She also is a family nurse practitioner at the Larry Combest Community Health & Wellness Center, a federally qualified center where she provides health care to the medically underserved. An international authority with a career of dedicated nursing education and patient care, Thal was a key player in the development of the school’s global health initiative, traveling to Nicaragua as a faculty mentor for nursing students who provide care to the medically underserved in this developing nation. Thal received her first bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University, her Master of Science in Nursing from West Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Arizona.