Staff

Clinical Providers

Shannan Green, MD
Medical Director 
Dr. Green graduated from VCU's School of Medicine and completed her residency at the VCU/Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency Program in Front Royal, VA. She joined the residency faculty at the practice for several years, later serving as their Interim Assistant Residency Director and working in private practice in the surrounding community. Dr. Green is Board Certified in Family Practice and enjoys taking care of patients with a full range of primary care issues and health promotion needs.

Karen Kirby, MD
Associate Director
Dr. Kirby received her BS in Medical Technology and Doctor of Medicine at MCV/VCU. After completing an internal medicine residency, she worked for MCV/VCU for two years. After fifteen years of private practice, she returned to VCU Student Health Services. Dr. Kirby especially enjoys treating diabetes, hypertension, and lipid disorders. Her board certification is in Internal Medicine.

Ann Reid Anderson, MSN, BSN
Ann received her BSN from Virginia Commonwealth University and her MSN from the University of Virginia. She is a nurse practitioner on the Monroe Park campus and has an interest in primary care and chronic medical problems including diabetes, hypertension and asthma.

Lori Bekenstein, MD, FAPA
Dr. Bekenstein is a part-time psychiatrist at Student Health Services on the Monroe Park campus. She received both her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and completed both her Adult Psychiatry residency and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She worked in Raleigh and Chapel Hill with children and adolescents before moving to Richmond. Dr. Bekenstein has maintained board certification in Adult Psychiatry and evaluates and treats students at VCU with psychiatric concerns.

Nancy Bell, FNP-BC
Nancy is a Nurse Practitioner who works with patients on both the Monroe Park and VCU Medical campuses. She attended Duke University for her undergraduate degree and VCU for her nursing degrees. Nancy worked as a primary care provider in the community for 10 years before moving to VCU Student Health.  

Catherine Chen, MD
Dr. Chen received her Doctor of Medicine at VCU and completed her residency in Family Medicine in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Chen is Board Certified in Family Medicine and enjoys providing care to patients with a wide range of health care needs.  She speaks conversational Mandarin and is happy to accommodate patients with limited English skills.

Lynne Foreman, MD
Dr. Foreman is a full-time staff psychiatrist at Student Health Services. She earned her BS in Biology at the College of William and Mary in Virginia and her medical degree at VCU. She completed a general psychiatry residency at VCU Health Systems and a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She maintains both board certifications, and she has practiced as an active duty Army psychiatrist and at Henrico Mental Health before coming to VCU. She enjoys working directly with patients and collaborating with primary care providers to offer solution-based treatments across the spectrum of psychiatric disorders.

Suzanne Heller, PA-C, MMS
Suzanne works part time as a physician assistant on the Monroe Park Campus. She received her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Florida and her Master of Medical Science in PA Studies from Wake Forest University. 

Tracy King, ANP, MSN, BSN
Tracy received her BS in Nursing from James Madison University and her MS in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University. She works as a full-time Nurse Practitioner for Student Health Services and enjoys women's health and primary care.

Kathleen Leiner, FNP, MSN, BSN
Kathleen earned a BA from the University of Virginia before obtaining her BSN from Marymount University and her MSN from the University of Virginia.  She loves working with the diverse student population at VCU.  Kathleen enjoys helping students learn about and promote their health so they can best focus on learning and achieving their goals.

David W. Nelson, MD, MPH
Dr. Nelson received his Doctor of Medicine from Boston University, and completed his residency in Family Practice at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida. While a resident, he also completed a Masters of Public Health degree through Loma Linda University. Dr. Nelson is Board Certified in Family Practice and sees patients with a full range of primary care problems and concerns.

Sarah Prillaman, MSN, FNP
Sally received her BSN from University of Virginia and her MSN from VCU. She works as a nurse practitioner on the Monroe Park Campus and the VCU Medical Campus.

Margaret Roberson, MD
Dr. Roberson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and graduated from VCU Medical School. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at VCU Health Systems. Dr. Roberson is Board Certified in Internal Medicine.

Samantha Robey, FNP, WHNP, MPH
Samantha is a dual-certified Nurse Practitioner with specialties in primary care and women’s health. She received her BS in Biology, Master’s in Public Health, BS in Nursing, and MS in Nursing from VCU. Samantha worked in both women’s health and primary care prior to joining VCU Student Health. She enjoys women’s health, primary care, health promotion, and health education.

Bernadette Ucci, MD
Dr. Ucci attended Creighton University School of Medicine - Omaha and completed a residency with the VCU Health System in Internal Medicine. She has a joint appointment with Student Health Services and the Department of Internal Medicine, VCU Health System.

Health Information Management

Chifawn Taylor
Clinical Office Manager
Chifawn joined Student Health Services in 2003 and currently serves as the Medical Records Manager for the Health Information Management staff on both campuses. She provides administrative support to the clinical staff and the health center's staff psychiatrist. Chifawn is responsible for ensuring that students who utilize our facility receive excellent customer service from the HIM Staff. She is also responsible for patient referrals and the processing of medical records and subpoenas.

Madeline Escobar Velasquez 

Samuel Johnson
Sam is a Certified Pharmacy Technician who has been a dedicated employee of MCV and Student Health for over 30 years. He works with patients, staff, and practitioners to ensure that the clinic is fully supplied with floor stock and over-the-counter medications.

Marina Leino

Katherine Murphy
Katherine is a Student Health HIM Staff member based out of the Medical Campus Office who assists the Clinical Office Manager with medical record requests, payment processing, and statistical data. Katherine graduated from VCU with a B.S. in Science and a minor in Religious Studies. As a former VCU student, she prides herself on giving students the best service possible at their home away from home.

Rena Richardson

Kiran Sharma

Immunizations

Latisha Smith, RN, BSN
Registered Nurse/Immunization Coordinator
Tisha received her Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from VCU in 2008, a Master of Science in Health Promotion and Education from VA Tech in 2009 and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing in 2013. In addition to working at Student Health, she also has experience as an Oncology Nurse at VCUHS. 

Matthew Edgerton

Jonathon Holmes
Jonathon serves as the Immunization Assistant to the Immunization Coordinator for VCU Student Health Services. He received his degree in Spanish, with a minor in International Relations from VCU.  He began working part time at VCU Student Health Services in 2005, while completing his undergraduate degree.  He provides administrative support to the clinical staff and is responsible for ensuring that students who utilize our facility receive excellent customer service from the Immunization Department.  He also supervises part time student workers in the Immunization Department.  

Laboratory

Hala Youssef
Clinical Laboratory Supervisor
Hala received her BS in Medical Science from Alexandria Medical School-Egypt and Masters in Chemical Pathology from Alexandria Health Institute-Egypt.  She also has an Associate's degree in Phlebotomy and Computer Science from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, VA.  She comes with many years of experience as a clinical pathologist (15 years in Saudi Arabia), medical laboratory scientist (5 years at Memorial Regional Medical Center & 3 years at Henrico Doctors' Hospital), and clinical lab supervisor (4 years at Henrico Doctors' Hospital).  She joined Student Health in June 2017.

Mae Cinco
Mae is a Clinical Laboratory Assistant at VCU Student Health on both campuses. She started as a student worker in 2008, and graduated from VCU with dual BS degrees in Biology and Chemistry. She draws blood and carries out various tests in the laboratory. She has worked in various departments of the clinic before the laboratory, but her priority is still to ensure patients receive the utmost care and customer service. 

Nursing Staff

Latisha Smith, RN, BSN
Registered Nurse/Immunization Coordinator
See "Immunizations" above.

Tiffany Wilson, RN, BSN
Nurse Manager
Tiffany is one of our clinical nurses who joined VCU in August 2016. She received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from George Mason University in 2001, her RN diploma from Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing in 2005, and her BSN degree through VCU in December 2019. She has a background in Medical/Surgical Oncology nursing and worked at St. Mary’s Hospital for over fifteen years. Tiffany enjoys interacting with the many diverse students of VCU and became the MCV campus Nurse Supervisor in Fall 2023.

Patricia A. Hartman, RN, BSN
Patty graduated from Ellis Hospital School of Nursing, in upstate New York, with a diploma in Nursing. She received a BSN at VCU while working in Bone Marrow Transplant at MCV. Just prior to joining VCU Student Health Services, she worked at Henrico County Health Department/Virginia Department of Health with Refugees and Epidemiology.

Angela Lowery, RN, BSN
Angela graduated from Alverno College with her BSN in 2011 in Wisconsin. Angela has worked in three different hospitals located in Wisconsin, South Carolina, and now Virginia before coming to VCU Student Health. Her background is in Oncology and Med Surg. She is excited to be working with the students here at VCU.

LaStar Vieira, RN

Nutrition Services

Denise Cochran, MMSc, RDN
Denise received her undergraduate degree in Nutrition from Penn State University and her graduate degree from Emory University. She has been a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in Richmond, VA for over 30 years, working in wellness, fitness, and medical nutrition therapy. Denise's primary responsibilities include educating students about nutrition, eating disorders, and body image. She provides one-on-one nutrition counseling and gives presentations.