WHO WE ARE

Past-President

Position Expires: October 31, 2024

Gillian is licensed as Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and works as a therapist at Minnesota Clinic for Health and Wellness (in New Brighton, MN). Her clinical experience includes working with adolescents and adults in outpatient clinics and in a college counseling center. Her clinical interests include working with young adults and working with clients experiencing grief, loss, and/or life transitions. She works to create a warm, welcoming environment in her practice and cares deeply about advocating for clients' needs both inside and outside of the therapy space.

Gillian previously served on the board as Marketing Co-Chair and during that time took a leadership role in supporting her peers and the MnCA membership at large. As a Minnesota transplant, she is deeply grateful to MnCA for helping her find her place in the Minnesota counseling community. She encourages you to email her with any ideas, thoughts, or questions, and would love to meet you soon at a MnCA event -- please feel free to say hello (be it virtually or in person)!

Secretary & President-Elect

Position Expires: October 31, 2024
Sherry will start her presidental duties on November 1st 2024 and be president for 1 year term

Sherry enjoys teaching, mentoring, providing clinical supervision, and supporting her communities by creating and sustaining systems and places where people can come together to work, play, and learn. Sherry has over 20 years experience in private practice management and healthcare administration, and she has founded two group practice collectives. Iridescent Care Collaborative, her dream clinic, gives providers both community and autonomy, so independent practitioners can also live their dreams within a supportive setting. Sherry is also honored to serve her professional community on the MnCA Board.

A therapist since 2009, Sherry’s passion is for clients she loves to call Misfits and Sensitives -- artists, geeks/nerds, kink/BDSM folk, ethical nonmonogamists including polyamorists, Pagans and other religious minorities, witches, punks, activists, healthcare providers, folks with chronic illness/physical disability. Her styles emphasize Adlerian, Narrative, DBT, CBT, psycho-education, mindfulness, and Somatic/Sensorimotor with a background in tai chi and qigong. More information about Sherry and her clinic are available at www.iridescentcare.com. Please feel free to reach out and connect!

President and Interim-Executive Director

Position Expires: October 31, 2024

Hannah has served on the board since 2022. Hannah is current president for the board for the 2023-2024 term.

Hannah currently works at Catalyst Mental Health as a therapist.

Treasurer

Position expires: October 31st 2024

Kelly is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC). She currently works as a therapist in a private practice located in Eden Prairie. Her past clinical experience includes community mental health, college counseling, and residential drug and alcohol treatment. Kelly is certified in Perinatal Mental Health and specializes in working with all things pregnancy/postpartum, trauma/chronic stress, and supporting those that help others (healthcare providers, first responders, therapists, etc.). She also enjoys providing supervision to LPC and LPCC candidates.

Membership Chair

Position Expires: June 30th 2024

Laura Beth (she/her/hers) is a clinical trainee and works as a residential therapist in Saint Paul at The Emily Program with adolescents and their families. She loves working with teens as they keep her up to date on music and provide great hope for today’s world. She goes by Laura Beth or LB.

Her clinical experience includes working in both rural and metro areas, working in co-occurring residential treatment with adults, and working in early childhood interventions. Her therapy interests include life transitions, dual-diagnosis, grief and loss, and mood disorders. She is deeply passionate around social justice and empowerment around mental illness.

She is excited to work on membership because it’s all about getting the word out and making sure all people are invited and included. Having done her schooling in South Dakota, she felt very welcomed at her first MnCA conference and can’t wait to give back what she was given. Please feel free to contact her and be in touch!

Membership Co-Chair

Term Ends October 31st 2024

Suzanne (she/her) is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and National Certified Counselor (NCC). She serves clients at Bridging Hope Counseling in Buffalo where she started as an intern in January 2020. She enjoys serving the community in which she lives and works. Her clinical experience includes working with children 5 and up, adolescents, adults, couples, and families, and co-facilitating DBT skills groups for adolescents. She is passionate about reducing the stigma surrounding mental health treatment. She is focused on becoming a BBHT approved supervisor and trained in Adaptive Internal Relational (AIR) Network within the next year.

Suzanne earned her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at St. Cloud State University in 2020. She served as president of the Graduate Clinical Counseling Association during the 2019-2020 academic year. She co-presented a poster presentation entitled “The Adaptations to Acculturation in the Western Culture Between Immigrants, Refugees and International Students” at the 2019 ACA Conference. Suzanne has been a member of MnCA and ACA since 2018.

Suzanne has previously worked as a volunteer Grief Facilitator with New Hope for Kids in Maitland, FL, and a Patient Care Coordinator Intern at Agape Therapy Institute in Orlando, FL. She has been trained as a Guardian Advocate to serve as a temporary surrogate decision maker for involuntarily hospitalized clients under the Florida Baker Act who have no family members to act on their behalf. Prior to returning to college to pursue a path to becoming a therapist, Suzanne was a Registered Pharmacy Technician (RPT), in the State of Florida, and worked at an independent pharmacy for 11 years. In addition to her duties as a pharmacy technician, she organized pharmacy credentialing with all State and Federal agencies and insurance companies and managed all audits of pharmacy records, specializing in audit defense.

Legislative Chair

Position expires: October 31st 2024

Luke graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota with an MA in Counseling and Psychological Services and currently holds and LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor) in MN.

Legislative Chair

Position Expires: October 31st 2024

Shawna graduated with her Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health from the University of South Dakota in 2012. Shawna is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and Board Approved Supervisor in the state of Minnesota.

With over a decade of working in the field, Shawna has worked with clients ranging from birth to 92 years of age. Shawna's areas of training and specialties including early childhood therapy (birth-5), attachment, adoption, at-risk behaviors, depression, and suicidal ideation. Shawna began her career working with early childhood (birth to 5) and family therapy before spending many years working in-home with intensive family based therapy. Shawna now works at Luverne Counseling in an outpatient setting.

Shawna utilizes aspects of DBT, CBT, person-centered therapy, narrative therapy, and solution focused therapy in her work and works hard to meet the client where they are at with authenticity and compassion. Shawna is excited to take part in working toward the future of the field here in Minnesota as a part of the MNCA board.

Professional Development Chair

Position Expires: October 31, 2024

Hayley (she/they) became a therapist because she believes in the power of being heard, seen, and appreciated for living our most authentic selves. Often, folks navigate life without having the possibility to embrace how brilliant, capable, and resilient they truly are until they are given the opportunity to explore their own strengths and share their story. Hayley specializes in working with law enforcement, first responders, veterans and their families. She not only provides individual, couples, and family therapy, but also enjoys providing wellness check-ins and training to law enforcement and first responders. Hayley also works with folks across the lifespan (ages 13+) and particularly enjoys working with LGBTQ+ teens and young adults in her practice.

Hayley brings a lot of different theories into her clinical practice. She is trained in utilizing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy to support her client’s in processing and making meaning out of challenging past experiences. She is also an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) trainer and has a strong passion for deepening our understanding of suicide and expanding our ability to talk about it.

Hayley joined the MnCA Board of Directors because of the fire she has for continuing to support the development of other mental health professionals not only professionally, but also personally. She firmly believes in continuing to provide and develop ample learning opportunities for MnCA members that are accessible, inclusive, and foster a sense of belonging to ensure that members are heard and seen when at a MnCA event. When not serving on the board, Hayley enjoys giving car concerts free-of-charge to passing drivers, walking outside, spending time with her four-legged son, and doing art sh*t.

Professional Development Co-Chair

Term ends June 30, 2025

Ethics Co-Chair

Position Expires: June 30 2024

Erica is the owner and Clinical Director of Luverne Counseling. Erica graduated in 2012 with Master of Arts degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy and Clinical Counseling from Adler Graduate School. Erica is licensed in 3 states, a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in Minnesota, a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health (LPC-MH) in South Dakota, and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Iowa. Erica is a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and a Board Approved Supervisor. She also currently serves as the Ethics Co-Chair of the Minnesota Counseling Association. Erica is a somatic psychotherapist who specializes in healing trauma, PTSD, food addictions, anxiety, and co-occurring disorders. Erica is a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner. Erica has completed training in Brainspotting Phases One, Two, Three, Four, Brainspotting and Addiction, The Crocodile Set Up, Expansion Brainspotting, and will soon complete the Master Class. Erica is a member of The Minnesota Counseling Association, The American Counseling Association, The Midwest Brainspotting Institute, and The Southeast Brainspotting Institute. Erica uses focused mindfulness, compassion, and support, and has a natural ability to connect with clients to help them feel comfortable on their healing journey.

Ethics Co-Chair

Position Expires: October 31, 2023

Gary is a clinical psychologist, licensed in Minnesota since 1974, who trained in clinical psychology at the U. of MN. He was one of the founders of the Walk-In Counseling Ctr. in 1969, served 37 yrs. as its Exec. Dir., and currently is Director of its Inst. for Consultation & Training. The center is staff by volunteers who are LPCs, LPs, LICSWs, & LMFTs who donate their time. It is the largest force of counseling professionals donating time under one roof in the world. The center is the only program in the Upper Midwest to have received the American Psychiatric Assn.'s highest award -- the Gold Achievement Award in Hospital & Community Psychiatry. Go to www.walkin.org for more information.

He has consulted widely on mental health & chemical dependency topics throughout his career. Among his awards is the Bernie Belling Ethics Award from MARRCH, and he serves as a consultant to substance abuse programs such as CREATE, Southeast Homes, etc. Gary has a private practice in forensic psychology, largely focused on civil suits related to professional misconduct. He does assessments and remedial boundaries training for counselors & other professionals on referral by licensure boards or employers.

He coauthored the books Psychotherapists' Sexual Involvement With Clients: Intervention & Prevention, and Assisting Impaired Psychologists, as well as numerous book chapters and articles related to professional boundaries, ethics, supervision, duty-to-warn, etc. He has provided training locally and internationally on these topics to groups in counseling, social work, psychology, nursing, medicine, Physical & occupational therapy, dentistry, etc. He is a member of the Mn Psychological Assn. General Counsel, and is a past member of the American Psychological Assn.'s Task Force on Sexual Impropriety & its Advisory Committee on the Impaired Psychologist (now Colleague Assistance).

Gary's overall focus is to strengthen MnCA through provision of support to members in terms of ethical grounding for maintenance of good professional practice as well as assisting counselors who are struggling. Throughout his career he has always focused on cooperation between professions and their trade organizations.

Equity and Inclusion Chair

Position Expires: October 31st 2024

Nikhil is a board member and a dedicated psychotherapist with a private practice in the Twin Cities, where his integrative approach to counseling celebrates the intrinsic worth of each individual. He is a fervent advocate for personal growth and healing, guided by the belief in the unity of mind, body, and spirit. Nikhil's work is characterized by his use of a person's unique strengths, values, and knowledge to navigate life's challenges effectively.

With a commitment to creating a supportive and transformative healing space, Nikhil's methods are trauma-informed and culturally attuned, ensuring relevance and respect for all individuals. His holistic and liberatory approach—encompassing critical, queer, and feminist perspectives—fosters an environment where clients are seen beyond their challenges, emphasizing that the individual is not the problem.

Nikhil's expertise extends to supporting individuals, couples, adolescents, and families as they confront various life issues. His multilingual fluency in English, Hindi, and Urdu further enables him to connect with a diverse clientele, enriching his practice with cultural awareness and a dedication to non-oppression.

As a board member of our association, Nikhil brings his rich experience and compassionate philosophy to guide our mission towards fostering an inclusive and supportive community that honors the collective journey of healing and empowerment.

Marketing Chair

Position Expires: October 31st 2024

I am Natashia Powell. I have my masters in clinical mental health counseling and am a licensed counselor in MN and WI. I have previously worked as a clinical supervisor working with Autistic youth and their families and I now work at Ramsey County as an Embedded Social Worker with Ramsey County Dispatch. I also do contract psychotherapy sessions in Wisconsin. I have been a committee member for Professional Development and have helped plan MNCA conferences. I am excited to take on the role for Marketing and hope to help get the word out about MNCA and continue to increase connections to communities. Personally, I love everything Disney and would likely be considered a Disney adult. I enjoy trying and seeing new things with my husband and son.