EMPOWERED Go Team

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Shannon Lepe holds a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration from Western Governors University. She began her career in the mental health field in 2009, dedicating her efforts to capacity-building programs for vulnerable and underserved populations in Northern Nevada. Throughout her career, Shannon has actively participated in several initiatives aimed at enhancing rural behavioral health and substance use services, including the Lyon County Behavioral Health Taskforce, the Carson City Behavioral Health Taskforce, the Carson Agency Action Network, and Wake Up Nevada. In 2024, Shannon joined Roseman College of Medicine as the Director of Clinical Operations for the EMPOWERED Go Mobile Wellness Unit. In this role, she oversees clinical staff and coordinates telehealth services for pregnant women and for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), furthering her commitment to improving healthcare access and outcomes in her community.

Velvet Beaman is the Peer Recovery Support Specialist for the EMPOWERED Go Mobile Wellness Unit. In long-term recovery herself, Velvet brings life experience as well as a strong educational background piece to her role at EMPOWERED. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with her BA in criminal justice and her undergraduate focus was addiction treatment studies through the CASAT program. After completing an internship and working as a legal assistant for a short time, she has found that her true calling is in this line of work instead. She is currently back in school at UNR to complete her peer support specialist certification as well as pursuing her Master of Science in Human Development and Family Studies, specializing in addiction treatment services. She has a strong passion as an advocate for women in such a vulnerable population due to her own journey to sobriety. She is a proud mother of an eight-month-old son (and eight-year-old fur baby too!), who give her the strength to achieve her goals and strive to be the best version of herself every single day. Her main focus with EMPOWERED is to help as many mothers as possible, to motivate and support them on their own paths in life wherever they may lead!

Kerry C. Palakanis, DNP, FNP-C is an accomplished healthcare executive, family nurse practitioner, and educator with over three decades of clinical, operational, and leadership experience. She is the CEO of Quadra Health LLC and serves as Medical Director for several healthcare and aesthetic organizations. Currently, she is also an APRN Consultant and Investigator for the Nevada State Board of Nursing and a Clinical Provider with the Roseman University Mobile Health Unit. Dr. Palakanis has held numerous executive leadership roles, including Associate Dean at Roseman University and AVP of Community Health at Intermountain Health. Her career spans rural health, occupational medicine, academic nursing, and telehealth innovation. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a Master of Science in Nursing from Georgetown University. Dr. Palakanis is licensed in multiple states and is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Andria Peterson received her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from Roseman University of Health Sciences in Henderson, Nevada in 2008. She completed a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and worked as a clinical pharmacist in the pediatric and newborn intensive care units (NICU) at St. Rose Dominican Hospital (Henderson, Nevada) from 2009 to 2021. She founded the EMPOWERED program in 2018 and currently serves as Executive Director where she provides leadership and plays a critical role in mobilizing state, local and grass-roots level stakeholders to promote recovery and improvements in the quality of life for program participants and their families. 

Rachel Mack is a licensed Social Worker and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor for the State of Nevada. She is originally from St. Louis, Missouri and relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008 where she attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She has extensive experience working with clients experiencing opioid use disorder- specifically pregnant and postpartum women. She has also worked in the outpatient setting as a substance abuse counselor, and in the inpatient setting, providing level of care assessments and referrals to individuals seeking treatment for mental health and/or substance abuse. Rachel is passionate and dedicated in providing support for participants of the EMPOWERED program as they navigate their journey from surviving to thriving.