Dr. JoEllen “Ellen” Schimmels is an Associate Professor in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program in the UNM College of Nursing. Prior to this role, she was the Program Director for the Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing PMHNP Program. She is a doctoral prepared, dually certified psychiatric/mental health and adult nurse practitioner with over 23 years of nursing experience, 22 years active duty in the Army where she held numerous nursing and leadership positions including Special Staff to the Army Surgeon General, Medical Director of the Intensive Outpatient and Residential Services at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, Clinical Operations Officer in Charge of the 254th Combat and Operational Stress Control Unit in Afghanistan, Prevention Team Chief in Iraq, and Chief of Community Behavioral Health Services at Fort Gordon, GA. She was also the Consultant to the Army Surgeon General for Behavioral Health Nursing from 2015-2019. She earned a B.S. in nursing from Viterbo University, an M.S. in nursing from Duquesne University; post master's certificates in psychiatric and adult medical nurse practitioner from the University of Wisconsin, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Texas Christian University. Clinically, she has worked primarily with behavioral health patients in the behavioral health and family practice settings and specializes in treatments of patients with PTSD and anxiety disorders. She has been published and presented nationally on behavioral health nursing, evidence based therapies, nursing curriculum development and military nursing. She is a certified Zumba instructor and enjoys running, scuba diving, swimming, karaoke, golf, scrapbooking, dancing, and doing anything and everything with her daughter.