association of California Nurse Leaders and the National Nursing Staff Development Organization. In the community she actively supports the United Way and YWCA organizations.

Morris Eagleman served in the U.S. Air force during the Viet Nam war.  After the military he began college obtaining a BSN and MBA.  He has over 25 years of management and administrative experience in health care.  For the past 7 years he has served as Vice President of Patient Care Services at Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta.

A UCLA alumnus with a BA in biomedical illustration and then tenured as university cartographer, Noel Diaz transitioned into the health care field with his completion in 1995 of the Loma Linda University allied health BS and credential program, specializing in health information administration.  From long-term care settings to the acute care hospital environment, he has served over the last dozen years both as health information management director and continuous process improvement coordinator.  Still wearing two hats at the same time, he is fully engaged today at Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara as both health information services director and privacy officer.

Noel gravitated towards a health care occupation following a two-year German language study program at the University of Vienna, Austria, where, as an extracurricular activity, he tutored non-German-speaking Asian overseas nurses in medical terminology and basic computer skills.  He is a long-standing active member of AHIMA and CHIA, currently volunteering as mentor to aspiring students and focusing on seminar design and planning.  Locally, he is on the advisory board for the Santa Barbara City College HIT program.

Noel''''s keen interest in education extends globally, having been executive planner and organizer, for example, for an international symposium of university cartographers held in Los Angeles in 1985.  Today, as president of the central coast chapter of ARMA International, he continues to help provide it?s over 10,000 members around the world with continuing education opportunities by way of seminars, workshops, online tutorials, tours, publications, and conferences.

Tamera Rice, currently serving as the President of the California Organization of Deans and Directors, South,  began her nursing career in Indiana with an Associate Degree from Purdue University (2+2 program).  Her husband''''s career required relocation to Southern California, where she continued her education through the CSU system to obtain both a BSN and MSN.  Tamera has 20 years experience teaching in the community college setting and since fall 2001 she has been the Assistant Dean of Health Sciences, Human Services, & Emeritus and the Nursing Program Director for Saddleback College. 

Bob Yarris has left the position of RHORC Director for Region 10.  Please join us in welcoming Ms. Ann Durham as RHORC Director for the San Diego Imperial RHORC.  Ann has served as our Southern HUB Director and WIA Nursing Grant Coordinator for the past year.

RN, MSN, Specialist in Education Services with the California Commumity Colleges Chancellor''''s Office

Barbara is the Grant Monitor for the Health Care Initiative, the Discipline Specific Industry Collaborative and the Statewide Health Occupations Advisory grants.

Julie Hughes-Lederer has been in healthcare as a med-surg/geriatrics,OB/pediatrics nurse at Children''''s Hospital of Los Angeles and Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital (Whittier) as well as a nursing professor in the LVN and ADN programs at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut for over 25 years. She was instrumental in planning, developing and managing the campus Health Careers Resource Center which houses nine human patient simulators and has extensive knowledge related to integration of technology and simulation into a variety of allied health program curriculums.  She has a strong interest in workforce development in LA County and statewide especially in the areas of allied health, career mobility, men in nursing and gerontology.

Valerie Fisher, RN, MA joined Hartnell College as Director of the Regional Health Occupations Resource Center the spring of 2007. She has a unique background in grant management, program development, health education and 20 years working as a registered nurse (ER/Trauma/Flight Nursing). Valerie has worked for MedAir, San Mateo County Office of Education, the Private Industry Council of San Luis Obispo, the California Transplant Donor Network, and most recently with the Foundation for Global Community in Palo Alto. She is a native Californian and received her RN from Saddleback College (1978), her BA from John F. Kennedy University (1996), and her MA from Holy Names College in Oakland (1998). In her leisure Valerie enjoys music, nature, and travel.