Marilyn Mongeon Quill brings more than 20 years of experience as a professional communicator, specializing in employee communications and consumer and community relations in the public sector.

Her corporate research projects include working with multi-constituency research groups to explore complex consumer communications issues, consumer board development, organizational change and the dynamic change in an employee communication newsletter with an organization serving more than 8,000 consumers. Marilyn has also played an integral part in issues management, training programs and advocacy campaigns.

She is a mentor in volunteer program development, leadership and reengineering, holds a certificate in volunteer administration and is a past-president and emerita board member of the Forum for Volunteer Administrators. She also served on a state-wide task force on volunteerism and personally coordinated the Greater Cleveland Area survey.

In 2006, Marilyn earned a Master of Science in Communications Management from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She is a cum laude graduate of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University, with a major in public relations and a minor in business management.

An accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, Marilyn is also a member of PRSA’s Health Academy, an organizational rep to the Mental Health Advocacy Coalition, a director of the PTCU Foundation and serves on the Joint Citizens Advisory Board for a state of Ohio correctional consortium. Her 2006 graduate capstone-research project, “Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness: Using Public Relations as a Catalyst Toward Success,” won a Cleveland Rocks Gold Award in Research from the Greater Cleveland Chapter, PRSA.

A native New Englander, with the exception of a two-year adventure in Saudi Arabia, she has resided in Northeast Ohio since 1970.

Marilyn’s drive in founding Passion for Change is a direct result of her Newhouse School research project on stigma. She originally chose stigma as a focus because of an apparent family predisposition for mental illness over several generations. Once into the research literature, she became passionate in her quest for answers, analyzing more than 150 professional research articles and incorporating the findings into an award-winning 233-page research document.

 

Maria Ucchino is Manager of Marketing Operations for SRC, formerly known as Syracuse Research Corporation, a nationally recognized, independent, not-for-profit research company. In her role, she provides strategic and tactical marketing support to SRC’s Business Development team.

Prior to joining SRC in 2008, she held positions with Carrier Corporation, most recently as the Regional Marketing Manager for Carrier Northeast, a wholly-owned distributor of Carrier heating and cooling products. In 1999, Maria was named a winner of the 40-Under-40 Award, recognizing her positive impact on her respective business and on the community as a whole.

Maria earned a Bachelor of Arts in English/Communications from Le Moyne College and a Certificate in Marketing and Sales from Syracuse University. In 2005, she completed her MBA through the University of Phoenix.

In addition to Passion for Change, Maria is past-president of Central New York Sales and Marketing Executives and has served on many other community boards. She is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Greater Syracuse, a non-profit organization that trains individuals to become leaders in the Greater Syracuse community. The leadership program not only teaches class members about the assets and problems of the Syracuse community, but also about group behavior, transforming communities and power.

 

Kathy Levine holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pace University, New York City, with majors in marketing and education. She is certified as a paralegal by the National Center for Paralegal Training, Atlanta, Ga., and is certified in volunteer administration by the Association for Volunteer Administration (AVA).

Kathy was also vice-president of AVA’s board of directors and a member of its ethics and board-development committees. She has been published in AVA's Journal of Volunteer Administration and has written numerous articles for volunteer management newsletters and other publications. 

Kathy has taught a certificate course in advanced volunteer management at Kent State University. A past-president of the Forum for Volunteer Administrators, she created FVA's Mentor Match program and also its successful Essentials in Volunteer Management course.

Through her company, Management Systems by Design, Inc., Kathy conducts workshops on volunteerism and volunteer management and consults to not-for-profit and corporate organizations. She creates and manages special events for organizations seeking to increase their revenue, stakeholders and supporters.

In 2006, Kathy created the city of Cleveland's first community-wide volunteer recognition event — involving not-for-profit organizations in the University Circle and North Coast Harbor areas. In 2007, she successfully planned a fun-filled, second-annual event, which expanded to include not-for-profit organizations from both Cleveland’s East and West sides.

  

Danielle Hupp is the program manager with Habitat for Humanity of Summit County. She plays a major role in public relations, event planning and volunteer coordination and works closely with the organization’s partner families.

Prior to working with Habitat for Humanity, Danielle was a communications coordinator with the National Inventors Hall of Fame® Foundation, Inc.       

Danielle holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and a Master of Science in Public Administration, with a focus on non-profit management, both from Kent State University.

She is also a member of the Akron Chapter, Public Relations Society of America, the North Central Ohio Chapter, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Directors of Volunteers in Agencies, and active with the Center for Non-Profit Excellence, as well as, multiple young professional groups.

  

Marilyn Casey is a marketing communications and public relations executive who has been practicing in her field for 25 years.

Marilyn’s experience includes advertising agency and public relations firms where she has served clients in industries that include healthcare, hospitality, professional services, consumer, manufacturing and foodservice. Marilyn also has experience working with non-profit agencies and public school education.

A graduate of Queens College - CUNY, she has been a member of boards that include the Greater Cleveland Chapter - Public Relations Society of America, WCPN Public Radio, Kent State University Advisory Board and Historic Warehouse District.

In 2001, Marilyn was the recipient of the PRSA’s Greater Cleveland Chapter Davis Young Mentor of the Year Award.

Linda B. Gross, M.D. is a psychiatrist with a private practice, treating couples and individual children, adolescents and adults. She is also currently affiliated with Signature Health, Inc.

Linda is Board-Certified in Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She earned her B.A. from the University of Michigan, where she was in the Honors College and invited into Phi Beta Kappa. Her medical training began at Case Western Reserve University. She completed her psychiatric residency at Harvard University's Massachusetts Mental Health Center, where she earned the Laughlin Award for professional achievement, dedication and scholarship. She also received a letter of commendation for excellence in her teaching and supervision of Harvard medical students. 

Linda completed a geriatric psychiatry fellowship in a Harvard University National Institute of Mental Health program, a child and adolescent fellowship at Akron Children's Hospital, and has had intensive training in couple therapy at the Cambridge Family Institute.

In addition to private practice, Linda has had a number of part-time clinical positions throughout her career, including, among others, director of anti-stigma initiatives for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, attending psychiatrist in a Harvard teaching hospital, treater of inmates in a women's prison, the doctor on a PACT team, and treater of college and graduate students at several universities.

In addition to membership in psychiatric medical societies, she has been a member of Physician's for Human Rights since 1989.

  

As a staff psychologist for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Tom Kelbley works in multiple environments, including three adult activity centers, various community employment sites and any affiliated residence or residential agency on the near East Side of Cleveland. 

Tom conducts assessments and provides treatment for severe psychological disorders with individuals who have mild-to-profound mental retardation. The psychological treatment involves a wide range of services and may include interventions for mood disorders, treatment of severe behavioral disturbances (e.g., self-injurious behavior), anger management, social-skills training, reducing criminal behavior for folks with mental retardation and consultation with agency staff for environmental or caregiver modifications.

Prior to coming to the CCBDD, Tom worked with a rehabilitation agency in Youngstown, Ohio, and conducted neuropsychological assessments for individuals who had sustained a stroke. 

Tom earned a Master of Arts in Counseling at Wright State University, Dayton, and achieved his doctoral degree in counseling psychology from Indiana University.  He is a member of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, as well as the American Psychological Association.

  

Gretchen Nehring is currently interning at a private practice, Psych and Psych Services, as a counselor intern. She provides both individual and group therapy for adolescents and adults, including anger management and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).

She also works with the Adult Parole Authority (APA), as Psych and Psych offers services to offenders. The APA, local courts and other community agencies refer to this program, which is designed to help offenders take responsibility for their behavior and end the destructive cycle of abuse.

Gretchen has also been working with Professor Justin Perry, assisting with his studies, as a research assistant at Cleveland State University. Her current focus is working with Hispanic high school students, assessing career, education and family goals and examining the education gap with 60 percent of Hispanic students dropping out of high school.

In 2006, Gretchen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Cleveland State University. She has also completed an internship in geriatrics. Currently, she is working on her master’s degree in counseling at CSU, with the goal of earning a doctorate in clinical psychology. Gretchen is a member of the American Counseling Association and Chi SI Counseling Honorary Society. 

  

Julia Hulak Tew is a graduate of North Carolina State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in both Communication and Women’s and Gender Studies.

She currently works as an independent communications consultant, focusing on small-to-medium size businesses. She specializes in brand development and awareness, product launching and online marketing management.

In her personal life, Julia has battled post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Through her experiences with family and friends, she has also seen the often-devastating effects of bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder and substance abuse. She is committed to helping all people, regardless of race, class, sex, gender or condition live safe and healthy lives.

Julia currently lives in High Point, N.C., and loves to read anything and everything she can get her hands on. 

 

Lori Wells is the training coordinator for the Wage & Investment Division of the Department of the Treasury in Cleveland, Ohio. Her position serves as a liaison between management and operations, with duties including planning, coordinating and scheduling all employee and management training.

Lori joined the Department of the Treasury in 2003, holding various positions that have deemed her a “subject matter expert” in federal tax law. Having written and edited course materials, Lori has been a vital part of the implementation and interpretation of tax law.

Her undergraduate studies focused on elementary education, with minors in both Spanish and women’s studies at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio. She has recently added courses in project management and organizational behavior.

In May 2008, Lori was the recipient of the Wings of Excellence Award, presented to a Federal employee for outstanding service by the Greater Cleveland Federal Executive Board. This award is presented annually, to commend commitment, dedication and humility in serving our country.

 

Martha Dee Morrison Barber is a 1956 graduate of Ohio University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Therapy. She spent her early professional career working in three state-of-Ohio mental health facilities. Martha began as a music therapist at Athens State Hospital; she then became music and recreational therapy director at the Cleveland Psychiatric Institute and finally director of activities therapies at Hawthornden State Hospital.

Her work in the mental health environment during the mid-20th-century caused Martha to witness some of the earlier–and now controversial–therapies, much of which she found disturbing. Among them were lobotomies, electric shock and water immersion.

In 1963, Martha left the mental health field and became assistant director of the Central Volunteer Bureau, Welfare Federation of Cleveland. In 1975, she became director of field services for Lake Erie Girl Scout Council, Cleveland, and in 1986 she took on the role of manager of Cleveland’s United Way Services Volunteer Center.

From 1993 to 1999, Martha shared her NFP expertise working with two organizations–Lake Metroparks, Kirtland, Ohio, in volunteer coordination, and R.S.V.P. of Cleveland, as training project director.

After retiring, Martha continued as an emerita board member of the Forum for Volunteer Administrators, Cleveland, and a board director of Passion for Change. She also continued actively mentoring volunteer administrators and others in the not-for-profit arena.  After an extended illness, she passed on March 4, 2009.  As a mentor, friend and colleague, she is dearly missed.