Panelist Biographies

Panelist Biographies Rita Meyer Rita was named Director of Wyoming Infrastructure Investments for Rocky Mountain Power, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company, in June 2019. Prior to that she served as the company’s Vice-President for Wyoming, a position she held for almost eight years. She is a graduate of the University of Wyoming with degrees in both Middle School Education and Finance. Rita received an M.S. in National Resource Strategy with honors from National Defense University, Ft. Lesley McNair, D.C. She also holds an M.B.A. in International Business with honors from Regis University, Denver, Colorado. Rita has held a number of positions to include statewide elected office as Wyoming State Auditor, Chief of Staff to Governor Jim Geringer and both active duty and reserve assignments within the Wyoming Air National Guard. In 1991 Rita served her country in Iraq, Turkey and Germany and returned to the Middle East in 2005 as 455th Expeditionary Mission Support Group Commander, Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan. She was stationed at the Pentagon in 1996-97 as Strategic Planning Officer in the National Guard Bureau’s Counterdrug Directorate. Rita retired from military service in 2007 after 23 years in uniform. Rita has served on the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees, the University of Wyoming Foundation, the University of Wyoming College of Business Advisory Board, PacifiCorp Foundation and the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors. Currently she is on the Board of Directors for Delta Dental and the Wyoming Catholic Ministries Foundation. In addition to major awards and decorations for military service, Rita has been honored to receive the University of Wyoming College of Education Outstanding Alumni Award, the College of Business Outstanding Alumni Award and the University of Wyoming Distinguished Alumni Award. Rita is married and has a son, Charlie, daughter in law, Jennifer, and grandchildren, Augusta Grace and John Charles who reside in Ellicott City, MD. Mary Ellbogen Garland Each day I wonder about the possibilities for a “better” Wyoming and through the work of the Ellbogen Foundation I can respond to some of the best of them. It doesn’t get any better than that. Garland is generally and broadly involved personally as a volunteer and professionally in her position with the John P. Ellbogen Foundation. She has been president and chair of the foundation since its inception in 2003. Raising a family and my position with the foundation have been my life’s work. The foundation is a family business, and I hope what we do matters—that is, making a difference in people’s lives. The hallmark of Ellbogen Foundation support is for education, particularly teacher quality. Even so, we know that we must provide resources for basic needs in order for the impact of accomplished teaching to be fully realized. If basic needs are not met, it doesn’t matter what happens in the classroom. Garland has served on several boards at the University and for organizations serving children and families throughout Wyoming. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Far away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” I am fortunate for the opportunities provided to me. Dr. Gaurdia Banister, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN Dr. Gaurdia Banister is the Executive Director of the Institute for Patient Care at Massachusetts General Hospital. The Institute serves as a catalyst for promoting interdisciplinary research, education and clinical practice development. Dr. Banister is also the Director of the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research. Prior to accepting these positions, Dr. Banister served as Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse at Providence Hospital, a metropolitan community hospital in Washington, DC. Most recently, Dr. Banister has academic appointments at the MGH Institute for Health Professions and the University of Massachusetts of Boston, College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Dr. Banister is a former Johnson and Johnson Wharton Nurse Fellow and an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program. Her research interests include innovative models of interprofessional education, transition to practice considerations for culturally-diverse nursing students and the impact of mentoring on career success and progression. Dr. Banister was selected as the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing distinguished alumna and in 2014 the distinguished alumna for the University of Wyoming, where she received her bachelor’s in Nursing. She was also chosen as a distinguished alumna at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing where she earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees. Dr. Banister was named as the recipient of the American Nurses Association Mary Eliza Mahoney Award and the Prism Award by the American Organization of the Nurse Executives for her outstanding achievements and leadership in promoting the integration, retention and advancement of minorities in nursing. She is the recipient of the Connell Jones Endowed Chair for Nursing and Patient Care Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Banister is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Mary Johnson Have an odd, yet exciting idea? Talk to Mary Johnson! In her job as Vice President of Special Projects for YoungWilliams, a government health and human services company, Mary oversees innovative and exciting projects that support employees, clients, and customers. Right now, she is in charge of the proposal writing team; company branding; professional development for managers and attorneys; training development; social media; and most recently, the company’s internal and external portal. Mary, an “almost” Wyoming native, bleeds brown and gold. Both her undergraduate and law degrees are from the University of Wyoming. Over the years, she has served on several boards in and outside of Wyoming. Two of her favorites are the University of Wyoming Alumni Association Board and Equal Justice Wyoming. From 2004 – 2011, Mary served as a board member and President of the UWAA and continued her service in a more limited capacity as a Wyoalumni liaison (2011 – 2016). In 2011, the Wyoming Supreme Court appointed Mary to the newly formed Equal Justice Wyoming (f/k/a Wyoming Center for Legal Aid) Board of Commission where the board worked tirelessly to develop a statewide program to improve access to justice and provide civil legal services to Wyoming’s low income citizens. After her second term expired in 2017, Mary moved from board member to volunteer attorney and loves it. Mary spends a lot of time wearing a gold fuzzy wig and cheering on her beloved Cowboys. Otherwise, you can find her hiking in the mountains of central Wyoming with her (somewhat) reluctant husband, very reluctant two children, and “always ready” dog, Dakota. Mary (Bordewick) Johnson (University of Wyoming, Bachelor of Science, 1990 and Juris Doctor, 1995) .

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