Why We NAMI - A Mental Health Podcast

John Schwab (he/him) was born and raised 30 miles outside of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and has lived in Aberdeen since 2019. John is currently earning his BFA in Digital Media/Graphic Design and Minoring in Marketing at Northern State University, and has two adorable animal children: Fuzzball (a cat), and Evelyn (a cinnamon conure). John has volunteered at the Aberdeen Community Theatre for 12 years and acted at Storybook Land Theatre since he was 11. He has done marketing and social media managing for the South Dakota Film Festival and has also worked on multiple short films throughout the years in the area. John strives to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, recognition, and mental health awareness in the Aberdeen area - and with his current transition into the Director's spot of Aberdeen Area Pride, he is excited to make this vision happen.

Nancy Wehrkamp is the Director of Programming at Active Generations. She has spent most of her career in education. Before Active Generations, she was the director at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for 7 years. She was also an education consultant at Avera McKennan, and a school counselor at Our Savior's Lutheran Church.Nancy is married with 3 adult children and 1 grandchild.

Denise Houchin started her journey to health almost 40 years ago, due to her oldest child having many health challenges. In 2010, after transitioning to a Whole Food Plant-Based way of eating, learning to de-stress, and incorporating gentle exercise, she was able to overcome and reverse many health issues, including: high blood pressure, obesity, anxiety and depression, insomnia, high cholesterol and pre-diabetes.As a Plant Based Chef, Nutrition Educator, Licensed Food for Life Instructor and former Plant-based Restaurant owner, Denise has taught cooking and nutrition classes in a variety of settings.  She loves sharing her knowledge of nutrition and allowing others to see how fabulous plant-based foods can taste.Denise is also a Hallelujah Health Minister, and Certified in Plant-Based Nutrition from the Center for Nutrition Studies at eCornell University.

Kira Kimball is Marsh McLennan’s Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer. Kira provides strategic and tactical leadership to advance efforts to attract and celebrate diverse perspectives while promoting and protecting a level playing field for all colleagues. Kira has her MSEd in counseling & human development with an emphasis in college students, an MA in English -- both from Purdue University and a BA in English -- from Minnesota State University MoorheadPrior to becoming Chief DE&I Officer in 2021, Kira was Chief Innovation Officer of Marsh McLennan in Sioux Falls. In this role, she used her talents to create an unfair competitive advantage for the team through collaborative business & community relationships that support revenue growth, client retention & talent recruitment with a message of expertise, commitment to our community and values of integrity & passion for what we do and who we do it with. Kira is also a part of the Pathways to Inclusive and Equitable Workplaces Community Coalition.

Megan Howard currently leads Baird’s financial planning, estate and tax planning services. She is a graduate from SDSU and a certified financial planner. She shares value to her clients and community by being an educator, resource, and colleague.Previous to Baird, she spent years in the banking and cosmetology industries.  While completing her bachelor's degree in entrepreneurial studies, she transitioned into banking and finance.  Growing up with two hard working entrepreneur parents and has been instilled with hard work and a relationship-based mentality.Being an oldest child of two successful Army officers she grew up with certain traits that help her and her business grow and succeed. When Megan is not working she is a fan of the outdoors riding her motorcycle and hiking in the Black Hills.

Cindy Kirschman currently works as the transitions liaison for the Transition Services Liaison Project under the Black Hills Special Service Coop, and is a volunteer and affiliate leader for NAMI Aberdeen. She is trained as a Basics teacher, Ending the Silence presenter, and Family Support Group Facilitator. She is an advocate for mental health and our friend!

Jan Small is a retired educator, parent and grandparent. She currently lives in Watertown with her husband John. 

Matthew Stanley serves as the Vice President of the Behavioral Health Clinical Service Line and as the Medical Director of the Avera McKennan Behavioral Health Center and the Avera Addiction Care Center, Sioux Falls, SD, and the Avera Marshall Behavioral Health Center, Marshall, MN.  He received his doctorate in osteopathic medicine from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, Des Moines, IA.  Dr. Stanley completed his residency at Western Missouri Mental Health Center, Kansas City, MO, and at the University of South Dakota in General Psychiatry. He has more than 20 years of experience as a psychiatrist at Avera and is Board Certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventative Medicine. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. 

Sheri Nelson has over 20 years of experience working with individuals and families who have experienced mental health challenges.  Sheri holds a bachelor’s in psychology and Addiction Studies and a masters in Addiction Studies from the University of South Dakota.  As an addiction counselor Sheri worked with at risk youth and their families.She went on to be the Director of a specialized program in which she treated both adult women and adolescent females who were pregnant, parenting, and struggled with addiction and mental health issues. Through her 20+ years of experience she also worked with clients who struggled with suicidal ideation and families who have lost loved ones to suicide. Prior to her new role as the Executive Director of NAMI SD, Sheri filled the role as Suicide Prevention Director at the Helpline Center for the past 5 years.  As the Executive Director of NAMI SD, Sheri brings over 10 years of professional experience in the nonprofit sector in which she was in leadership roles.

As a certified nurse practitioner (CNP), Brenda Johnson is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as an Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. This certification allows Brenda to diagnose and treat mental illnesses with medication and/or psychotherapy.Her practice provides a nursing philosophy emphasis, shared decision making, and collaboration with other health practitioners. Brenda is licensed by the South Dakota Board of Nursing and the South Dakota Board of Medical & Osteopathic Examiners. Her 30 plus years of nursing experience also gives her a special ability in treating mental issues that co-occur with other medical conditions or end of life issues.Mental health issues impact chronic disease management in diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, alchoholism, heart disease, etc. She also works to dispel mental illness myths by encouraging early identification and treatment of mental illness.

Trivia Afraid of Lightning-Craddock is Mnicoujou Lakota an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, she graduated in 2016 with her master’s in Leadership and Management from Oglala Lakota College. While attending Oglala Lakota College, Trivia volunteered as a community advocate as well as a working as a Uplifting Parent Mentor for Catholic Social Services. Trivia was able to use her training and life experiences helping native and non native single parents achieve their higher education academic goals while receiving mentorship and support.Trivia has been a community advocate in the area of Lakota language preservation, suicide prevention, and mentor.  In 2021 Trivia volunteered as a Connecting With Our Youth -Community Response Team Volunteer and now is currently the Program Manager of the Connecting With Our Youth suicide prevention intervention Program at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board.

During his 35 years with the Sioux Falls Stockyards and the Olson-Frankman Commission, and his many years broadcasting the daily markets on KELO-TV, Jim Woster has touched the lives of nearly every agriculture producer in South Dakota. As a dedicated member of the South Dakota Cattleman’s Association, Jim was awarded the Agri-Businessman of the Year (2000) and the Agriculturalist of the Year (2001) and inducted into the SD Hall of Fame in 2001. He has also donated countless hours to Avera Hospital, the South Dakota University Foundation, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.Jim has stated that, “ there is nothing in the world like opening weekend of pheasant hunting in Lyman County with family and friends. I have been one of the luckiest people in the country to be able to work in the same field that somewhat matches the talents that God gave me”. Jim was born to Henry (Hank) and Marie Woster in Chamberlain, SD. He attended grade school in Reliance and high school in Chamberlain. In 1962, he graduated from South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science. He married Penny Jorgenson and the couple had three children: Jim Jr., Sara, and Michelle. Jim and his wife Penny reside in Sioux Falls, SD.

Maggie Kadrlik graduated from Augustana University in 2019 with a bachelors in psychology and sociology. While at Augie, Maggie played softball for 5 years where she was a part of the team who won the national championship in 2019. After Augie, Maggie went on to work at Avera Behavioral Health as a behavioral health technician for two years. Maggie is back at Augustana University, not only working as the strength and conditioning graduate assistant but also getting her masters in sports administration and leadership. She is currently working on her thesis studying the impact of mental health awareness for athletes. Maggie plans to get her doctorate in sports psychology after graduation. Maggie has a passion for mental health and sports and wants to help others. Maggie enjoys traveling, dogs and is currently  training for a strongman competition.

Dr. Mo, (Melissa Dittberner), PhD, CPS, LMT, is a lecturer in the Addiction Counseling and Prevention department at the University of South Dakota. She has a Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychology in Education, a master’s in Addiction Studies and a bachelor’s in Health Sciences. Dr. Mo is a prevention specialist. She does research on college students’ substance use, pedagogy, addiction and harm reduction. Dr. Mo has worked on grants surrounding substance use disorders, harm reduction, continuing education, telehealth, recovery support, tattoos and much more.She speaks publicly on adaptability, resiliency, and sustainability, screening, prevention, harm reduction, motivation as well as her own lived experience story. Dr. Mo is a person in long-term recovery from trauma, abuse and addiction. Dr. Mo’s Mission: to help people learn to help themselves.

Natasha Petry, PharmD, MPH, BCACP, is an Associate Professor of Practice at North Dakota State University (NDSU), and a Pharmacogenomics Clinical Pharmacist at Sanford Health Imagenetics, both in Fargo, ND. She also serves as the Residency Program Director for Sanford Health Imagenetics’ Post-graduate Year 2 Clinical Pharmacogenomics Residency program. She completed a B.S. in Microbiology, Pharm.D., and MPH all from NDSU in Fargo. Dr. Petry completed a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency at Trinity Health in Minot, ND.Dr. Petry's practice and research interests include the implementation of pharmacogenomics (PGx), the use of pre-emptive genetic tests as population screening tools, and PGx educational and training initiatives. She is licensed to practice pharmacy in ND, MN, WI and IN and is a board certified ambulatory care pharmacist. She has been working in the area of pharmacogenomics since 2014.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and cheering on her favorite sports teams.

Tim Neyhart has a B.S. in Secondary Education. He has been an active member of a number of disability policy work groups concerning special education, mental health, vocational rehabilitation, and other related topics. He is the past chair of the Service to the Blind and Visually Impaired Rehabilitation Advisory Council, past member of the Division of the Vocational Rehabilitation Advisory Council, etc. In 1998, Tim was identified as the Governor’s Advisory Council Distinguished Service Award.Tim began his career with DRSD on January 1, 1990. He is now the Executive Director. He says that he likes helping people to identify the things that are important to them and assisting them to achieve those things.

Lance Johnson is from Webster, SD, graduated from Webster High School and raised on a farm Northwest of Webster – grain and beef. Lance graduated from South Dakota State University with a Major in Dairy Manufacturing. Lance has been in the dairy industry for 36 years and working at Valley Queen Cheese Factory in Milbank, SD for 26 years doing primarily production and engineering. Lance is married to his wife Dine (pronounced Deena), has 4 kids – ages range 19 to 31 years old.

Cara Hetland has 33 years in public radio as a reporter, producer and News Director and manager.  Over the years she has told many stories about South Dakota. Hetland also teaches media writing and law at the University of Sioux Falls and enjoys working with interns to develop their own style of storytelling. She lives in Sioux Falls with her husband, Daren and three daughters.

Laurie Knutson has been in the Sioux Falls community for over 30 years, serving the non-profit world in a variety of leadership capacities.  She has been a board member to organizations like Avera McKennan, The Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, and her church, as well as many social organizations like Kiwanis and the President’s Bowl.  After serving as the CEO of EmBe for 11 years, she now has her own business called The Interim CEO which allows her to use her leadership skills and knowledge within a variety of organizations.  In that sense, she is currently serving at the Interim Executive Director of the Multi-Cultural Center of Sioux Falls.

Frank Kloucek graduated in 1974 from Scotland High School and 1978 as an SDSU graduate where he double majored in animal science and general agriculture. His wife Joanie is a dietary manager at a local hospital, and he has four adult children: Jennifer, Michelle, Kimberlee, Jared, and seven grandchildren. Frank ran the family farm in Bon Homme County, and was a State Senator for 16 years and State Representative for 6 years for District 19.