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2023 PAPRS Committees

Executive Committee

Chair: President Kim MacDonald-Wilson

Committee Members: Rochelle Reimert, President Elect; Ellwyn Andres, Immediate Past President & Acting Treasurer; Brittani Smerkar, Secretary

The Executive Committee is comprised of the officers of the Board of Directors and others appointed by the President and ratified by the Board. The function of the Executive Committee is to carry on the Business of the Chapter in the interim between the meetings of the Board of Directors. All actions of the Executive Committee shall be reported promptly to the Board of Directors at their next meeting. 

Education & Consultation Committee

Chair: Rochelle Reimert

Committee Members: Amanda Burke, Marcie Cole, Collette D'Angelo, Caitlin Needham, Brittani Smerkar, Meghan Sharif, Rita Kraus, Eileen Joseph, Lu Mauro, Beth Ricker, Kelly Shuler, Kim Roberson

The purpose of the Education & Consultation Committee is reflected in the overall goal of developing “learning opportunities for increasing the statewide capacity to provide best practice psychiatric rehabilitation services." This purpose is accomplished through the efforts of the committee as a whole in collaboration with the Education Manager.  PAPRS provides training opportunities for PAPRS member organizations and individuals including a frequently-offered CPRP test preparation course. Also, PAPRS is approved by the OMHSAS to provide the 12 hour required Orientation to Psychiatric Rehabilitation course.  In addition, training is developed for our Annual Conference Institutes and Workshops, and other training activities emerge through the provision of consultation activities.  Consultation  is offered to organizations that wish to increase their capacity to provide psychiatric rehabilitation services.

Conference Committee

Chair: Aaron Burkhardt

​Co - Chair: Jen McLaughlin

Co - Chair: Maureen Walsh

Committee Members: Susan Poznar, Gwen DeYoung, Liz Guerin, Beth Ricker, Debra Andrachek, Kelly Shuler

The Conference Committee is responsible for the planning, development and implementation of the Annual PAPRS Conference.  Typical committee projects/tasks related to Annual Conference:

  • Sponsors
  • Scholarships
  • Basket Raffle
  • Award Ceremony
  • Networking events
  • Obtaining/Selecting potential workshop proposals
  • Hotel Arrangements

Budget/Finance Committee

Chair: Ellwyn Andres

Committee Members: Gwen DeYoung, Rita Kraus, Kim MacDonald-Wilson, Jennifer McLaughlin, Maureen Walsh, Susan Poznar, Joh W. Rosengrant, Kelly Shuler

The Budget/Finance Committee is responsible for planning and development of the organizational annual budget and the development, implementation and revision of the PAPRS business plan. Typical committee projects/tasks related to the budget/business plan:

  • Develop organizational business plan for review by the board
  • Present the board information needed for financial management
  • Develop annual budget to support PAPRS work 
  • Collaborate with PAPRS committees to support their work
  • Identify revenue streams for the organization
  • Review PAPRS marketing plan

Communications Committee

Chair: Skyler Deitrick

​Co - Chair: 

Committee Members: Sara Dobson, Caitlin Needham, John W. Rosengrant, Debi Weisgerber, Allison Downs, Amy DeMay, Beth Ricker

The Communications Committee is responsible for developing ways to share information related to the work of PAPRS.  The Committee evaluates and recommends vehicles for effective communication. Functions of the committee include the following:

  • Determine organizational communication goals
  • Develop and maintain PAPRS Website
  • Maximize the use of technology for communication needs
  • Ensure that PAPRS mission and values are incorporated into communication vehicles and efforts
  • Evaluate written materials related to outreach and publicity
  • Recommend plans and means for effective communication

Policy Committee

Chair:  Brittani Smerkar

Committee Members: Ginny Dikeman, Marcie Cole, Collette D'Angelo, Gwen DeYoung, Denise Astaneh, Rochelle Reimert, Ellwyn Andres, John W. Rosengrant, Jennifer McLaughlin, Kim MacDonald-Wilson, Beth Ricker

As a primary function, this committee works on research and consultation on public policy matters, providing advice to the Board of Directors on opportunities to advance the PAPRS mission through advocacy.  As a secondary function, the committee provides a framework for the development of a PAPRS Policy Manual, a systematic review of PAPRS internal policies and procedures and support to PAPRS committees as needed regarding policy application. Typical committee projects/tasks related to policy include:

  • Advocacy calls and letters with partners in state government
  • Letter writing campaigns with members and consumers
  • Development and maintenance of a policy and procedure manual for PAPRS
  • Assisting other committees with development and application of committee policy and procedure

Membership Committee

Chair: Julie Sanders

Co-Chair:  Donna Duffy Bell

Committee Members:  Pam Nabried-Abdullah, Holly Knoll, Sara Dobson, Debi Weisgerber, Denise Astaneh

The purpose of the PAPRS Membership Committee is to attract and retain individual and organizational members through the:

  • Outreach to all new members and telephonic outreach to new organizational members
  • Outreach to current organizational members as their memberships come due for renewal
  • Solicitation of feedback/evaluation of current and potential value-added member benefits
  • Hosting of membership events
  • Support and encouragement of current members to increase their role within PAPRS through sharing of individual and collective strengths and resources
  • Partnership with PRA to assure that PAPRS can maximally address/meet the needs of its members 

Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee

Chair:  John Rosengrant

Committee Members: Gwen DeYoung, Rochelle Reimert, Jennifer McLaughlin, Amy DeMay, Donna Duffy Bell, Kelly Shuler, Lu Mauro, Maureen Walsh, Rita Kraus, Susan Poznar, Beth Ricker

The purpose of the PAPRS Advisory Committee is to review and develop the role and membership of the PAPRS Advisory Board.  This committee is made up of all current Advisory Board members and PAPRS Board of Directors members interested in the review of guidelines for the Advisory Board.