Distance Learning Program; part of MS-00784

In Elko on Juny 10, 1995 Pamela Gale participates in an interview at UNLV, and discusses her experiences with nursing and with the Distance Learning Program at UNLV.

On May 31, 2004, Pat Van Betten interviewed Elizabeth Beth Francis (born in Laramie, Wyoming) at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview covers Beth and her historical account of nursing in Clark County. During the interview, Beth recalls working at Sunrise and Memorial hospitals and teaching at the local community college and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). A mother of four when she decided to enroll in nursing school, Beth’s nursing career spanned twenty-six years, and during that time she held various coveted positions, such as president of the Nevada Nursing Association. She describes her role in securing a twenty-five percent raise for nurses in Nevada. In the late seventies, she was invited by UNLV to be on their task force to talk with them about developing their master’s program for nursing. She was also on the education committee for a task force for the state and the governor’s taskforce. A true leader in her field and a member of Sigma Theta Tau since 1982, Beth discusses being awarded NNA District 3, Nurse of the Year Award, in 1989, and being nominated for March of Dimes, Education Nurse of the Year, in 1990, in Clark County. At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she describes being one of two nurses recognized as outstanding associate degree students. She recalls delivering the commencement addresses for the graduating LPNs at the community college and UNLV in 1992. Beth also recalls receiving recognition by the Nevada Nurses Association for her outstanding service in nursing.

On February 18th, 2005, Dr. Margaret Louis and Maureen Madison-Kane interviewed Jean (Maltrotti) Rambo (born in Rutherford, North Carolina) in her home in Carlsbad, California. The interview covers healthcare in Southern Nevada. During the interview, Rambo discusses the difficulty of raising funds for mental health. She also talks about her career in nursing; she was a cadet nurse, and the nurse matron in a local jail in Las Vegas. She was also director, associate director for nursing education at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. She discusses nurses as administrators in Nevada and her posts as chairman of the bylaws committee and executive director of the Nevada Nurses Association.

Laura Taylor was born in New Haven, Connecticut and spent her childhood bouncing between New York and Ohio to follow her father’s career. Robert Cox, her father, was a businessman who attended Syracuse University on the GI Bill. Her mother, Lillian Cox (neé Bower) was concert pianist and college music professor. At the age of seventeen, Taylor received a scholarship to attend the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Powell. Unfortunately, Dr. Powell died two years later, which prompted a move into commercial music. Taylor performed at a number of local clubs as well as soloed in national commercial campaigns for United Airlines and Buick. She moved to Miami, Florida with her first husband in her early 20s. After she and her husband divorced, Taylor recorded her first album with Good Sounds Records of Criteria Studios. Her songs Dancin’ in My Feet, Lady Scorpion, All Through Me, and Some Love made Billboard and Record World charts. She returned to New York City and formed the Laura Taylor Trio to perform jazz music in famous hotels like the Plaza Hotel and The Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Taylor moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1983 to open for Don Rickles at the Desert Inn Hotel, which led to many years of performing in the Desert Inn’s Starlight Theater. She married her second and current husband, Robert Cox, in 1985 after meeting him at a concert. Taylor also enjoyed a number of jazz performances on public radio and at a number of venues across Las Vegas. Today, Laura Taylor is still active in the jazz world of Las Vegas, serving as a member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Jazz Society. She also continues to write and perform jazz music, appearing at Smith Center for Performing Arts as well as releasing five CDs.

Dorothy Eisenberg is a full-time volunteer. She worked on various causes as a member of the League of Women Voters and led the fight for integration of the Clark County School District as League president in the early 1970s. Dorothy directed the Citizens Governmental Forum and served as vice-chair of the Citizens Committee on Consolidation. Governor O'Callaghan appointed her to the Local Government Employee Management Board in 1977, and she traveled across the state of Nevada arbritrating cases between state employees and local governments. In 1979 Dorothy was the first woman to be elected president of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas. In 1978 she formed the Silver State PAC, a political action committee backing federal candidates who were supportive of Israel. In 1988, Governor Bryan appointed her county commissioner for the short-lived Bullfrog County

Erma "Linda" Rivera was born in Morenci, Arizona, in 1952. In the Las Vegas Valley, where Linda has lived for over twenty years, she has promoted educational opportunities for youth, particularly in the Hispanic community. Both she and her husband moved from Montana, where her husband worked as a power plant operator on Yellowtail Dam, to southern Nevada to work on Hoover Dam in 1986. Linda was put in charge of the affirmative employment plan for her branch of the Bureau of Reclamation. She thought there should be more Hispanics working for the Bureau of Reclamation, but she found that there weren't many Hispanics studying engineering. Linda reached out to John Medina at the Southern Nevada Hispanic Employment Program for help. He convinced her to become involved with the program, and she would later become its conference chair. Linda organized the Family Leadership Module for parents in the Clark County School District to give advice and encouragement for parents who are non-native speakers of English, so that they feel more confident becoming involved in the school district. She currently works as the Diversity Officer for the Bureau of Reclamation in Boulder City.