Audrey Dorsey achieved her Doctorate in Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Primary Care from Rush University in Chicago, Illinois. Audrey is passionate about providing excellent primary care to pediatric patients of all ages.

Priya Mathai is a Family Nurse Practitioner with UTMB since 2019. She received her BSN from India and her Master's Degree in nursing from Texas Woman's University, Houston.

A decorated veteran that served in the Medical Corps in Iraq, Dr. Neely-Shelmire is a board-certified pediatrician with a passion for partnering with parents to raise healthy children through wellness goals, good nutrition, physical activity, healthy sleep habits, and an approach that balances the physical, emotional and developmental aspects of being a child. A parent herself with two adult sons and a host of nieces and nephews, she enjoys spending her free time running, kayaking and with family. She holds professional memberships with the Texas Medical Association, the Texas Pediatric Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Catholic Medical Association. Awards and honors she’s received during her career include:

• Combat Medic Badge
• National Defense Service Medal
• Armed Forces Reserve Medal
• (2nd)Army Commendation Medal
• Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
• Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
• Army Service Ribbon
• Pediatrics Resident/Intern Award
• Service Leadership Award
• Dean’s Honor Roll
• Honor Scholar

Juanita has been an FNP working in Pediatrics for UTMB for about 15 years.  She speaks both English and Spanish.  Her certification is through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.  She is also a member or Sigma Theta Tau, the national nursing honor society.  Although working with children is her passion, some special interests include working with animals and boxing.

Debra Sharp, MSN, CNM is a graduate of University of Texas Medical Branch, where she obtained her MSN. Ruth specializes as an experienced certified nurse midwife. Her clinical interests include Midwifery.

Brenda Pickhardt, CNM is a Maternal Child Health Specialist, Certified Nurse Midwife, with UTMB Regional Maternal & Child Health Program since 2011. Ms. Pickhardt is a nationally certified by American Midwifery Certification Board. Brenda received both her Bachelor in Science in Nursing and Master's Degree in Nursing focusing on Nurse Midwifery at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Ms. Pickhardt is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Along with caring for patients not only in the clinic setting but also in Labor & Delivery and Postpartum, Ms. Pickhardt is a Regional Director for the Regional Maternal & Child Health Program. Ms. Pickhardt continues to be an advocate for all women.

Nydia has approximately one decade of experience in caring for women infants and children. Nydia began filling the need as a float provider for RWSP in June of 2023 and is now a core OB/GYN Advanced Practice Registered Nurse caring for patients at our Texas City location.

Ms. Nancy Hernandez, a Texas native, attended The University of Texas Medical Branch where she graduated with honors as Family Nurse Practitioner in 2016. Nancy has more than a decade of experience in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is currently practicing in her hometown of Texas City.

Nancy is dedicated to the underserved population, both locally and abroad. Nancy has volunteered on several mission trips to Peru and the Dominican Republic.

In her free time, Nancy enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Louie and Zeus, and traveling the world.

Tomeka Washington has over 15 years of nursing experience caring for women in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch. For the past 4 years she has been practicing at the UTMB-Regional Maternal and Child Health Program clinic in Pearland as a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner.

Tomeka is passionate about women's Health and is a strong advocate for her patients and women's empowerment. She believes that good health is essential and that the biggest threats to women's health are often preventable and keeping women informed and educated is the key to a longer healthier life.

Tomeka was born on the island at UTMB (BOI). She attended Dickinson independent School district and graduated in 1999. After obtaining her associate degree in nursing in 2005 Tomeka began her nursing career as a Labor and delivery nurse at UTMB in Galveston. She received her bachelor's degree in nursing from Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 2013, and her Master's Degree in Women's Health from the University of Cincinnati in 2016.

She is currently a member of The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Minority Nurses association, and National Black Nurse Practitioner Association (NBNPA). Tomeka is married with 3 children and outside of her professional and educational obligations she loves spending time with her family and serving at her local church.

Patrick Karas was born in Cleveland, OH. He completed his undergraduate education at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH with degrees in mathematics and chemistry. He then obtained his MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, NY. Dr. Karas completed his neurosurgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine. During his residency he was awarded an NIH R25 grant to study multisensory integration using human intracranial recordings. His training also included over a year of time dedicated to brain tumor surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center. After completing residency, he continued his study of epilepsy surgery techniques at the Charles Shor Epilepsy Center at the Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Karas’s clinical interests include epilepsy surgery, brain and skull base tumor surgery, and functional neurosurgery. He performs the full range of modern techniques for epilepsy surgery, including robotic sEEG placement, open resection, minimally invasive laser ablation, and neuromodulation techniques (responsive neurostimulation and deep brain stimulation). He also offers awake surgery and advanced brain mapping techniques for difficult to remove brain tumors. Additional clinical interests include deep brain stimulator insertion for movement disorders, as well as percutaneous and open techniques for the treatment of facial pain.

Dr. Karas also runs a lab studying human electrophysiology. Current projects focus on using intracranial brain recordings to understand how auditory and visual signals are combined in multisensory regions of the brain.

Dr. Karas currently serves as a full-time faculty Neurosurgeon at UTMB, operating at both Galveston and Clear Lake campuses. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgeons, Texas Association of Neurosurgeons, and the American Epilepsy Society.