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 info@mindspiritcenter.org.

Reo Menning, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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.

Dani Musselman, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

Dani Musselman

Secretary

Dani Musselman, M. Div is the solo pastor at the United Methodist church Centennial UMC at Ivy, located in Altoona, IA. Dani graduated from Simpson College in with a bachelor’s in Religion and left Iowa to pursue her Master’s of Divinity in Fort Worth, TX. While in Fort Worth, she volunteered in United Methodist churches, working as a chaplain both at Texas Christian University (TCU) and at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and interning at Ridglea Christian Church, a Disciples of Christ community. Dani has served as a Provisional Elder in the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church since July 2020. She has been appointed to begin serving as Pastor of Hope United Methodist Church in Marshalltown, Iowa beginning in July of 2022.

Jane Funk, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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.

Aura Baquero Cassab, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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.

Jann Freed, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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.

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, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center

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.

Kate Juelfs

Board Member

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.

Cory McClure

Board Member

Cory McClure is a family law attorney with child welfare experience. In addition to being an attorney, Cory has spent almost 30 years working as an Adjunct Instructor teaching within various higher education programs including Iowa Child Protective Academy at the University of Northern Iowa, and most recently, the Criminal Justice Department at Des Moines Area Community College.

James Rasmussen, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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.

David Sagula, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

David Sagula

Board Member

David Sagula is assistant vice president, Executive Talent and Development with the Principal Financial Group. He implements processes related to talent review, succession management, and individual and organizational executive development strategies throughout the organization. Prior to joining The Principal, he was director of client solutions and an executive consultant with Personnel Decisions International, a global talent and organizational consulting firm. Over his career with PDI, he worked with a broad range of talent, including the CEO level, and delivered talent solutions to many diverse organizations. David received his doctorate in counselling psychology from Michigan State University, his MBA from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota, and his bachelor’s in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He is a licensed psychologist and has been involved in many professional organizations including the Human Resources Planning Society and the American Psychological Association.

Meredith Dohmen, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center board member

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, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center Board Member

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.

Gabriel Martinez, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center Board Memeber

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.

Kevin Owens, Mind & Spirit Counseling Center Board Member

Kevin Owens

Board Member

Kevin Owens has served as the President of O! Designs Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and Des Moines, Iowa since 1998 working with corporate and government clients on forming strategies, branding, design, and market analysis. Kevin lectured at Iowa State University teaching undergrad and grad Industrial Design and Interdisciplinary Design studios with a focus on branding, business applications, and creative solution-finding. He has a long successful history of branding management, strategy and design.