Mental Health Advisory Board Members

Nancy Dow-Witherbee, B.S., CPC, current Board Chair, resides in Council District 6 and has served on the MH Advisory Board since 2004. Ms. Dow-Witherbee is a Consumer-to-Provider graduate and a Peer Specialist at Harborview Mental Health Services since 1999. In this capacity, she provides Drop-in & Consumer Technology services, leads Job Support, WRAP, Smoking Cessation & Relaxation and Illness Management & Recovery groups, coordinates the Shared Care Plan pilot study, volunteer development, agency multi-media services, and Supported Employment services. Nancy is a Mental Health Transformation Grant trainer and a regular presenter for the Washington Behavioral Healthcare Conference. She is a past board member of Humane Society of Seattle/King County and Rose House and a former Wish Grantor for Make-A-Wish Foundation. Nancy enjoys gardening, photography, volunteering and providing sound services in musical theater. Ms. Dow-Witherbee served as MH Advisory Board Chair from July 2007 to June 2009.

Toni Krupski, PhD, current Vice-Chair, resides in Council District 6. She currently serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Healthcare Improvement for Addictions, Mental Illness and Medically Vulnerable Populations (CHAMMP) which is based at Harborview Medical Center. She also holds the position of Research Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. She has conducted research in the area of mental illness for a number of years and is especially interested in ways to improve healthcare for individuals who have co-occurring problems involving mental illness, addiction, and/or chronic medical conditions.

Moz Benado, resides in Council district 2. Ms. Benado earned a Bachelors of Science in Foods and Nutrition with Minors in Psychology and Chemistry from San Diego State University in 2003. She attained a Masters of Science in Nutritional Sciences from University of Washington in 2010. She currently volunteers at Harborview Mental Health and Addictions Services as Co-chair of the Peer Advisory Bureau and volunteers at Warm Line. Her concerns include mental illness stigma, nutrition accessibility and care, and quality medical and mental health services for persons with traumatic brain injury and psychological trauma.

Nicole Cederblom, resides in Council District 2. Ms. Cederblom is currently working as a Research Scientist at the University of Washington Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication. She served on the TeenLink Advisory board, the arm of Crisis Clinic that reaches out to adolescents, was a Job Coach in King County for adults with developmental delays, worked with high-need adolescents at Northwood Middle School in Kent, and volunteered in an elementary school classroom at John Umstead Mental Hospital in North Carolina.

Alicia Glenwell, B.A., resides in Council District 9. She has been a volunteer, advocate, activist, trainer, planner and manager in the domestic violence movement since 2003. As the Chemical Dependency, Domestic Violence, Mental Health and Sexual Assault Systems Coordinator for the King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Ms. Glenwell works to foster communication and collaboration within and between systems that affect survivors of domestic violence. Prior to her work with the Coalition, she was the Director of Community Programs at the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (DAWN).

John Holecek, MACP., resides in Council District 9. He has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from City University of Seattle, and has taken continuing education courses in Substance Abuse and Chemical Dependency. Professional experience includes the practice of mental health counseling with Catholic Community Services, City University Counseling Center with agency referrals from The Crisis Clinic of Seattle/King County, and has also conducted Psychometric screening of SSDI applicants in Washington state. He has participated on numerous boards including the following: The Maple Valley Community Center Board; The Maple Valley Food Bank Board; The Advisory Council on Aging and Disability Services; and the King County Long-Term Care Ombudsman. John believes that participation required a personal understanding that mental health is an essential life priority. As a disabled Vietnam era veteran, John has a distinct empathy for military servicemen.

Veronica Kavanagh, B.S., resides in Council District 4. Ms. Kavanagh is a CIS Application Analyst for Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. She serves as a Board member of NAMI; King County MHCADSD Recovery Advisory Committee, and Chair for the Transportation Sub-Committee for the MIDD Crisis Diversion Facility planning group. She has family members impacted by mental illness.

Eleanor Owen, MEd, resides in Council District 4. Ms. Owen, a co-founder of the local, state, and National Alliance on Mental Illness, served as President and Executive Director of NAMI Greater Seattle (NGS) from 1979 to 2003. Ms. Owen has served on numerous Mental Health/ Residential/Corrections task forces and committees. She is also a recipient of several awards including the Jefferson Award for Outstanding Service to the Community in 1980; a nominee for President’s Volunteer Action Award in 1982 and 1983; the Matrix Table Award for Women in Communication in 1985, and the National NAMI Outstanding Advocate Award 2000. Prior to her involvement in Mental Health, Ms. Owen taught at Lakeside School and was an Associate Professor in the Drama Department at the University of Washington. Ms. Owen recently returned to NGS and is serving as its volunteer Interim Executive Director.

Allan Panitch, resides in Council District 4. Mr. Panitch is a graduate of Southwestern Law School; Government contract management from Marshall-Wyth Law School, and Law Enforcement Criminal Investigation from Los Angeles County Sheriffs’ Academy. Mr. Panitch's professional career included contract and security management positions with Hughes Aircraft Co., Aydin Corporation, Litton Industries, Bechtel Corporation, and Lockheed Aircraft. He is a member of the Executive Board of Washington State CASA and a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem in Juvenile Court. In addition, he is Public Safety Chair for Queen Anne Community Council, Vice President for Public Safety, Uptown Alliance, and member of Washington Department of Corrections Victims Council and Advisory Board- Justice for Homicide Victims, Inc. He served in the 15^th U.S. Air Force as Operations Specialist in Africa, Italy and the Balkans. Mr. Panitch is the father of a public psychiatric social worker who was murdered by one of her clients.

Steve Williams, resides in Council District 7. Mr. Williams is a weekend supervisor for Holman Distribution Center of Washington in Kent, Washington. He does volunteer work with Washington State Mental Health’s Leadership team in getting new families involved in improving their own mental health care and with Washington Dads, South Sound Chapter in Auburn, Washington. Mr.Williams is a person with special interest in families with children experiencing mental health issues.