Leadership
Meet the ACMHAI Executive Committee
Jason Holcomb
President
Jason is a purpose-driven leader, with a tenacious passion for mental health. Having worked many years in the community mental health and disability sector, Jason sees mental health as foundational to the success of a community. Throughout his career, Jason has used innovative approaches to solving social problems. He has been trained in multiple collaborative approaches and brings a collaborative innovation lens to funding, project development, and community building. Currently, Jason serves as Director for the newly formed Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board. He has a master’s degree in social work (MSW) focused in leadership from Indiana University School of Social Work.
Amanda Teachout
Vice President
Amanda Teachout has been the Mental Health Board Manager at Hanover Township for the past four years. Prior to this, Amanda worked closely with adolescents in school based and clinical settings in both the mental health and substance use treatment fields. Amanda has also worked with people with developmental disabilities in recreational settings. Amanda holds a B.A. in Psychology from Judson University and an M.A. in Psychology from National Louis University. In addition to her work with Hanover Township Mental Health Board, Amanda also serves as a consultant for Elgin Township’s Mental Health Board. Amanda also serves as the Chair of Hanover Township’s Human Services Coordinating Council and is passionate about ensuring that high quality behavioral healthcare is accessible to all.
Sharon Mills
Secretary
Sharon Mills, MS, has served as the Administrator for the DeWitt County Community Mental Health Board since 2005. Through contracts and partnerships with service organizations, she and the Board help to ensure DeWitt County residents with mental illness, substance use disorder, or intellectual and developmental disabilities have the services and supports they may need. During her 30-year career at Illinois State University she directed research, assessment, evaluation, and training projects related to community and workforce development, education, and health and human services. She worked with students in health professions programs to improve the diversity and distribution of the healthcare workforce in rural and underserved areas. She helped build a cadre of instructors to deliver Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid in Illinois and served as an instructor for both courses. Sharon earned a bachelor’s degree (psychology) from Marian University, Indianapolis, and a master’s degree (industrial/organizational psychology) from Illinois State University. She currently serves as a member of the DeWitt-Piatt Bi-County Board of Health.
Deanna Cada
Treasurer
Deanna Cada is a purposeful professional and servant leader with over two decades of experience in the community, mental health, and family resources industries. Deanna’s purpose
and passion in her work are to support and develop communities through understanding behavioral healthcare. Currently, Deanna is serving this purpose as the Executive Director of the DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board in DeKalb, Illinois, where she has been since 2015. She also works as an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University in Sociology and Nonprofit & Nongovernmental Organizations, where she is also an alumnus, earning her B.S. in Sociology/Criminology and M.S. in Human and Family Resources. A fierce advocate for the underprivileged, she has served on numerous community Boards of Directors, including the DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership, the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council, the DeKalb County Juvenile Justice Council, and Safe Passage of DeKalb County. In addition, Deanna has earned numerous honors, including the Illinois Governor’s Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service and the Community Crisis Center Partner in Peace Award. Deanna has presented nationally at the CIT International Conference and numerous local and state professional workshops.
Shandra Summerville
Children’s Behavioral Health Committee Chair
Shandra Summerville serves as the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Coordinator for the Champaign County Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Boards. She monitors and provides training and technical assistance for programs funded by the Champaign County Mental Health Board and Developmental Disabilities Board in the area of cultural and linguistic competence.
Shandra earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Drama with an emphasis in Mass Communications and Public Relations from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff Arkansas. In addition, she has completed graduate coursework in Speech Pathology and Counseling.
Shandra has been fortunate to have great experiential learning opportunities through volunteer employment experience in the following areas; Adult Day Center Operations; Children’s Behavioral Health; Discipline and Behavior Modification, Community Engagement, Christian Education and Outreach; Substance Use Prevention, Strategic Planning, National Advocacy, Conference Planning, Conflict Resolution and Mediation; Therapeutic Residential Care; Rape Advocacy and Counseling Education, Group Facilitation, Event Planning, and Public Relations; and Volunteer Coordination and Management.
Shandra is an alumnus of the 2010 Georgetown Leadership Academy to Address Disparities in Mental Health. She specializes in cultural diversity training and development for not for profit agencies and organizations that want to expand their capacity to reach diverse populations. In addition, she provides instruction for positive youth development and Mental Health First Aid.
Shandra was part of the Champaign County System of Care focusing on Children’s Behavioral Health. Shandra serves as a member of the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation Health Equity and Social Justice Committee.
Kim Bowdry
Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Committee Chair
Kim Bowdry is the Associate Director for I/DD of the Champaign County Mental Health Board and the Board for the Care and Treatment of Persons with a Developmental Disability. She received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Illinois State University. Kim started her career in the DD field as a DSP at a Champaign County provider agency. She then became a QIDP/Case Manager before becoming an Independent Service Coordinator. Kim was an ISC for 8 years before becoming the ISC Program Manager. In 2017, Kim became the Associate Director for I/DD for the Champaign County Mental Health Board and the Board for the Care and Treatment of Persons with a Developmental Disability. Kim is a member of the Champaign County Transition Planning Committee, the DisABILITY Resource Expo Steering, Marketing, and Children’s Activities Committees, the Champaign County Community Coalition Race Relations Subcommittee, and the Champaign County LIC Committee. She is also a member of the NACBHDD I/DD Committee.
Cheryl Potts
Legislative Committee Co-Chair
Cheryl Potts is the executive director of Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township where she oversees the funding of mental health and substance use providers. She has worked in the field of human services for nearly 25 years, beginning in HIV care and housing for the vulnerable and more recently promoting access to care for people living with mental health and substance use disorders. She has dedicated her professional life, and much of her personal life, to being a champion for those who are marginalized in the community. Before the Community Mental Health Board, Cheryl served as the executive director of AMITA Alexian Brothers Housing and Health Alliance, was the executive director of The Kennedy Forum, and participated in numerous local and national committees aimed at eliminating social disparities of health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from DePaul University and a Masters’ of Business Administration from North Park University. She is also a person living with a mental health disorder.
Lynn Canfield
Immediate Past President Legislative Committee Co-Chair
Lynn Canfield is a UIUC alum with a BS in Math and MA in Linguistics, thesis on Cultural Competence. In 2009 Ms. Canfield joined the Champaign County Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Boards as Associate Director for I/DD and in September 2016 became Executive Director. She is active in state and national trade associations, currently chairing NACBHDD’s Behavioral Health and Justice Committee and serving on its board of officers. She participates in NACO’s Healthy Counties Advisory Board, Health Policy Steering Committee, Data Driven Justice Initiative, Familiar Faces Initiative, and Stepping Up Initiative. She also serves on the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority’s SCIP Advisory Committee.
Quinette Hobson-Robb
Medicaid Committee Chair
Quinette Hobson-Robb serves as the Executive Director of the Schaumburg Township Mental Health Board. Quinette earned her Bachelor and Master of Social Work degrees from Aurora University and is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) in Illinois. Quinette began her career in community-based nonprofits, offering case management and peer support to veterans. She has also provided outpatient therapy at a CMHC. Spending time in nonprofit grant offices and developing grant funded programs gave her an appreciation for the macro side of community based mental health care. With that, Quinette made a move to a compliance role at a 708 board where she focused on breaking down power dynamics and building trust with providers.
Quinette is also a veteran, a mom, a wife, and most importantly a human first. Combining years of lived experience with her professional background, Quinette sees the system from all angles. She is deeply passionate about creating access to care, finding innovative solutions to barriers, and improving collaboration amongst community systems.
Amy Hopper
Membership Committee Co-Chair
Amy Hopper, MA, CADC, is the Behavioral Health Program Manager at the McLean County Health Department in Bloomington, IL. Amy has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice, a Master of Art’s degree in Human Services with a concentration on Social Service Administration, and has a Certified Alcohol and other Drug Counselor (CADC) Certificate. Professional work experience includes over 14 years of clinical practice and providing supervision in the substance abuse field (2005-2018), mainly in a woman’s correctional setting, and almost five years of macro-level work with a focus on behavioral health and developmental disabilities in the public health field(2018 to present).
Dalila Alegria
Membership Committee Co-Chair
A lifelong Aurora resident, Dalila Alegria has been an active volunteer and board member for a number of civic, cultural and local organizations. She holds a B.S. degree in Organizational Management from Northern Illinois University, and an M.B.A in Human Resource Management from Aurora University. Dalila has been with INC Board since 2016. In early 2019, she was named the organization’s fourth Executive Director. She has coordinated a number of significant operational, financial, and technological enhancements across the organization.
Ms. Dart has over seventeen years’ experience in non-profit association management. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of Prescription Justice, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the crisis of high prescription drug costs. Prior to her tenure with Prescription Justice, Ms. Dart was the Associate Executive Director for the Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA), an 8,000-member organization dedicated exclusively to protecting the public’s health. Ms. Dart received her Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Health Services Administration degrees from the University of Illinois.