Taryn-Janae Wilcox-Olson, MHS, RN
President Elect
VA Portland Healthcare System, Portland, Oregon

NOVA Chapter 332

Taryn-Janae (TJ) Wilcox-Olson, MHS, RN, NOVA’s President Elect has been a NOVA member since 2010. She began her VA career in 2008 as an RN in mental health at the VA Black Hills, South Dakota and became Patient Safety Manager in 2011. In 2018 she decided that she despised snow  and moved to the Pacific Northwest where she has yet to shovel rain! TJ transferred to the VA Portland Health Care System as the Patient Safety Manager.

Since joining NOVA, TJ has been a member of many committees. She notes that joining committees heightens the sense of engagement and increases the feeling of belonging to a bigger team.  This has allowed her to participate in organizational level decisions. Her first committee was the Membership Committee.  TJ learned the importance of reaching out to members and recruiting new ones along the way. She helped her first chapter at Black Hills grow from just 6 members to 32 within a year. She continues to  serve on  the Membership Committee and helps with chapter outreach. In June, TJ is meeting with a group of Transition-to-Practice nurses at the Tomah VA to discuss the importance of joining nursing organizations and getting involved as part of professional practice.

TJ’s favorite committee is the Annual Meeting Planning Committee. She enjoys helping make decisions about the meeting locations,  host cities and watching the program come together from  an idea to a well-orchestrated event. She was the co-chair for the Annual Meetings in Reno, Louisville, and NOVA’s first virtual meeting in 2020. She is serving as chairperson of this year’s meeting in Las Vegas. The meeting will have a new and different look but will be better than past meetings. TJ is excited to see the network of NOVA nurses (post pandemic) back together again. The energy of an in-person meeting can’t be beat. We hope to see you in Las Vegas in October!