Board Members

We are a very committed group of volunteers, and we always welcome hearing from you. To start the WISE process for your congregation, click here or email us at wise@mhn-ucc.org.

Current Mental Health Network Board of Directors & Officers

Bishop Allyson D. Nelson Abrams, DMin.

Chair

Bishop Allyson Abrams is the founder/pastor of Empowerment Liberation Cathedral (DC). She is the founder/president of Empowerment Justice Center & EJC Wellness Center. Her loving spirit and compassion for creation brought her to wellness for all. She is an entrepreneur. Dr. Abrams currently serves on the NSBA Leadership Council. She is the wife of Dr. Diana Williams and the mother of 3 college graduate children. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @Bishop Allyson Abrams

Abbie Chronister, MDiv

Vice Chair

A recent graduate of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities with an MDiv in Social Transformation and seeking ordination in the UCC, Abbie began serving on the MHN board in 2022. They bring to the table an eclectic set of skills and passions, and have professional experience in the realms of ministry, music, social services, technology, and youth development. Abbie currently works in campus ministry and resides in Iowa with their husband and two cats.

Rev. Sean Witty

Secretary

Averyn Payne, PhD.

Assistant Secretary

Averyn began their first year in Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School in fall 2020, the same time they joined the Board. Averyn is curious about the ways faith communities can be places of transformation and radical welcoming to those with mental health challenges and seeks to combine their experience as a counselor with their passion for God and justice.

Jim Alexander

Treasurer

Debbie Ringen

Board Member

Jamani Blair

Board Member

Jamani Blair is a Licensed Master’s Social Worker (LMSW) who currently works as a trauma therapist in NYC. She provides essential behavioral and mental health supportive counseling for The Ubuntu Project Ministry for Inclusivity (TFAM), an organization that embraces “differently abled and differently labeled” individuals. Jamani has tremendous passion for social justice, as well as, advocating for and working with youth and young adults facing compounded challenges due to the intersectionality in mental health. Along with serving on the UCC MHN Board of Directors, Jamani is a board member of the United Black Christians UCC Association.

Mia Colwell

Board Member

Mia Colwell, MS, currently holds a masters degree in forensic psychology. She is an author and a podcaster who is very passionate about the subject of mental health. Mia spends her days spreading information about mental health complications within the African American youth community in her hometown. She has recently joined the board in order to further her work, gain more knowledge, and be apart of a wonderful organization.

Rev. Kristal Klemme

Board Member

Rev. Kristal Klemme serves as Pastor alongside the congregation of First Congregational UCC, Plymouth, Wi. She is passionate about nurturing and holding space and grace at the intersections of faith and mental health. She has served on the Board of Directors of Mental Health America – Lakeshore, the Spirit In Mind task force of Mental Health America, and the WISE Team of the Wisconsin Conference, UCC. Kristal and her husband, Philip, make their home in Sheboygan Falls, Wi.

Rev. Marty Kuchma

Board Member

Marty is Senior Pastor of St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Westminster, Maryland. He holds a BA in psychology, MSW, M.Div., and D.Min. He is also Senior Adjunct Professor at Lancaster Theological Seminary and Adjunct Faculty and Field Education Consultant in the McDaniel College Social Work Department. He is involved in a wide range of community and wider church activities.

Rev. Mabel Laird

Board Member

Rev. Mabel Laird serves as Pastor to Alfred Parish Church of the UCC's ME Conference, as well as a chaplain to inmates and correctional officers of York County Jail and as a chaplain in the Maine Air National Guard. She also serves in an on-call capacity primarily responding to critical incidents/ traumatic events for the Sanford (Maine) Police Department. She is a veteran, having served 12 years in the Navy and Navy Reserves, where she met her best friend/husband. Together they have two very young children and two beloved (and very patient) dogs.

Rev. Chance Martinez

Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund, D.Min., MDiv, MSW

Ex-Officio / Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice

Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund serves as the Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice for the national setting of the United Church of Christ. She is the author of Blessed Are The Crazy: Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness, Family and Church. She is also a former UCC MHN board member.

Rev. Alan Johnson

Chair Emeritus

In 2009, Alan was asked to be the chair of the UCC Mental Illness Network and began the reformation of what has become the UCC Mental Health Network.  Since then, he had been the coordinator and then chair of the UCC MHN until 2020. Alan is a retired UCC clergy, a volunteer mental health advocate, and a church member, which developed the WISE program.

Mark and Joshua Busnelli

Communications

Past Board Members

• Rev. Dr. Marty Kuchma (January 2019-September 2025)
• Rev. Chance Martinez (March 2024-September 2025)
• Rev. Jim Alexander (October 2023-May 2025)
• Dr. Vicki Kaye Harvey (February 2019-January 2025)
• Rev. Jack Abel (January 2019-September 2024)
• Rev. Izzy Harbin (October 2023-March 2024)
• Rev. Elizabeth “Lisa” LeSeur (October 2019-February 2024)
• Kyle Ingram (October 2020-September 2023)
• Rev. Amy Petré-Hill, J.D. (October 2016-September 2022)
• Rev. Shernell Edney Stilley (October 2019-September 2022)
• Ms. Robin Kempster, R.N. (October 2015-September 2021)
• Rev. Dr. Jan Remer-Osborn (December 2019-September 2022)
• Rev. Kirk Moore (October 2016-September 2022)
• Rev. Hannah Campbell Gustafson (October 2015-2022)
• Rev. Dr. Rachael A. Keefe (2016?-2022)
• Rev. Jon Gilbert Martinez (January 2019-September 2021)
• Rev. Dr. Megan Osborn Snell, MDiv, DMin (October 2016-September 2021)
• Rev. JJ Flag (June 2021-?)
• Devin Shmueli (October 2017-November 2019)
• R. Jeffrey Pollock (?-2018)
• Karl Shallowhorn (?-2017)
• Anne Weiher (?-2017)
• Rev. Carrie Bail (?-2016)
• Alison Bess (?-2016)
• Thomas Coates (?-2016)
• Judy Johnson (?-2016)
• Salome As-Salaam
• Gabrielle Bychowski
• Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund
• Johari Sharp
• Advisory Panel (previous role)
  • Doug Arnold
  • Hillary Doerries
  • Kerrie Hein
  • Mary Lord Janness
  • Kerrie Kleppin-Winn
  • Rev. Angela Whitenhill