McNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY
Graduate Nursing Department
Dr. Demetria Boutte received her PharmD from Campbell University College of Pharmacy. She has over 25 years of combined experience in the pharmaceutical industry, research, and traditional pharmacy. She continues to practice pharmacy while teaching Pharmacotherapeutics in the Graduate Nursing program at McNeese.
Graduate Nursing Department
Dr. Gary Chaney received his MSN from Southeastern Louisiana University and his DNP from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. He is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and serves as the Director of Behavioral Health Services for a Federally Qualified Health Center.
Graduate Nursing Department
Dr. Rhonda LeJeune Johnson, a 1989 McNeese Aluma, received her MSN and EdD from the University of Texas at Houston and Nova Southeastern University, respectively. Dr. Johnson is an adjunct faculty member in the undergraduate and graduate programs and previously served as Department Head of undergraduate nursing from 2019 to 2025.Her research interests include active learning teaching strategies to enhance student engagement and knowledge retention, curriculum development, and program evaluation.
Graduate Nursing Department
Dr. Hidalgo earned his BSN (’98) and MSN (’03) from McNeese State University and his DNP (’17) from Southeastern Louisiana University. He is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, and his practice/research interests include public health and pediatric/adolescent care. In addition, he has volunteered as a pet foster for many years and has an active role biweekly in a rural food pantry stocking and distributing foods to residents of a food desert.
Graduate Nursing Department
Dr. Ann Warner received her BSN from University of Mississippi, her MS in Trauma/Critical Care Nursing from the University of Maryland, and her PhD in Nursing Science from Texas Woman’s University. She practiced in acute and critical care for 14 years prior to starting her academic career and currently serves as Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions and teaches statistics in the graduate nursing program. Her research interests are in nursing education.
Graduate Nursing Department
Dr. Deanna Fredericks Harless earned her BSN from McNeese State University; her MSN at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston as an emergency and acute care nurse practitioner; her DNP from Southeastern Louisiana University; and a post-master’s certificate as a family nurse practitioner from the University of South Alabama. She is currently a PhD student at William Carey University.
Dr. Harless is a Board-Certified Acute Care & Family Nurse Practitioner and has practiced for 18 years in neurosurgery. She has experience as a hospitalist, in occupational medicine, and in hospice. She currently works part-time in geriatrics.
Her research and practice interests include neurosurgical and geriatric care, as well as competency-based education in online advanced practice curricula.
She is currently the MSN Graduate Coordinator for McNeese.
Graduate Nursing Department
Dr. Novak earned her BSN from Southeastern Louisiana University, her MSN at University of Alabama in Birmingham, her post masters family nurse practitioner certificate at University of Southwest Louisiana, and her doctorate in nursing practice at Southeastern Louisiana University. She is board certified as a family nurse practitioner and as a clinical nurse educator. Her areas of research interest are Cardiovascular Disease/Stroke primary and secondary prevention
Therese A. Novak, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CNEcl
I am a McNeese graduate with a bachelor's degree in Family and Consumer Science and a concentration in Child and Family Studies. As a student, I competed on the rodeo team and served on the SGA board. I earned my master’s degree in 2022 from the University of South Dakota in Educational Administration and Leadership with a concentration in Adult and Higher Ed. I have over 13 years of experience in adult education and 20 years of educational experience.
My favorite part of being a Freshman Advisor is helping students navigate their new life routine as a college freshman by offering support with in-person office visits or by email to help students meet their goals. I always remind students of my favorite BB King quote – “Education is one thing no one can ever take away from you.” I believe that supporting students is vital to a student's success.
In my spare time, I raise registered American Brahman cattle, and I enjoy all the "country girl" things like hunting, fishing, growing a garden and cooking.