ALASKA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
- Board Member / University of Alaska Anchorage
Anne Wells supports the Fairbanks Cohen Clinic as a Senior Clinician and provides evidence-based care for service members, veterans, and their families. She specializes in the treatment of trauma and insomnia, utilizing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in addition to somatic approaches such as mindfulness. She has also been trained in Motivational Interviewing (MI), CBT for Depression, CBT for Insomnia, and Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM). She has supervised numerous interns and provisionally licensed clinicians just starting out in the field.
Prior to joining the team, Anne served as the Director of Psychological Health for the Air National Guard for the 168 th Wing at Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station. She also worked for the Veterans Health Administration in North Carolina for over a decade in outpatient mental health, inpatient psychiatry, primary care, caregiver support, homeless case management, and opened up a private practice because she enjoyed this work so much. She has spent her entire career working primarily with active duty, veterans, and military families and is excited to continue her service to this population with the Cohen Clinic.
In her spare time she enjoys fishing, hiking, paddleboarding, going on long road trips, and exploring this great state. She graduated with her undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. She received her Masters Degree in Social Work from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. She is a licensed clinical social worker and licensed clinical addictions specialist.
Ashley White, MS Forensic Psych, was born and (mostly) raised in South Dakota between Ellsworth Air Force Base and family farms and ranches. She married her high school sweetheart in 2013 when he joined the military and has since been moving between bases in Alaska and Texas with him. She has had a passion for military families and ensuring they have advocacy, mental health services, and social services her whole life. Growing up, she experienced her father and family friends returning from combat and struggling mentally and has experienced the difficulties of military life from both the child and adult perspective, increasing her passion as time goes on.
Ashley earned her Associate and Bachelor degrees in Human Services from the University of Alaska Anchorage and then received her Master of Science in Forensic Psychology from Arizona State University. She has worked within the military community with organizations such as Armed Services YMCA and USAA. She has also worked in forensics before switching gears back to her passion for the military and their families. In her role, Ashley is responsible for conducting referral screenings and providing a smooth and empathic intake experience for incoming clients.
Ashley can be found outside of work listening to podcasts (and has even guest hosted on one that reaches millions), reading, watching movies, or spending time with her husband and pets.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
- President Elect / VP & Operating Group Manager, GCI
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Fellow at the Cohen Clinic
Brittany Chadwick is a Fellow at the Cohen Clinic at Alaska Behavioral Health. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from Northwestern State University, and she obtained her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Louisiana State University and is currently working towards her clinical licensure.
Originally from Chicago, Brittany has spent the last seven years moving across the United States with her military spouse. She is excited to be in Alaska and hopes this will be the final destination on their PCS journey. In her free time, Brittany and her family enjoy traveling and exploring the Last Frontier.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
- Board Member / Retired from Alyeska Pipeline
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Capital Management
Cheryl Mounts, PHR, SHRM-CP has been with Alaska Behavioral Health since 1994 and has grown in her responsibilities as the organization grew. She attended the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University before graduating from Brigham Young University - Idaho. She received her Professional in Human Resources certification in 1998 and SHRM-Certified Professional in 2015. She has lived in Anchorage most of her life and loves its natural beauty and wildlife. Although not fond of flying, Cheryl loves to travel with Europe a future destination! Cheryl truly believes our staff are our most valuable asset, and her goal is to ensure their needs are met so they can continue to devote their time to our clients.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
- Immediate past President / General Communications, Inc.
Job Titles:
- Chief Medical Officer
- Certified Psychiatrist
Dr. Wengel is a board certified psychiatrist and is excited about working as part of a team that includes therapy and wrap-around services to fully meet the mental health needs of our clients. Dr. Wengel comes to us from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He and his family are excited to live in a place with snow!.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
- Board Member / University of Alaska Anchorage, Department of Biological Sciences
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
- Treasurer / Hillcorp LLC
Job Titles:
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Jason Martin, PHMNP, has Masters of Science in Nursing and is board certified in adult psychiatry and mental health. He treats an array of patients with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), depression, anxiety, ADHD/ADD, Obsessive Compulsive disorders, and addictions through the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic and our Anchorage outpatient clinic. Jason utilizes Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment therapies along with medication management, taking a holistic and personalized approach to care. He spent 30 years in the military, and has been providing mental health care for 10 years.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Jessica has worked at Alaska Behavioral Health since 2014, first as Executive Coordinator before moving into Community Relations & Communications. She previously worked for almost 20 years as a public radio reporter and producer in Anchorage, which gave her the opportunity to learn a lot about Alaska and gain an appreciation for the role of mental health in many issues affecting Alaskans. When not at work, she enjoys hiking, skiing, ice skating and generally being outside with her family.
Jim joined Alaska Behavioral Health as CEO in January 2018. Since joining ACMHS, Jim has focused on re-vamping the employee salary schedule, developing an incentive pay program for all staff, and expanding access to services across the company. Prior to joining ACMHS, Jim was the Executive Director of the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children's Hospital of Colorado in Aurora, CO. As the first director, he led the creation of a strategic plan that resulted in significant expansion of mental health services. Before joining Children's Colorado, Jim was the Business Director for PsychoSocial Services at Seattle Children's Hospital. While there Jim led the creation of the Seattle Children's Autism Center as well as the Partnership Access Line, a Child Psychiatry consultation program for primary care providers serving the States of Washington and Wyoming, and now Alaska as PAL-PAK. Jim has an BAB in Decision Sciences from Eastern Washington University, an MBA from Indiana University and over 20 years of healthcare leadership experience. Before starting a career in healthcare, Jim served in the U.S Army as a Signal Intelligence Analyst at Field Station Kunia.
Joshua Arvidson, MSS., LCSW Chief Operations Officer Joshua is an expert in trauma-informed care for children, and established the Alaska Child Trauma Center at Alaska Behavioral Health. He serves on the Steering Committee for SAMHSA's National Child Traumatic Stress Network and is the Principal Investigator for the Military Family Child Trauma Program. He's also on the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and has presented at over 100 conferences on childhood trauma, including the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Joshua serves on the Board of Directors for FOCUS and has designed and taught courses on clinical practice with children and adolescents and childhood trauma for the University of Alaska Anchorage. Joshua has published in the journals, Child Welfare 360, Child Maltreatment, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and Trauma, Abuse and Violence. He's been recognized by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce as one of Alaska's "Top 40 Under 40" and has received a Business Achievement Award for Healthcare from the Anchorage Daily News. Read Bio
Originally from New Mexico, Kelsea joined the United States Army and served for four and a half years before being Honorably Discharged in order to pursue a calling in the healthcare industry. Upon completion of a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management, Kelsea joined Mountain Family Health Centers as their Controller in 2017. In 2018, Kelsea joined Memorial Regional Health in Craig, Colorado as their Chief Financial Officer and graduated with her MBA in Finance. Kelsea comes to us from White Mountain Regional Medical Center in Arizona where she was their Chief Financial Officer. Kelsea is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Business Administration.
In her role, Kristen is responsible for conducting referral screenings and facilitating a smooth and welcoming intake experience for our future clients. Her passion for helping the military community comes not only from her personal experiences as a military spouse but as a family member of a long line of service members who proudly served in the Air Force, Navy, and Marines.
Kristen earned her Bachelor's in Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma. She completed her Master's in Social Work from the University of Alaska Anchorage. While completing her degree, Kristen worked closely with military-focused community agencies, including the State Office of Veteran Affairs. Since working for the Cohen Clinic, Kristen has obtained Clinical Licensure and is actively seeking new learning opportunities to expand her Clinical skill set. In her free time, she and her husband enjoy traveling, hiking with their dogs, and spending time with their twin boys.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator
- Executive
- AKBH As the Executive Coordinator
Ksenia joined AKBH as the Executive Coordinator in 2020. In her role, she provides executive support for a wide range of complex high-level administrative duties. She also serves as the liaison to the Board of Directors and works closely with other members of the Senior Leadership team to facilitate communication and sharing of best practices. Ksenia also coordinates and oversees projects and initiatives assigned by the CEO. Ksenia is solely responsible for developing the organization-wide intranet (myAKBH) using Microsoft 365 applications like SharePoint. She has also coordinated the establishment of the AKBH Master Calendar. Among many other projects, Ksenia is responsible for developing the Policy Portal and Policy Lifecycle revamp, restructuring of corporate records, and corporate event planning (Employee Appreciation Party, Strategic Planning and Leadership team retreats, Board Meetings). Ksenia holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (with a Chemistry and Health Sciences Minor) from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Initially, she pursued medical school, but she changed her career path due to personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Passionate about evolving organizations and implementing innovative solutions, she thrives most when she can create problem-solving strategies to enhance resilience, adaptability, and operational efficiency. Ksenia also holds various certifications in corporate governance, knowledge management, DevOps, and other business processes. Her expertise extends to cutting-edge technical solutions, earning her recognition in the Microsoft365 community (she was ranked 5th on Leaderboard at the 2023 Microsoft365 Conference). She is nothing but dedicated to moving AKBH to the forefront of technological advancements in knowledge management and employee collaboration. When not working on a new project, Ksenia likes to sew, knit, paint, spend time with her husky named Freud, write music, play video games, read, and learn new skills.
Job Titles:
- Clinic Director
- Director at the Cohen Clinic
MaryBeth Goodman is the Clinic Director at the Cohen Clinic at Alaska Behavioral Health, a role she took on in January 2020. Previously, she was a Clinical Director and Therapist working with military families and veterans her entire clinical career. She is responsible for providing oversight and inspiration to her entire dedicated staff of clinicians, caregivers and warriors. Other responsibilities include developing and monitoring measurable goals for staff, providing oversight of clinical cases, assuring quality of care and maintaining strong relationships with staff, clients, and external referral sources.
MaryBeth has a background in administrative and clinical leadership and has worked collaboratively with others to achieve program goals in previous employment. She is dedicated to the Cohen Veterans Network philosophical approach and to supporting the clinical team in her role as clinic director. Her passion for direct work with veterans and military families over the years enhances her ability to be connected to the needs of clients and families and to the staff. She has over 20 years of experience as a clinician working directly with active duty military, veterans, and military family members. She is certified and/or trained in CBT, CPT, EMDR, and PE. MaryBeth received her undergraduate degrees in mathematics, physics, philosophy, and education from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. She continued her graduate studies in counseling and psychology at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, VA. MaryBeth has been fortunate to have worked to help individuals who struggled with PTSD, trauma, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, divorce, addiction, and sensory integration issues. She works with adults, children and families.
MaryBeth has worked in the mental health arena for 24 years and has yet to find a corner where hope does not exist. Her message to you is simple, "Be proud of the decision you made to seek treatment and to be proud of the courage it took to desire change. You are AWESOME. I look forward to meeting you."
Pamela Kennedy has worked at Alaska Behavioral Health (AKBH) for 16 years in various positions from providing direct clinical care to process improvement. She is passionate about the work she does to improve the care, quality of services and client experiences at AKBH. She leads the Organizational accreditation process with Council On Accreditation as well as actively works to improve processes that elevate the delivery of quality service at AKBH. Pamela is the HIPAA Privacy Officer for AKBH and is Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC) through HCCA. She is a Licensed Clinician (LPC) in the State of Alaska, Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) as well as an approved supervisor for those seeking licensure as an LPC. She has been providing supervision for LPC licensure for 8 years. Her clinical focus is on providing person centered, goal directed, trauma informed behavioral health interventions using cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectal behavioral therapy techniques, and sensory integration techniques.
Samantha Dellinger received her BA in 1998 at Gettysburg College, majoring in Psychology. She then received her Psy.D. in 2003 at Nova Southeastern University. Finding school too expensive, Samantha applied for the Health Professions Scholarship and received it with the United States Army. She served 4 years on Active Duty in the Army. Following a medical discharge, Samantha decided to treat Veterans and worked at the Fort Lauderdale Vet Center from 2006-2022. When she and her husband decided to move the family to Alaska, she started her current position at the Cohen Clinic on 03 JAN 2023. She is licensed in both Florida and Alaska.
Samantha reads daily. She also enjoys taking walks, hiking, watching the Northern Lights and taking in other beautiful sights in Alaska.
Shannon has made Alaska home for over 38 years, after the Air Force brought her family to Eielson AFB. Shannon married her husband and raised two wonderful children, who now both serve in the Air National Guard alongside their father and Aunt. The military connection can be seen at least 6 generations of various branches.
It is with this strong sense of military family connection that Shannon has worked or volunteered for her military community the last 15 years. Joining the Cohen Clinic team feels very full circle for her as she is responsible for establishing and nurturing relationships between the Cohen Clinic and the military communities. It is her honor to serve others who call Alaska home.
She loves Alaska and all that it brings, especially exploring all the many places and sights this State offers. Shannon is an avid cook and loves singing, listening to music and watching College Football with her husband. Her home is her favorite hobby.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Officers and
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Officers and
Job Titles:
- Senior Member of the Clinical Team at the Anchorage Cohen Clinic
In her role, Suzette is a Senior Member of the clinical team at the Anchorage Cohen Clinic and champion of targeted, measurement-based care. In addition to providing direct clinical care. She strives to ensure that our clients receive high-quality, client-centered care that adheres to the fidelity of proven evidence-based practices best suited for the military and veteran community. She is a provider of CBT, CBT-I, CPT, EMDR, Compassion Focused Therapy, and enjoys speaking to audiences of wide varieties about building and maintaining mental/behavioral health and well-being, boosting resiliency, building helpful coping strategies, and creating space for Trauma Informed supportive services and interpersonal interactions.
Prior to joining the CVN team, Suzette served the military community of JBER as Outreach Manager, Intervention Specialist and Treatment Manager within the 673 rd MDG, Mental Health Flight, Family Advocacy Program. Before becoming a resident in the great state of Alaska, Suzette worked with veterans and their family members as a Readjustment Counselor at the Alexandria Vet Center, in Alexandria, VA. She attributes becoming a LCSW specializing in military culture from her lived experience as a military spouse and the trials and tribulations that come with accepting that role.
Suzette's clinical passion is rooted in the bio-psycho-social impact of trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Informed Care. When she is not guiding others to develop healthy coping skills, she practices mental and physical self-care on the rugby pitch as a player with Anchortown Women's Rugby Club and member of the Alaska Rugby Union. She can also be found hiking and biking year-round with her neurotic dog and enjoying all that Alaska has to offer with her two children.
Taylor Waldner was born and raised in Austin, Texas and earned her degree in Communication Studies from Texas State University. In her role, Taylor is responsible for Outreach efforts and continues to build strong relationships with our incredible community partners across the State of Alaska. Her husband served in the Air Force, father served in the Navy, and brother served in the Coast Guard, along with several uncles who served in the Army and Marines. Her diverse military ties give her a unique perspective when it comes to partnering with all branches of service. She has always been passionate about serving others and is dedicated to reducing the stigma of seeking mental health services.
Taylor spends her free time hiking, camping and skiing alongside her husband and mountain dog.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Officers and
- President / Owner, G2 Diversified Services