Board of Directors
The dedicated members of the Mind & Spirit Counseling Center Board of Directors help us further our mission to walk with people through counseling and education to find hope, healing, and a fulfilling life!
For more information on our board of directors, please contact us at [email protected].
Reo Menning
President
Reo Menning is the President & CEO of RINAlliance, a company focused on helping the fuels industry comply with the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. Before taking on this role, she was Executive Vice President of the association, FUELIowa, where she led communications, outreach and branding initiatives. In the past, Menning led the largest solid waste agency in Iowa, as well as having 14 years of experience in federal and state regulatory advocacy related to environmental, health and safety policies for the chemical industry. Reo holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry-Marketing from the University of Northern Iowa, a master’s degree in Environmental Science from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from the University of Iowa. She’s a Certified Association Executive (CAE), and most recently became certified in leadership and life coaching through Grand View University. Reo lives in Clive, IA, with her three teenage daughters.
Sally Wallace
Immediate Past President
Sally Wallace is a Registered Respiratory Therapist with a BS in Genetics and Bio/Chem. She has an MBA with emphasis in finance and planning. Her last position was the Chief Operating Officer of the Iowa Clinic. Before that she was a hospital administrator, a teacher and a practicing clinician. She also worked as a consultant to Des Moines University, helping to guide them into a different medical approach. For the last eight years, Sally’s focus has turned to raising a granddaughter full time, learning the ins and outs of DHS, legal guardianship, and the court system. DMPCC has played a major role in helping Sally find the help, guidance, and support she’s needed to learn how to cope, laugh, and feel safe.
Kendra Simmons
Vice President
Kendra Simmons is a shareholder and attorney, at Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., where she represents employers and practices in the areas of employment advice and litigation. She is often called on to present at seminars and other events and is also on the Board of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute. Kendra received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Spanish from Baker University in Baldwin City, KS in May, 2010. In May, 2013 she received her Juris Doctor from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, KS. Outside of the office, Kendra enjoys living in rural Madison County, biking around central Iowa with her husband, and exploring local restaurants and wineries.
Jane Funk
Treasurer
Jane Funk is the Chief Accounting Officer, Controller and Senior Vice President at West Bank in West Des Moines, Iowa. Prior to joining West Bank in 2014, she spent four years in leadership positions with other financial institutions and 18 years in public accounting with RSMUS LLP. Ms. Funk has extensive knowledge and leadership experience in the financial institution industry and accounting and financial reporting. Active in the community, Jane previously served on the board of Everybody Wins! Iowa for five years and continues as a volunteer/mentor in their elementary school Power Read program. She also serves on the West Bank women’s leadership committee, Women’s Impact Network. Jane and her husband live in Ankeny, IA; they have two adult children. An Iowa native, she is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, is a CPA, and a member of the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Kate Juelfs
Secretary
Kate Juelfs is the Chief Operations Officer / Chief Compliance Officer at Foster Group, a wealth management firm headquartered in Des Moines. Kate works with a variety of leaders within the firm to align the operation with the strategies of the company. Kate splits her time between regulatory compliance and business operations and oversees the Human Capital, Investments and IT function. Kate graduated from Upper Iowa University with a degree in Financial Management. In her free time Kate enjoys spending time with her family, freshwater fishing and reading.
Aura Baquero Cassab
Board Member
Aura Baquero Cassab is a bilingual mental health professional with a wide range of experiences including: artistic expression; education; community engagement; delivering educational programs; designing psychoeducational initiatives; and hands-on art therapy workshops for children, adults, and professional staff in Costa Rica and New York. While holding the position of Citizenship Project Outreach Coordination at the New- York Historical Society, Aura found her calling working hand in hand with multiple nonprofit organizations through different neighborhoods in the NYC area where many minority groups could benefit from this educational initiative. Her experience has provided her with a great deal of insight into how people learn, a passion for community advocacy towards mental health, and the opportunity of developing effective strategies to make educational programs engaging and meaningful.
Meredith Dohmen
Board Member
Meredith Dohmen was hired as the first and only full-time employee of the Bright Foundation in 2016. She was hired to manage all aspects of scholarship programs funded by the Bright Foundation, She is now the Foundation’s President after previously being their Executive Director. Prior to joining the Bright Foundation, Meredith had a career in school counseling at the elementary and high school levels. Most recently, she served as the K-12 School Counseling and Student Supports Coordinator for Des Moines Public Schools. She is passionate about advocating for educational opportunities and systems that support youth in reaching their goals. Throughout her career, she has been active in issues surrounding the career, academic, and social-emotional development of youth leading to her involvement with college and career readiness initiatives at the state and national levels.
Jamie Fitzgerald
Board Member
Jamie Fitzgerald, has served as Polk County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections since January 2007. He manages a staff of forty-nine full-time employees in five departments. His office is responsible for a wide variety of functions, ranging from paying all of Polk County’s bulls to conducting elections in Iowa’s largest county As Commissioner of Elections, Fitzgerald oversees all elections in Polk County and maintains records for more than 326,000 registered voters. Fitzgerald received his Associate of Arts degree from Iowa Central Community College and a Bachelor of Arts from Iowa State University. He added a Certified Public Manager Certificate from Drake University and earned a professional election certification through the national election Center and Auburn University as a Certified Elections and Registration Administrator.
Jann Freed
Board Member
Jann Freed, PhD, is a leadership development and change management consultant with The Genysys Group. She assists organizations and leaders make change by facilitating vision based strategic planning, leadership development, and executive coaching. Jann is currently Vice-Chair on the Planning and Zoning Commission for the city of Des Moines, a director on the Bank Iowa Board, member of the Planned Parenthood Advocate Board, and on the Executive Committee of Nexus Women’s Executive Alliance. Jann is actively involved in the leadership at Central Presbyterian Church and a member of Women United of United Way. Her latest passion and initiative is Beyond the Money (BTM), a series of coaching cohorts to help employees prepare for the non-financial aspects of life after a formal career. In addition, Jann is an adjunct professor for The University of Iowa teaching a graduate leadership course. After a 30-year career at Central College, Jann is professor emerita of business management and the former Mark and Kay De Cook Endowed Chair in Leadership and Character Development. During her tenure, she was department and division chair, served on numerous committees, and acted as Interim Vice-President of Academic Affairs.
Kevin Frey
Board Member
Kevin Frey is a retired clergyperson who relocated from northeast Iowa to Urbandale in 2024. He served as a pastor for 39 years in various roles, including solo pastor, associate pastor, co-pastor, and senior pastor. His final pastoral role was at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Hampton, Iowa, where he served for 24 years. Kevin married his first wife, Valeria, in 1981, and she passed away in 2018 due to cancer and stroke complications. He married Marian in 2020, and together they have a blended family of three sons (two married), two daughters (one married), and two granddaughters. Throughout his career, Kevin actively served on state and local boards and committees focused on child abuse prevention, substance abuse, mental health, and rural healthcare issues
Shayla From
Board Member
Shayla From is a Community Volunteer and Leader in the Non-Profit Sector. She possesses over 35 years of experience working with nonprofits in Iowa. Shayla is a collaborative leader who initiates ideas and establishes new programs to improve organizations she is passionate about. She has served on a number of boards including Central College Board of Trustees, Central Red Society, Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, Junior League of Des Moines, and more.
Mary Gottschalk
Board Member
Mary Gottschalk has more than three decades experience in strategic financial management, both as a line manager and a consultant. Consulting clients included the boards and executive management of Fortune 500 firms in the U.S. and overseas; non-profit consulting targeted social service agencies in New York, Melbourne (Australia) and Des Moines. Mary came to Des Moines in January 2001 as Chief Financial Officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank, and after completing the engagement she was hired for, she decided to remain in Des Moines as an independent consultant (MCG Strategic Services) to provide financial and strategic planning for the non-profit sector. In the mid-1990’s Mary was deputy director of Community Access, Inc., a non-profit that provided housing and mental health services to the mentally ill in New York City. Mary has a BA (history and philosophy) from the University of Chicago, and an MBA (finance and economics) from the University of Cincinnati.
Jim Hayes
Board Member
Jim Hayes is the Executive Director of the Mind & Spirit Counseling Center and a spiritual director. Jim holds a master of divinity degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, and a doctoral degree in homiletics from the Aquinas Institute at St. Louis University. He studied philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum) in Rome, Italy. Jim has been in spiritual direction for over 35 years and served as a spiritual director since 1990. Previously, Jim served students and faculty at Simpson College in a variety of administrative roles and as a religion professor. He has also served as campus minister at Iowa State where he continued to expand his global awareness through study abroad and work with international students, including the use of conversational English, French, Italian and Spanish. Before his work in the higher education sector, Jim provided spiritual counseling and pastoral ministry in a wide variety of settings through priestly ministry in the Northeast Iowa Archdiocese of Dubuque.
Derek Johnson
Board Member
Derek Johnson, CPA is an Accounting Manager for R&R Realty Group. Derek has over six years of experience auditing nonprofit organizations and served on the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network board for four years. He has a passion for working with nonprofits and believes in supporting mental health efforts.
Carrie Kompelien
Board Member
Carrie Kompelien has 25 years of experience in Human Resources and currently serves as an Executive Coach and HR Consultant. She has a deep passion for leadership development and mental health care, driven by personal family experiences with accessing quality mental health resources. Carrie previously led HR for the Iowa Credit Union League and Affiliates Management Company and has extensive experience in staffing and supporting nonprofit and for-profit boards. She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and certifications in HR, including the SPHR and SHRM-SCP. Carrie is committed to fostering growth and advocating for mental health through strategic board service.
Gabriel Martinez
Board Member
Gabriel Martinez has spent the last 21 years providing behavioral health services in the Polk County community. His behavioral health journey began when he obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He soon relocated to Des Moines and worked as a treatment counselor at Orchard Place for four years. Gabriel has been with Broadlawns Medical Center for the last 16 where he has held multiple positions and currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Community Mental health. Since his employment at Broadlawns, Gabriel has earned a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Phoenix as wells as a master’s degree in social work from the University of Iowa. Mental health is Gabriel’s passion and he believes in the power of helping individuals build on their strengths to live a productive and meaningful life.
Shirley Poertner
Board Member
Shirley Poertner spent ten years in banking before holding corporate positions at Meredith Corporation and DuPont Pioneer. In 1994, she founded a management consulting firm, providing leadership development, executive coaching, and strategic planning for 20 years. For the last decade of her career, she worked with VitalSmarts LLC, delivering workshops based on the bestselling book Crucial Conversations. She holds a teaching degree from NE MO State University (now Truman U) and a Master’s in adult education from Drake University. She became involved with the Center’s Board after being a long-time client and donor, inspired by its spiritually integrated counseling and holistic approach to healing.
James Rasmussen
Board Member
James Rasmussen has been Strategic Financial Planning Analyst at Unity Point Health Des Moines since 2011, responsible for budget and cost accounting support for hospital operations and business plan preparation for large capital projects. Jim has held a number of positions within Unity Point Health since 1988, including Finance Director for the corporate office, and initially, Director of Internal Audit. Prior to Unity Point Health, Jim was an auditor with what is now KPMG US LLP. Jim holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Administration from Iowa State and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Iowa. He’s a CPA and a Certified Healthcare Finance Professional. Jim’s held a number of not-for-profit service roles over the years, including a board member on the Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center and treasurer for a church and Bible camp.
Eric Swanson
Board Member
Eric Swanson is an experienced Equity Research Analyst at Principal Asset Management in Des Moines, IA, with a strong background in finance, asset management, and research. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Iowa State University and earned his CFA® charter in 2015, along with a CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing in 2023. Eric conducts in-depth research, develops financial models, and makes investment recommendations for a $20 billion international portfolio. He has a history of roles in portfolio management, performance analysis, and client relations, and is also actively involved in his community as a Book Buddy, helping pre-K students improve their reading skills.
Michele Whitty
Board Member
Michele Whitty has worked in health care, fundraising, and corporate training sectors. For 7 years, she worked with a team of healthcare providers at St. Mary’s Health Care in St. Louis in the psychiatric unit as an activity director. She has over 25 years of experience in fund development, donor cultivation, and non-profit strategy. She has executed annual funds, capital campaigns, and launched major gift programs in the role as Advancement Director in a parish/school in Rockville, Maryland and at Dowling Catholic High School for 10 years. She enjoyed working as a training consultant teaching interpersonal skills for 7 years. Currently, she works part-time at Morgan Stanley Graystone Consulting in West Des Moines. She and her husband Steve are proud parents to 3 adult children and are proud graduates of Iowa State University.
As of March 19, 2025