Ms Pagels received her degree and certificate as a Physicina Assistant in 1996 from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and earned a BA degree in Cultural Anthropology in 1986 from UT El Paso. Her career as a PA has been entirely in academia, teaching in a medical school, a PA program and now a Family Medicine residency. Her teaching and research interests include: health literacy, cultural competence and caring for underserved populations. She serves as Medical Director for Union Gopsel Mission which serves homeless men, women and children and is the co-Medical Director at North Dallas Shared Ministries a community clinic caring for primarily Latino families.