Board Members 2010

Debra Knighton - President (Charlottesville) President@VocalVirginia.org
Debra Knighton is the Program Coordinator for Charlottesville League of Therapists’ Mental Health Support Services, a program designed to support mental health consumers in moving forward on their recovery journeys. She has been a mental health consumer for over 20 years. Part of her recovery story is highlighted in VOCAL’s Firewalkers book/project. Debra lives in Charlottesville, VA with her loving husband and 2 wonderful sons. She is a Christian who worships at the Charlottesville Vineyard Church.

Jeff Roher
Jeff Roher was elected to the board at the May 2010 conference as the Region 6 Representative. He is a transportation driver at a drop-in center called We Care located in Martinsville,VA. While serving on the board he wants to get involved on the Fundraising Committee as well as serving part-time as the We Care Rep. He is also on the Cultural Competence Committee, and he just joined the Advocacy Committee to be a watch dog for the Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute which is located in Danville,VA. He is also a mobile DJ. He served as DJ at the VOCAL conference last year and plans to do it this year if it the Lord’s will.

Michelle Sese-Khalid (Woodbridge) At Large member
Michelle Sese-Khalid is a WRAP facilitator at Trillium Drop in Center and a Certified Peer Support Specialist. She is featured in VOCAL’s Firewalkers book/project. She is a singer, poet, artist, and bus driver. Michelle is also a mother of seven children, the youngest being 14 months and the oldest being 21 years. She is currently single. She is a member of Dale City Baptist church and a born again Christian.

Lauren Spiro (NOVA) At Large Member
Lauren Spiro, M.A., is Director of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery where she advances the values, vision, policies and legislative priorities of mental health consumers in Washington, D.C. and across the country. She also works on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Education for Social Inclusion project administered by Vanguard Communications where she is the Mental Health Communications Manager. She has traveled a liberating journey to wellness from being labeled with ‘chronic schizophrenia’ as a teenager to devoting her life’s works to building wellness-based, holistic-focused, inclusive communities. She co-founded two non-profit corporations and the National Coalition’s Emotional CPR Project. She is an artist.

John Gibbs, Region 1
John Gibbs received his BA in History and Political Science from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA. Currently he is semi-retired as an Independent Insurance Claims Adjuster. He resides in Charlottesville, VA with his two cats. His hobbies are golf and sailing. John is a Certified Peer to Peer Mentor with NAMI, a Trained Advance Directives Facilitator, and a Suicide Prevention Workgroup Member. John is also known for creating the Continuing the Journey workshop.

Marty Grizzle, Region 7 (Far Southwest)
Marty Grizzle is currently employed by Mount Rogers Community Services Board in Marion, VA. He works in a crisis stabilization unit called Cornerstone, which is a 6 bed facility with a stay of up to 15 days. He works as a peer support specialist and is a certified WRAP facilitator. He also teaches a recovery group on Wednesday nights. He lives in Glade Spring, VA with his 6 dogs and 8 cats.

Troy Ark, Region 3 (Catawba)
Troy Ark serves as the Region 3 Representative to the VOCAL Board of directors. Lately he has been keeping busy as a volunteer staff member (temporarily) for On Our Own of Roanoke. He also serves on their Board of Directors as Assistant Treasurer and works on the Budget and Human Resources Committees. He is planning to return to college next fall to pursue an Associates Degree in Human Services.

Donna Sue Harmon - Treasurer (Lynchburg area)
Donna Sue Harmon is Executive Director of Center for Recovery and Wellness in Lynchburg. She is a Certified Peer Specialist, a Certified WRAP Facilitator, and a trained Advance Directive Facilitator. She earned her Bachelor of Buseness Administraatiion from Roanoke College. While serving on the borard, she served as Secretary, and currently leads the Governance Committee.She has two cats, Maggie and Tom. She enjoys watching movies, reading, and doing sudoku puzzles.

Michael Pendrak (NOVA)

Ann Conner Region 5

Ann Conner represents Region 5, and herself lives in the Northern Neck. She is a certified Peer Support Specialist and a Certified WRAP Facilitator working at the Middle Penninsula Northern Neck Consumer Operated Programs (CoOp) where she also serves on the Consumer Advisory Council. She has over 20 years experience as an administrative professional, in a variety of mostly non-profit settings. Her experience as a mental health consumer spans a period of more than 40 years. She has one delightful daughter and one dog and cat. She fosters puppies and dogs and plays with wood. Acceptance and mindfullness have a lot to do with her recovery.

Not pictured:

Scott Brannon At Large Member
Betsy Brown Region 4 (Central)
Jerry Higginson Region 2 (NOVA)
Diana Kim Secretary (Lynchburg)
Leah Ballance Region 6 (Southern)