Faculty & Staff
Chair and Founding Program Director, Professor
Julie B. Keena, DHSc, PA-C
jkeena@brenau.edu
tel: 678-971-1848
- Graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1985
- Earned PA certificate and MMSc in critical care medicine from Emory University in 1987
- Completed post-graduate residency in neurosurgery at University of Miami/JMH in 1989
- Clinical PA in neurosurgery and neurology at UM/JMH 1988-1997
- Joined academia at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in February 1997
- Held many positions over 18 year period; led successful NSU PA program start up for NSU PA Program Fort Myers in 2004
- Over 11 years of experience as department chair and/or program director
- Earned DHSc degree from AT Still University in 2013
- Assistant director at the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) from 2015-2019
- ARC-PA site visitor since 2002
- Teaching philosophy based on Chinese Proverb: “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I may understand.”
Assistant Program Director/Associate Professor
Kyrus Patch, DHSc, PA-C
- Graduated from Alderson-Broaddus College with BS in medical science (PA degree), 1977
- Earned MSc degree from Alderson-Broaddus College in 2007
- Earned DHSc from AT Still University in 2015
- Extensive clinical PA career:
- Rural Ohio outpatient facility and even made house calls
- Snowshoe Ski Resort in WV as senior medical officer
- Cardiology Department in WV during “off-season”
- Walt Disney World house call medical officer
- Urgent care/family practice setting in Naples and Ft. Myers Beach
- Began academic career in 2007, holding many positions over 12 year period; last 4 years were as program director at Nova Southeastern University
- Dr. Patch aspires to teach a new generation of Physician Assistants to be knowledgeable, compassionate, professional and accomplished individuals she likes to call “Renaissance PAs.”
Medical Director/Associate Professor
J. Allen Butts, Jr, MD, FACS
- Graduated from Emory University with BA in chemistry/philosophy, 1984
- Earned MD from Emory University in 1988
- Completed surgical residency at University of Tennessee School of Medicine, Memphis TN 1988-1993
- Board certified in general surgery by the American Board of Surgery
- Served as a preceptor for PA students in general surgery from 1994-2016
- Past-president of Longstreet Clinic, Gainesville, GA
- Past chief of surgery at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville, GA
- Currently participates in GME training of surgical residents at Northeast Georgia Health System in the simulation lab
- Extensive career as board certified general surgeon in Gainesville, GA from 1993-2016
- Served as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserves
- Teaching philosophy based on Albert Einstein quote: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Admissions Coordinator/Assistant Professor
Drew Roush, MPAS, PA-C
- Graduated from University of Dayton with BS in Business Management in 1988
- Graduated from Wake Forest University School of Medicine Graduate Certificate PA Program in 2000
- Graduated from University of Texas with a Master of PA Studies in 2015
- Taught pre-med, pre-PA and nursing at Brenau University since 2008
- Pre-Professional Coordinator / Mentor
- Assisted with development of Brenau University Physician Assistant Program proposal
- Admissions Coordinator/Assistant Professor, March 2019
- Clinical Experience: 20 years Interventional Radiology Physician Assistant at Northeast Georgia Medical Center
- Specialized in Image-Guided Procedures
- Founder of Society of Physician Assistants in Radiology
- Teaching Philosophy based on quote from Ronald Reagan: “I learned that hard work is an essential part of life—that by and large, you don’t get something for nothing—and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work
hard”
Director of Didactic Education/Assistant Professor
Neena Xavier, MD
- Graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School in 2009
- Double board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology, lipids and metabolism
- After three years in private practice, joined the PA program at University of Alabama at Birmingham where she served as the clinical medicine and clinical simulation course director
- Teaching philosophy centers on experiential learning
- Developed active learning opportunities including service learning, case-based learning and interprofessional simulation
- Implemented service learning opportunity providing free wellness screening for the male homeless population in Birmingham
- Awarded national 2018 American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Outstanding Service Award for the Promotion of Endocrine Health in an Underserved Population for this work
- Chosen as a 2019 Harvard Macy Medical Educator Fellow to study outcomes in service learning in PA education
- Received a nationally competitive research grant from the Engaged Scholarship Consortium
Director of Clinical Education/Associate Professor
Heather Brown, DMSc, PA-C
- Graduated from Western Maryland College in 1995 with a BS in Clinical Psychology
- Earned PA certificate and MS in Health Sciences from The George Washington University in 2000
- Earned DMSc from University of Lynchburg in 2019
- Clinically practicing PA in Emergency Medicine/Urgent Care for over 20 years
- 2000-2011 with the University of Maryland Medical System
- 2011-2014 with Tenet Healthcare
- since 2014 with Northside Hospital System
- Assistant Professor/Adjunct Assistant Professor with Mercer University Department of Physician Assistant Studies from 2011-2020
- Teaching philosophy based on inspiring students to embody the principle of lifelong learning and is best summed up in a quote from the Irish poet W.B. Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”
Principal Faculty
Jerry Erickson, Jr., DMSc, PA-C
- B.S. in Biology – University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1997
- PA Certificate & MMSc – Emory University, 2003
- Clinically practicing PA in Family Medicine/ Urgent Care
- FQHC/CHC in North Georgia
- Joined academia full time in 2012
- Mercer University 2012 – 2015, Associate Clinical Coordinator, Assistant Professor
- Lenoir Rhyne University 2015 – 2019, Director of Didactic Education, Assistant Professor
- Butler University DMS program 2019 – 2020, Adjunct Professor
- DMSc degree – University of Lynchburg, 2019
- Joined Brenau University August 2020
Associate Professor of Anatomy and Genetics
Gregory P. Marshall II, PhD
- B.S. in Biology – St Andrews Presbyterian College, 1998
- Ph.D. in Genetics – University of Florida College of Medicine, 2005
- Postdoctoral Research – University of Florida, Departments of Anatomy and Physiology and Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, 2005 – 2012
- Research Assistant Scientist – University of Florida, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, 2012
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Physiology – Santa Fe College, Sciences for Health Programs, 2013
- Senior Scientist and NIH-funded Principal Investigator – OneVax, LLC, 2013 – 2020
- Joined Brenau University in 2020 as Associate Professor of Anatomy and Genetics
- “Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.” – Edward Everett
Office Manager
Hollie Eldridge
- Joined Brenau University’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies in September 2019
- Currently pursuing a business degree with Brenau University
- Contributes over 12 years of administrative experience in office management; led her previous company to success
- Self-starter, ready to take the lead on projects and see them through to completion
- Always relishes the challenge of learning new software or applications and as technology changes, she is one of the first to adopt and embrace new skills
- Committed to making sure our students’ experience in our program is the best it can be
Academic Support Coordinator
Rachelle Mathis, MS
- Joined Brenau University’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies in September 2020
- B.S. Psychology/Criminal Justice from Drury University, May 2015
- M.S. Administrative Studies/Sports Management from Missouri State University, May 2018
- Brings over 10 years of experience in healthcare administration and event management
- Committed to making sure our students’ experience in our program is the best it can be
- Enneagram Type 2- The Helper, always willing to do anything possible to help students, faculty and staff.
Clinical Support Coordinator
Pete Keys
- 2008 business graduate of Brenau
- Returned to serve as staff in Brenau’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies in October 2019
- Retired from the military after 21 years
- Brings over 18 years of health care experience with Northeast Georgia Health System and Southeast Health
- Active volunteer in Georgia Society of Healthcare Materials Management and the Association for Healthcare Resource Materials Management
- Active community volunteer serving at North Georgia Works
- Certified Materials Resource Professional
- Currently completing his Fellowship in AHRMM
- Served as purchasing manager for Southeast Health