School of Nursing

Professor Vine knew she wanted to be a nurse when she was in her junior year in high school. In 1980, she began working as a CNA at a nursing home next door to her high school. She finished high school in January 1981 and began taking nursing courses in the LPN program at Kankakee Community College. In 1982, she received her LPN license at the age of 19 and began working in intensive care at St. Mary's hospital in Kankakee. She went on to get her associate degree in nursing in 1996 and continued to work in intensive care. She has also worked in nursing homes, home care, cardiac rehab, cardiac recovery and Veteran affairs.

Professor Vine began her teaching journey as an adjunct nursing professor by assisting with clinical rotations and simulations at Olivet in spring 2021 after obtaining her master's degree in nursing education from Western Governors University. She joined the full-time teaching faculty at Olivet in January 2022, co-teaching in the classroom and clinical settings. She brings more than 40 years of nursing experience to the Olivet family. She is excited to be able to share her nursing journey with each student that she crosses paths.

For relaxation, she enjoys traveling, date nights with her husband, Albert, and spending time with family, especially her grandchildren. She and her husband have three adult children and six grandchildren. She is very active in her church and community. Her motto is, "only what you do for Christ will last."

Since 2007, Dr. Nielsen has been a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). She has been a Registered Nurse (RN) since 1995, where she received her Bachelor of Science (BSN) from Indiana Wesleyan University. In 2006, she received her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Valparaiso University and her FNP certification in May 2007. She has an earned Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Valparaiso University in 2010. Her DNP project was on Stroke Protocol and Patient Outcomes. Dr. Nielsen has worked in various settings as a RN both at the bedside and as a case manager/social worker. She currently works as an FNP at Ascension St. Mary's Hospital in the Emergency Room.

Dr. Nielsen started her academia teaching career as an assistant professor in the undergraduate program at Olivet in 2006. In 2010, she was approached to lead and develop the FNP Program for the School of Graduate and Continuing Studies. She left in 2014 to pursue full-time work as an FNP. However, she still maintained her adjunct faculty position with Olivet, working with practicum students, preceptors and graduate students. 

Dr. Nielsen is married to her husband, Andy, of 39 years. They have 3 children, Jon (Emily), Doug (Katie) and Andy (Laura). Dr. Nielsen was born and raised in Wisconsin and grew up on her family's dairy farm. She has eight brothers and one sister. When she is not busy working, she enjoys working out with her husband and watching old movies.

Dr. Kimberly Lynch began teaching at Olivet as an adjunct professor in 2017 and joined as full-time faculty in 2021, teaching in the MSN/FNP Program. Previously, Dr. Lynch has taught at Indiana Wesleyan University and DePaul University in their graduate nursing programs. She has a diverse clinical background working in multiple disciplines of patient care, including emergency medicine, critical care, occupational health and primary care. Dr. Lynch has served in a leadership role managing clinical operations in a primary care setting.

She is thrilled to be teaching at her alma mater and has a passion for teaching! She strives to engage, challenge and inspire growth in the students she teaches. She perceives her role as an educator and mentor. Dr. Lynch seeks to assist the students in obtaining a solid knowledge foundation and develop critical thinking skills for success in their future professional careers and life. She is honored to be an educator, role model and mentor to future graduate nurses and nurse leaders.

Dr. Lynch and her husband have three adult children. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, publishing and painting! Most of all, she loves having family time when everyone can be together!

April Clark moved to the Bourbonnais area from Wyoming in 2021. April is the widow of a police officer, lost to a line of duty injury in 2011. She has one married daughter who lives with her husband in Wyoming.

In her free time, April likes to paper craft. Additionally, she enjoys movies and knows American Sign Language (ASL). She shares her home with her mother, 2 dogs and 2 cats. 

Jacki started her career as a Critical Care nurse from day one until current. She loves the fast pace, teamwork, continual learning opportunities, and high level of care that can be provided.  With her husband being a teacher, she always said she could never see herself as one, but you never know what path God has planned for you and she is so happy it has brought her to the Olivet family and nursing education.  It makes sense when she looks at what she loves about nursing; they are the same aspects she has found to love in nursing education. She loves to help create and mold our future nurses.  

"I love working at Olivet Online for the community and the teamwork every way you turn.  As a nurse, I  strive to create a team of “wingmen” that have your back and that you can trust. This is what I have found and see in my  team at Olivet."

"I enjoy teaching online for its flexibility and the community you can replicate virtually."

Outside of being a nurse and nurse educator, Jacki is married with two children.  She also has a dog, her first child, that has been with her on her nursing journey from the start of her career.  Jacki and her family all love being outdoors together, baking, and traveling. They are her joy and keep her heart warm.

Dr. Phipps became the director of Olivet's Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track in 2015, and in 2017, she became the director of the MSN/FNP Program. She previously served as an adjunct faculty member for Rush University Medical Center and University of Illinois at Chicago’s FNP students and taught in a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Program. Her professional career includes experiences in field of nursing: as an RN in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); as a Family Nurse Practitioner in the areas of primary care and retail-health clinics; and managing FNPs.  She completed her doctoral studies at Olivet. Her dissertation is titled, "Intimate Partner Violence in Retail-Health Clinics: The Views of the Family Nurse Practitioners." Dr. Phipps is passionate about helping victims of intimate partner violence. She is a member of the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), and Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing (ISAPN). 

“There's never a dull moment in teaching! I love partnering with students to figure out what naturally works well for them to comprehend challenging concepts. Knowing that I have a chance to influence students' educational experiences and career goals is meaningful to me.”

Professor Smith began teaching at Olivet in the fall of 2020 after obtaining her masters degree in Nursing Education from Western Governors University. Prior to that, Karen worked as a pediatric and pediatric ICU nurse for 24 years at several prominent children's hospitals in Chicago and Indianapolis. She is a Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN), certified through the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON) and is certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). She worked as a staff educator for several years and found she loved educating the staff, patients and their families.

Later in her career she began working with nursing students in the hospital setting and found it to be very rewarding. Karen felt God's call to begin teaching full time and is thrilled to work for a Christian university where she can share her love for pediatric nursing and share her faith with her students!

Karen has been married to Andy since 1997 and they have been blessed with four children: Liam, Cassidy, Declan and Keagan. As a family, they enjoy hiking, backpacking and family scrabble nights. Ruby, their beloved dog, is the favorite member of the family!

Joy has been a nurse for 47 years, with 41 of those years working in Emergency Departments. She started her career as a CNA on a medical-surgical unit, working summers while in nursing school. Upon graduation, she worked on a medical-surgical unit as both a staff nurse and then a charge nurse. Following that she went on to work in the ICU and then became her hospital’s first float nurse, working all units except surgery and Labor and Delivery. When she floated to the ER, she fell in love with it and remained there until leaving to pursue a career in academia. While in the ER, she worked as a staff nurse, charge nurse, and then as the department’s educator. She helped bring her hospital from a community hospital to a Level 1 trauma center. She is now the Level 2 coordinator in the ABSN track and greatly enjoys working with her students. She says: “They bring a fresh outlook to everything!"

Joy graduated from Northern Illinois University with a BSN. She worked as a nurse while raising her sons and returned to school later to pursue her master’s degree. She graduated from Olivet with a master’s in nursing degree. She is also a TNS (Trauma Nurse Specialist) licensed in Illinois and a CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse). Teaching has become her passion these days and she enjoys sharing both her knowledge and her love of God with her students.

" I enjoy working at Olivet because of the opportunities to share my knowledge as well as my faith with my students."

She resides in northeastern Illinois with her husband and 2 crazy dogs. She enjoys hiking, gardening, and quilting.

Professor Kisoso was born and raised in Kajiado, Kenya. Queen is the fifth of seven children and the oldest of the girls in her family. Queen graduated from Moi Girls Kenya in 2009 and moved to the United States in August of 2010 to attend college at Olivet Nazarene University. She graduated from Olivet Nazarene University in 2014 with a BSN degree and again in 2017 with an MSN/education degree. Queen also earned a second masters degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Informatics from Lewis University in Romeoville, IL. 

Professor Kisoso's first job was a floor nurse at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, IL, where she worked on the medical-surgical unit, ICU and acute rehabilitation unit. While at Riverside, Queen served as a member of the Riverside research team. Queen also worked for Medical Staffing Network, a nursing agency that serves Chicago and its surrounding areas, and was assigned to work at several hospitals and long-term care facilities around Chicago. Queen has also worked as a nurse educator for the medical surgical unit at AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center in Bolingbrook, IL. 

Queen is fascinated by the impact of technology in the present world and plans to take her nursing skills where they will have the most impact and continue to serve people with a purpose. 

Professor Barzditis has been with Olivet since October of 2013, as a clinical instructor at our main campus in Bourbonnais. In spring of 2017, he started teaching Pharmacology in the ABSN program at Oak Brook. Since that time, he has served as a Level Coordinator in both levels I and II. He has taught not only pharmacology, but also Fundamentals of Nursing and Health Assessment. He came to us after 20-years at the Cook County Trauma Unit at Stroger Hospital in Chicago, and 25 years serving as a firefighter/paramedic for the Northwest Homer Fire Prevention District in Homer Glen, IL. Professor Barzditis obtained both his BSN and MSN from Olivet, finishing his MSN in January of 2015. Both degrees were obtained in the online environment, so he is aware of the many challenges facing our students.

Before nursing, Professor Barzditis worked as a firefighter/paramedic for 22 years. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT). In that role, he was part of the Hurricane Katrina disaster response team in 2005. He has also worked as a photojournalist and a commercial advertising photographer.

“Providing Olivet students with a quality, faith-based education is a responsibility I take seriously,” he says. “This is a calling for me, one with great frustrations and even greater rewards. Helping nursing students reach their goal of becoming practicing professionals is a joy for me.”

Professor Barzditis lives with his wife, Maria, in Homer Glen, where they have lived since 1983. Their two daughters are married and live nearby in Joliet.

One of his favorite Bible verses is Micah 6:8, "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."