Board Chair Cynthia Birt is a Licensed Social Worker with a Masters in Health and Human Services from Ohio University. For over 30 years, she has worked in Appalachia Ohio on behalf of intervention services for children and their families. Her background includes working in a residential psychiatric facility with adolescent youth, serving as Director of child development programs, Head Start at Tri-County Community Action Agency and as Director of the Milestones Therapeutic Foster Care Agency. She's currently the Athens County Family and Children First Coordinator.
In addition to serving in IPAC's board, she's also a board member for the Suicide Prevention Coalition.
Secretary Doug Debrick holds a degree in Psychology from Valparaiso University, along with two Master's degrees in English and Counseling from Ohio University. He was first introduced to the world of children services when he helped to provide foster care for children with special needs. He has since coordinated an interagency training program for the developmental disabilities services in our area. He later worked with juvenile delinquents through Athens County Children Services, and he is now one of the agency's Intake Case Workers.
Debrick has been involved with IPAC since 2010, where he enjoys playing a part in improving the lives of children and families.
Ex-Officio Member Dawn Graham, PhD, is the Young Child Wellness Council Coordinator for Project LAUNCH and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Ohio University. Graham earned a Masters in Applied Behavioral Science: Counseling from Valparaiso University in 1999, and a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Purdue University in 2010. Clinical experience has included working at the University of Chicago Hospitals, Michigan City Area Schools, Purdue University, Porter Starke Community Mental Health and Logansport State Psychiatric Hospital. Her areas of interest include creativity and mental health, community psychology, and health and wellness.
Graham has served on the IPAC board since moving to Athens, Ohio, in 2009.
President Jane Hamel-Lambert, MBA, PhD, earned a doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 1990 from Ohio University and a Masters in Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University in 2001. Her clinical expertise is in pediatric psychology, and other interests include leadership, collaborative partnerships and community-based participatory methods. Dr. Hamel-Lambert is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine, and she's the Director of the Appalachian Rural Health Institute at Ohio University.
She has facilitated the development of IPAC since 2003 and has served as president since the organization incorporated in 2006.
Vice-Chair Sue Johanson is a School Psychologist for the Athens City School District. Her responsibilities include the assessment of children in preschool through high school and working with families, the school district, and area agencies, such as Help Me Grow, as part of the team that identifes and provides services to children in our community. Her previous experience includes directing TOPS and Human Services training and teaching high school-level math. She holds a degree in Mathematical Economics from Brown University, a Masters in Education with a focus in School Counseling from the University of Massachusetts, and a second Masters in School Psychology from Ohio State University.
As an IPAC board member, her hope is to improve and expand our region's services for young children and families.
Parent Representative Noriko Kantake earned her PhD in genetics from University of California, Davis in 2001. She now works as a post-doc for Interthyr Corporation. Her 11-year-old son Kai, who is one of two children, has autism and attends a mental health facility in Columbus to receive intensive behavioral therapy. Along with other parents and professionals, Kantake founded the Autism Society of Southeastern Ohio in 2007, and has been president since then. She has served in various organizations, such as the Arc of Ohio and Athens County Family and Children First Council.
Kantake is a member of IPAC because she's passionate about improving the lives of everyone affected by autism and other developmental disabilities.
Treasurer Sue Meeks, RN, C, is a 1984 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Nursing and earned a BSS from Ohio University in 2008. She has provided services for children and families at OU-HCOM Community Health Programs since 2001. Passionate about helping those around her overcome barriers and receive quality care, Meeks was a recipient of the Athens County Mental Health Advocate of the Year award and the OU-HCOM CHP Recognition Award.
Meeks is the developer and manager of the Family Navigator Program and has been a part of IPAC since 2003.
Governance Committee Member Dawn Murray, D.O., is Chief Medical Officer for Family Healthcare, Inc., a Federally Qualified Health Center and a private 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that provides primary care in seven sites across Southern Ohio. Her duties include Provider recruitment and retention, development and oversight of a highly effective Quality Improvement Program, integration of behavioral health into primary care, and patient care activities at all sites.
She has been an IPAC board member since 2007. Although IPAC is geared toward children, it's been the springboard of collaboration for more integration between primary care and behavioral health, something she believes is integral to improving access to quality healthcare for everyone.
Brandie Nance holds a degree in Communication Disorders from Marshall University, a Masters in Audiology from Ohio University and a clinical doctorate in Audiology from Salus University (formerly the Pennsylvania College of Optometry). She is the Clinical Supervisor of Audiology at Ohio University's Hearing Speech and Language Clinic, which offers evaluation and treatment services for all ages.
Nance serves on, and is the Coordinator for, the Southeast Ohio Interdisciplinary Assessment Team, an IPAC-created group that meets monthly to provide diagnostic assessments for children birth to 8 who have multiple developmental concerns.
Board Member Heather Reed, M.A., is the Acting Chief of the Bureau of Community Health Services at the Ohio Department of Health. She oversees multiple statewide programs, including Oral Health Services, School & Adolescent Health Services, and the Primary Care and Rural Health Program. She also serves as Administrator of the Primary Care and Rural Health
Program. She holds a Masters in Community Health Education and is currently working toward a doctorate in Rural Sociology.
Reed brings to IPAC her expertise in rural health and statewide activities.
Board Member Sherry Shamblin, PCC-S, is the Early Childhood Director for Tri-County Mental Health and Counseling Service. She received her Masters in Community Mental Health Counseling from Ohio University and is currently a second-year doctoral student in Counselor Education. Shamblin has more than 15 years of experience in developing and implementing community programs for educational and social service agencies, with a special expertise in mental health services to young children and their families and consultation to early childhood programs.
Shamblin has lived and worked in various parts of Appalachia, giving her a unique perspective on the region’s people and culture. She is also a founding member of IPAC and the Southeastern Ohio Interdisciplinary Assessment Team.