MEET OUR BOARD MEMBERS
Our dedicated team is always on the ball, utilizing their unique skills and passion for moving the work of our Non-Profit Organization forward. We’re always pushing ourselves to stay ahead of the curve and striving to perfect our programs. Meet some of our incredible leaders below.
THE REV BARBARA F. MEYERS
President
(She/Her)
Rev. Meyers is a Unitarian Universalist community minister with a mental health ministry based in Fremont, California, affiliated with Mission Peak UU Congregation, where she is a member. A mental health consumer, she is assistant director of the Life Reaching Across to Life peer support center, the author of the book “Held – Showing Up for each Other’s Mental Health”, published by Skinner House Books in 2020. She was active in the creation of EqUUal Access and the AIM program. She is the current President of the UU Mental Health Network and the Secretary of EqUUal Access.
KARL PAANANEN
Vice President
(He/Him)
Karl has been a person receiving mental health services for over 30 years. He is a member of two UU congregations--Church of the Larger Fellowship and UU Church of Greater Lansing, Michigan. He was briefly chair of the Mental Health Caucus of EqUUal Access, then participated in the Core Working Group to establish the UU Mental Health Network, and currently serves as interim Vice-President for that organization. He has pursued many interesting careers over his life, including in the field of law, and still retains active membership in the State Bar of Michigan.
STEPHANIE JOSEPH
Treasurer
(She/Her)
Stephanie’s experience as an individual living with a mental health challenge complements her personal desire to help others and make the world a more compassionate and stigma-free place. Stephanie is a fierce advocate dedicated to serving vulnerable communities with mental health challenges through her work with local mental health and housing organizations and outreach services. She is very public about her own struggles with mental illness, steering her to be a champion for transformation and awareness. Stephanie supports and fights for access to therapy for all, believing that therapy is a right, not a privilege. Mental health is her passion, and she dedicates her work to the memory of her father, whom she lost to suicide in 2011. Good mental health is integral to everything she does. She works at Housing Unlimited, which provides affordable housing for people in mental health recovery who are ready to live independently. Stephanie serves on the Board of the Montgomery County Mental Health Advisory Committee (MHAC) and the Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Coalition. In addition to serving as Board Treasurer on the Unitarian Universalist Mental Health Network Board, she helped launch a Mental Health Ministry at her Congregation, where she also served on the Board of Trustees. Stephanie received certification through the ASIST suicide prevention program and is a graduate of both Mental Health First Aid and Emotional CPR. She has served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of This is My Brave, a mental health nonprofit. She volunteers on the Living Beyond Breast Cancer Helpline. Whereas she is a proud breast cancer survivor, she provides callers with emotional support, shares practical information, and offers comfort. Stephanie received her Bachelor of Accountancy from George Washington University, where she was Valedictorian, and subsequently earned a Graduate Certificate in Medical Services Management at Johns Hopkins University. In her spare time, Stephanie colors mandalas, cooks, reads, and watches tennis. She currently lives with her devoted trio of Chihuahuas.
SHERI THOMAS
Board member at large
(She/Her)
Sheri Thomas' new disability memoir, “Imbalanced,” traces her journey from the front page in 1962 to her role as a disability advocate fighting to remove the stigmas surrounding physical disabilities and mental health. After being incorrectly diagnosed with an intellectual disability, Sheri was finally diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a young child. She worked as a journalist and magazine editor before transitioning to a successful career in sales and marketing. Sheri was appointed to her first disability commission in 2001 before being diagnosed with a mental health condition in 2014. Her story of recovery and advocacy was published nationwide by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in 2022.
SKYLER MALAN
Secretary
(They/Them)
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Skyler is a Learning and Development Consultant with extensive cross-sector experience spanning corporate, nonprofit, government, military, and educational environments across the United States, Asia, and Europe. With more than 15 years in education and 20 years in computer science, and deep expertise in human-centered, evidence-based training design, Skyler has held leadership and instructional roles, including Executive Director and Program Coordinator at NAMI Sno-Isle and Senior Learning Experience Designer at Boeing. Their career also includes progressive roles in instructional design, software engineering, procurement, and administration, supported by a Master of Science in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies and multiple advanced certifications in talent development, human performance improvement, user-centered design, and mental health education. They are a Pathway to Promise Companion and a Certified Community Trainer in Companionship, and are a Washington State Certified Peer Counselor. They are a member of the Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (EUUF) in Everett, Washington, where they have served on the Board and participated in various committees.
JENNIFER KRONK TERRY
Board member at large
(She/Her)
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Jennifer is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with well over a decade of experience working in community mental health. She considers herself a conduit for her clients’ healing and growth, but I recognize that the client is doing the real work. Their therapeutic relationship will include love, support, a sense of humor, and gentle challenges. She works from a narrative perspective, and much of her time with a client will be spent exploring patterns, relationships, and stories from the client's life. She is a Caucasian, cis/het married woman, and is relatively new to UUism.
HON. EMILY CAMERON SHATTIL
Board member at large
(She/Her)
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Emily Cameron Shattil is an accomplished legal professional and dedicated Unitarian Universalist leader with decades of service in both public institutions and her faith community. A longtime member of the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, she has held multiple leadership roles, including church board president and chair of the Lincoln Unitarian Foundation. Her legal career spans service as Assistant Attorney General for South Dakota, Special Assistant Attorney General for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and General Counsel for the Nebraska Department of Public Institutions, where she supported statewide health and human services agencies. She later served as a Federal Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration for more than 25 years, including appointment as Chief Judge in Omaha.