Meet The Team

Dr. Jeremiah Sample

Chiropractor

Dr. Jeremiah Sample is a native of East Dubuque, Illinois. Upon graduation from high school, Dr. Jeremiah began his service to his country as an Infantryman in the U.S. Army. After his training in Fort Benning, Georgia he was stationed in Fort Riley, KS with the 41st Infantry where the next four years contained a multitude of deployments, including being a part of the initial spearhead into Iraq, March 2003. During the Battle for Karbala Gap, Dr. Jeremiah was wounded prior to saving another soldier’s life. For his actions in combat he was awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star.

Dr. Shane Smith

Chiropractor

Dr. Shane grew up in the small farm town of Wood River, NE. It was there he developed a strong sense of community and family, along with a passion to serve others. He quickly realized chiropractic was his way to fulfill that passion after seeing a chiropractor often during his high school athletic career.

Melissa Marley

Director of Operations

Melissa is Dr. Joel’s wife and a large contributor to much of the operations of Family First Chiropractic. She is responsible for making sure that there is a great team of people serving you each day. She spends half of her time each week at FFC so you may see her at times popping in and out of the office. You will also see her at the parties in the office and special workshop nights where she may also be one of the speakers!

Melissa was born and raised in East Dubuque, IL. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2004 with a degree in Recreation Therapy and then also graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 2005 with a degree as a Chiropractic Office Assistant. Since she and Dr. Joel married in 2009, they were blessed in March of 2013 with their first daughter, Gianna, and in December 2017 with their second daughter, Mae. Melissa enjoys being able to pursue her mission with Family First Chiropractic as well as a second career in doing life/business coaching and team training for chiropractors around the globe.

Joanne King

Administrative Manager & Chiropractic Assistant

Joanne was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in education, and from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2007 with a Master’s degree in education.

After spending a few years working with local school systems, Joanne decided to pursue an opportunity to educate people of all ages about the importance of having a healthy spine and nervous system. Joanne focuses on providing the best experience to everyone who walks into the office; most of her efforts happen “behind the scenes,” making sure that everything at Family First Chiropractic is running smoothly! Outside the office, Joanne enjoys cooking, traveling, watching movies with her husband, Todd, and being a mom to their daughter Adalynn and son Oliver.

Julie Larson

Community Outreach Coordinator & Chiropractic Assistant

Julie grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska, and then attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood. She has worked with children in many capacities, helping them to learn, grow, and be healthy. Julie began her journey with Family First Chiropractic in 2010 and has served in many roles in the office throughout the years. As a Chiropractic Assistant and Community Outreach Director, she loves continuing her work with educating others, both in the office and in the community, this time about keeping your nervous system functioning optimally by maintaining a healthy spine. She loves coming alongside patients and making connections to help people in their health journey. Julie and her husband Ben have two children, Anna and Claire. Among reading, cooking, and playing with the girls, Julie loves to travel, be outdoors, and spend time with friends and family.

Ally Rhoads

Front Desk Chiropractic Assistant

Ally is from Omaha, Nebraska. She attended Millard South High School and received her bachelor’s degree from UNL in education…Go Big Red! Ally was the Director of Education for Sylvan Learning Center for many years and worked as a reading para-professional and substitute teacher in the Gretna school district.

Ally is married to Scott and has two boys, Jack and Henry. She also has a playful pup named Oliver. When not busy with her boys’ sporting activities she enjoys working out, watching sports, and having fun with her family and her friends.

Ally enjoys working at Family First Chiropractic for the family-oriented environment and getting to know all the wonderful patients.

Kate McCann

Front Desk Chiropractic Assistant

Kate is originally from Kearney, NE. She has served as a US Navy Sailor and trained Aviation Structural Mechanic. She was stationed on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, a small island off the coast of Washington State. When deployed, she served onboard the USS Enterprise CVN 65 Aircraft Carrier. She met her husband while in the Navy and stationed in the same EA-6B Prowler squadron, VAQ-137. Go Rooks!

Prior to coming stateside, Kate and her husband lived abroad with their dogs in a small village in Ireland. During this time they enjoyed traveling Europe. Now in Omaha, with 3 dogs and 2 cats, Kate spends her spare time immersed in books, going to concerts, working out and planning their next trip.

One thing Kate likes about working at Family First is being among people who truly care about what they do and the people they are helping.

Morgan Johnson

Chiropractic Technician

Morgan was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and moved to Omaha when she was 13. After graduating from Millard West High School, she attended UNO where she studied Early Childhood Education. She taught early childhood for 6 years, primarily as an infant and toddler teacher. Driven by a passion for educating and caring for people of all ages, she is excited to continue her professional journey at Family First!

Morgan is the oldest of three siblings. When her family moved to Texas in 2018, she stayed here because Nebraska is home. Beyond her professional endeavors, she enjoys traveling to visit family, catching up on TV shows with her boyfriend Tony, baking sweets, crocheting, and crafting with her Cricut.

Morgan is eager to expand her knowledge of chiropractic and learn more about how it can benefit her own health. In addition, she is thrilled to be a part of a compassionate community of individuals dedicated to educating and guiding others along their journey to wellness!

Nick Monzu

Education Specialist

Nick has a passion for helping individuals optimize their health and movement. He played football and received his bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in exercise science from Wayne State College. Since completing his degree, he has also completed multiple certifications which are: Certified Personal Trainer(NASM), Corrective Exercise Specialist(NASM), Senior Fitness Specialist(NASM), Holistic Lifestyle Coach(Chek Institute), and USAW Olympic Lifting Level 1.

He has over 8 years of experience training clients and has dealt with his own problems coming from poor health habits, improper lifting form, and sports injuries. As a result of addressing his own health and chronic pain issues, he has developed an expertise in aiding others on their journey to optimize their quality of life through exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle/behavior modifications. He uses this knowledge and experience in combination with chiropractic care to help our patients stay pain free and achieve their health/fitness goals. Nick is extremely excited about the chance to integrate his skills with the care our Doctors provide here at Family First!