Her contributions include regional and international leadership, promotion of cultural sensitivity, and improved health for underserved populations often overlooked in healthcare policy and research. She currently serves as the president of the Western Institute of Nursing and past president of the International Family Nursing Association.
Lassetter received a doctor of philosophy degree from Oregon Health and Science University in 2008 and a graduate certificate in healthcare ethics from Creighton University in 2016. She is proud to have received her associate's, baccalaureate, and master’s degrees in nursing from BYU (AS ’81, BS ’98, MS ’01).
Recognized for her commitment to nursing leadership and the promotion of the public’s health through evidence and innovation, Lassetter was inducted as a 2019 Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). She is among 2,600 nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy, and research who have changed health and healthcare across the country and around the globe.
For the past three years, she has served as the college’s associate dean of graduate studies, scholarly works, and contribution to the discipline. She has also served on the university graduate council, the university faculty development council, and the university research council.
In addition to her leadership positions, Dr. Lassetter is an active researcher and educator. She was honored with BYU’s Muriel Thole Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship in 2016 and received the university’s Alcuin Fellowship in general education in 2011.
Her research interests include obesity prevention in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families and children of all ethnicities. In Utah, Nevada, and Hawaii, she has studied the effects of migration on these populations, their personal and cultural expectations for children’s body size and shape, the role of food in their overall well-being, and the relationships between their health literacy, body mass index, and demographic characteristics.
Lassetter joined the faculty at BYU in 2002 as an instructor. She became an assistant professor in 2004, an associate professor in 2010, and a professor in 2016.