JAMHI HEALTH & WELLNESS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Quality Improvement
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, Kennesaw State University Master of Legal Studies, Arizona State University
Alyssa comes to JAMHI having worked in a variety of social services and non-profit fields; including direct care with child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile court, and survivors of domestic violence. More recently, Alyssa has worked in an administrative and leadership role at an agency serving children and families that got her interested in the behind-the-scenes work that allows places like JAMHI to do what they do as well as they can.
While she enjoys direct care, Alyssa's passion is teaching, training and encouraging staff, so she's eager to help JAMHI staff be the best service providers they can be through her role as Director of Quality Improvement.
While her inquisitive nature works well in her chosen field, it also helps her enjoy the outdoors through walking, hiking, kayaking and exploring new places. She loves to be joined on these adventures by her partner, TJ, and rescue doggo Fen. Having been born in Alaska, but raised in Georgia, and then lived in Portland, OR; Alyssa is glad to be in Juneau to foster her deep love for the Pacific Northwest.
Alyssa helps keep us on the path to continued improvement and forward momentum. By helping people know the 'why' behind our work, it helps foster purpose and motivation to do it well. Ultimately, Alyssa says, "I put impact, why, and purpose at the forefront of my work, letting the impact to clients - which is why we are all here - drive the initiatives, strategic direction and goals of JAMHI.
Since 2019, Angel has been providing customer service and scheduling to various JAMHI service lines. She got into the social services field at the age of 20, working for Juneau Youth Services and then State of Alaska Department of Corrections before joining JAMHI.
Raised in Washington state, Angel was experiencing homelessness as a teen and when her father found her on MySpace after 9 years without contact, she was able to move to Alaska where she's been ever since. Angel loves baking and was taught all she knows by her great-grandmother. She doodles, listen to audiobooks, and is goofy and silly to be around. It also doesn't take long around Angel to learn that her world revolves around her dog (a husky).
Angel's history and background in her personal and professional life give her a good understanding of the circumstances and mental health of those around her. An empathetic person by nature, she tries to really listen to people so that she can provide the best service she can. She knows it's challenging to take the effort to get help and a helpful smile can go a long way. She says, "I've always strived to do what I can, and if something is beyond my capabilities I will do what I can to find the next best person who is able to assist."
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Vice - President of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Wellness Coach Supervisor
Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Photography,
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Rock Steady Boxing Coach
Job Titles:
- Case Manager
- Manager at Our Salmon Creek
Charles works as a case manager at our Salmon Creek clinic. He grew up in the farming town of Clayton, Delaware and attended middle and high school one town over in Smyrna. His high school curriculum was largely focused on agriculture and he took courses in botany, mechanics and business management. His previous work experience includes farming, machinery repairs and maintenance, customer service, management, and working as a lab technician at Greens Creek before transitioning into the behavioral health field in 2019. He worked at the Kent Center in Maryland, a non-profit that serves adults with developmental disabilities. As a prerequisite to working with clients at the Kent Center he was trained through the Maryland Board of Nursing in areas including dementia and Alzheimer's, dysphasia and specialized diets, and became a certified medication technician. He also received Mandt training for behavioral health crisis intervention.
Charles moved to Juneau for the second time in 2021 when a friend told him about a job opportunity at REACH. He worked with residential clients with medically advanced conditions and/or behavioral health needs. Charles began work at JAMHI in December of 2022. He was drawn to JAMHI because of its missions as a "one-stop shop to help people." His style in working with clients is to help them stay motivated and to practice radical acceptance. He is often uplifted by what he learns from them and says that there is a mutual feeling of encouragement.
In his free time Charles enjoys four wheeling, fishing, and hiking with dogs. He collects and maintains RC cars and is a member of the Juneau Off Road Association (JORA). He enjoys the scenery and outdoor activities that Juneau has to offer and has traveled up and down the East Coast states and beyond.
Education:
Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences, University of Alaska Southeast
Interests: Motivational interviewing, ADHD, internet safety, substance use, coping skills, nutrition, life skills, adverse childhood experiences, generational trauma, religious trauma and positive-psychology
Christie is a case manager that works with youth and their families at JAMHI Family. She was born and raised in Southeast Alaska and has lived and worked in Juneau for most of her adult life. Christie worked at a primary care physician's office for nine years with clients aged 16 to over 100. It was at the primary care office that she began her journey with the mental health component of healthcare. She noticed that many clients that came in for physical healthcare also had concerns about their mental health. In some cases, they did not realize that their physical conditions may be rooted in mental health. As this link became more and more apparent to Christie, she decided to pursue a bachelor's degree in social sciences while continuing to work at the primary care office. Following the completion of her degree, she continued to take behavioral health courses that focused on an integrated healthcare model. This model appealed to Christie because it focuses on treating the entire person and combines physical, mental and emotional care as well as spiritual well-being.
Dave Branding is Chief Executive Officer and has been with JAMHI in this role for 5 years; serving as an intermittent independent consultant to JAMHI since 2010. During his tenure, the organization's budget and workforce both nearly doubled and the number of people served more than tripled, with a substantially expanded service array provided. Dr. Branding came to JAMHI from South Peninsula Behavioral Health Services in Homer where he served as CEO after holding numerous direct service, executive leadership, consulting and accreditation positions in the health and human service industry for over 40 years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Director of Behavioral Health at Salmon Creek Clinic
- Director of Behavioral Health Services
Emory is the Director of Behavioral Health at Salmon Creek Clinic and holds both a master's degree in counseling psychology and a doctorate degree in business administration. He is currently a Florida licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and was previously an Alaska licensed professional counselor (LPC) from 2009 to 2013. He started his career briefly in private practice then moved on to hospital administration. Before coming to JAMHI he worked as a CEO for a behavioral health organization for two decades and then as a consultant.
Job Titles:
- Member of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- President of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
Job Titles:
- Reception Supervisor at Our Salmon Creek
Megan works as Reception Supervisor at our Salmon Creek location, but can sometimes be spotted at our JAMHI Family office on Jordan Ave as well. She grew up in Vancouver Washington, and spent the last 21 years in Phoenix Arizona. Her previous life includes working as a Therapeutic Massage Therapist in Phoenix Arizona, later moving into Dental Assisting, and landing long term employment with McKesson Specialty Healthcare in Scottsdale Arizona working with New to Market Medication launches and Patient assistance programs. Customer Service, Supervisor and Case Manager roles have kept her working within the Healthcare field. With all the years of experience most important thing is finding your sunshine, the fire inside, which allows you to glow, and share your smile.
Leaving Arizona behind after 21 years, after raising two young capable men to build and live out their own dreams and ideas she boarded a plane to Juneau Alaska for a once in a lifetime adventure helping with Dog Sledding tours on Mendenhall, Herbert, and Norris Glaciers for the summer as well as working with Temsco Helicopters. She found her love for Juneau out paddle boarding Sunshine Cove, and being out in the beautiful wooded areas and viewing the Majestic Mountains on the trails, or maybe having a fire at sunset. After spending the summer here she was determined to stay, and continue to explore and Adventure here in Alaska. Megan's passions include woodworking, paddle boarding, being on the water or out taking photos of all things Beautiful here in Juneau, finding life of outdoors and native culture here most memorizing.
Job Titles:
- Member of the JAMHI Health & Wellness Board of Directors Is Composed of Team
The leadership team generally meets 3 to 4 times every month and is in regular communication together on a daily basis. All meetings are organized around a written agenda with concurrent documentation including specification of action items, responsible parties and timeframes for completion. The leadership team operates on a consensus-based decision making model and completes annual quantified self-assessment of its performance as well qualitative discussion recognizing accomplishments, setting goals and identifying improvement opportunities. An FQHC leadership team focuses on guiding the innovative development of integrated, high quality patient-centered primary care services aligned with JAMHI's mission of helping people live their own best lives.
All JAMHI leadership team members look for opportunities to interact directly with JAMHI staff and are accessible to the people we serve and community stakeholders. This occurs through regular departmental meetings; supervisor team meetings; all-staff meetings and during daily operations; encouraging, coaching, answering questions and implementing projects. All staff are encouraged to engage the leaders in direct conversation and the organization's culture features continuous interdepartmental collaboration built upon mutual responsiveness and respect. Continuously improving a positive, focused organizational culture where everyone has voice and is respected is a priority.
Given that the entirety of JAMHI's policy, service delivery and quality improvement portfolio is targeted toward people from marginalized communities, we recognize the value of diversity throughout our workforce and in project conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation. We engage people from diverse backgrounds to serve on advisory groups that oversee specific initiatives, actively recruit qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds for employment opportunities, and have a track record of supporting a leadership development for diverse professionals. JAMHI is proud to have a staff and Board that represent ethnic and religious minorities, veterans, peers, consumers, and people with lived experience. Further, all JAMHI staff members are required to take annual cultural competency trainings to ensure we serve and represent individuals and communities from marginalized communities to the best of our ability.
Job Titles:
- Recruiting and Benefits Specialist
Though Rachel has been trained in several treatment modalities, the one that she uses most often is MRT. She is interested in women's issues (especially reproductive rights) and therapeutic (wellness) courts. Rachel is an eternal optimist who can find, recognize, and appreciate the smallest amount of progress. She can find something positive in even the most challenging and difficult situations and likes to tap into her funny side which she thinks is important when helping people consider different aspects of decision making.