Brian Baird Lerna Deyirmencian, Marie Head Wendy Spiva
Four NOC nursing instructors nominated for 2026 DAISY Award®
Northern Oklahoma College will honor a Nursing faculty member with The DAISY Award® for Extraordinary Nurse Educators at the NOC 2026 Nurses’ Pinning Ceremony Friday, May 1 at the Kinzer Performing Arts Center Heilmann Auditorium in NOC Tonkawa at 7 p.m.
The four finalists are Brian Baird, Lerna Deyirmencian, Marie Head, and Wendy Spiva. Last year’s winner was Rachel Kroemer.
Lerna Deyirmencian
Deyirmencian received her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from UCLA and her Master of Science in Nursing from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She completed her nurse residency program at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Since joining NOC in August 2024, she has contributed to the Adult I and Adult II Theory teams and serves as a clinical instructor. Her diverse nursing background includes cardiac/telemetry, medical-surgical, post-operative, rehabilitation, post-critical care, and intermediate care. In addition to teaching, she currently works as a float pool RN at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center.
She enjoys connecting with patients on a personal level and creating meaningful human connections at the bedside, and is committed to transforming nursing education into an approachable, engaging experience that builds both competence and confidence.
Brian Baird
Baird received his B.S.N. from the University of Oklahoma in 1986 and his M.S. from Southern Nazarene University in 2008. The majority of his nursing career has been spent serving special needs children in their homes and serving within the ICU.
His work in the ICU included a nearly 14-year period at Hillcrest Hospital Cushing when it was named Cushing Regional Hospital and a stent at Mercy Hospital in OKC. In 2006, he began teaching freshman nursing students at Northern Oklahoma College; a privilege he continues to enjoy to this day.
Baird’s passion for teaching has been life-long and has been evident to anyone who has known him. He loves to use creativity in his approach and is known for his use of multiple teaching/learning methods. He himself loves to learn and wants his learners to enjoy the process as well. His use of simulation and gaming has earned him a lead role in NOC Nursing’s simulation program. He is currently the Simulation Coordinator.
Baird and his wife, Robin, have been married almost 37 years. They have four children and two grandchildren. They reside in Perkins.
In 2002, while working at Cushing Regional Hospital, Brian received the President’s Spirit Award from the Hillcrest HealthCare System, a system-wide recognition given to only one employee a year. In 2012 and 2019, he received the NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition for his work at NOC. In 2020 and in 2021, he received the NOC Best Faculty Award. And in 2016, Mr. Baird received a Faculty Excellence Award for designing and producing a set of video-based learning activities with his co-faculty and his family. Each set of videos portray how a specific disease process might develop and unfold in the life of an individual. Lastly, he received certification in July of 2022 as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator.
Marie Head
Head completed her initial nursing degree at NOC in 2007 and continued her education earning a BSN at Kaplan University in 2014, her MSN at Purdue University in 2017 and her DNP at Oklahoma City University in 2020.
She joined the nursing faculty in 2016 and teaches primarily in the skills and simulation practice lab settings. She has two children and five grandchildren ranging in age from 10-3.
Wendy Spiva
Spiva has 30 years of nursing experience-beginning as an LPN-I hold an Associate in Science from Rose State College, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and currently pursuing a Master’s in Nursing Education.
Spiva’s clinical background includes skilled nursing, med/surg, endoscopy, and university health services. She has been a part of the NOC family for three years, serving as the Stillwater Lab Coordinator, teaching lab for Fundamentals of Nursing and Introduction students, and working as a simulation observer.
Her greatest joy is teaching skills to new students and watching them grow into the nurses they are meant to be.
Outside of work, she has been married for 20 years and we have two beautiful daughters who are active in softball and basketball. They also enjoy camping, cruising to different islands and caring for animals on their funny farm.
The award is part of The DAISY Foundation’s mission to express gratitude to nurses with programs that recognize them for the extraordinary, compassionate and skillful care they provide patients and families.
DAISY award recognitions honor the super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day wherever they practice, in whatever role they serve, and throughout their careers – from Nursing Student through Lifetime Achievement in Nursing. The Nurse Educator Award was created to recognize and celebrate the contributions faculty make to the future of nursing. The award is part of The DAISY Foundation’s mission to express gratitude to nurses with programs that recognize them for the extraordinary, compassionate and skillful care they provide patients and families. Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public two-year community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services.
For more information about NOC Nursing, contact Chelsie Taylor at Chelsi.taylor@noc.edu at 580.628.6679.
Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public two-year community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services.
NOC serves nearly 3,100 students through the home campus in Tonkawa, Enid, and NOC/OSU Gateway Program in Stillwater, and the University Center in Ponca City. Of these students about 80% receive financial aid and/or scholarships. 75% of NOC students complete their degree with zero debt.
The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science; the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs; and the Accreditation Commission for Education and Nursing.
For more information about Northern Oklahoma College please call (580) 628-6208 or visit the NOC website at www.noc.edu.
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