Board Members

A 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.

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.

Deborah Ringen has more than 40 years of nursing experience and earned her Master of Science in Nursing in Parish Nursing and Health Ministry from Azusa Pacific University in 2010. She has served on the UCC Wellness Ministry team for many years and joined the MHN Board in 2023. Recent work with the Southern New England Conference UCC has focused on promoting mental health and wellness. Deborah also is a certified QPR: Gatekeeper suicide prevention trainer. Her lived experience of the mental illness and suicide of her eldest son brings a depth of understanding and passion to this ministry. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and three dogs.

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.

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.

Dr. Warren Ray Littleford was raised in Minnesota and graduated from Bethel College in St. Paul in 1978.  All of his graduate coursework was taken at Texas Tech University, and he earned a doctorate in counseling psychology in 1986.  The dissertation was based upon research with widowed persons, and his graduate minor was marital and family therapy.  His internship was at the Tucson Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr. Littleford is licensed to practice psychology in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.  In 2003 he established a solo private practice in Chandler as a licensed psychologist.  He provides in-person sessions and video telehealth sessions to his patients.  As an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University, he taught psychopharmacology for behavioral health clinicians in the Doctor of Behavioral Health program for ten years.  In previous employment he was a clinical director of a community mental health center and a private managed care organization.  Dr. Littleford has made presentations on the topics of psychopharmacology and grief therapy to members of the Arizona Psychological Association.  He is also in the Give An Hour network of therapists for active duty military personnel, veterans, and their dependents, providing pro bono psychotherapy services.

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.

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.