Meet Our Faculty and Staff
Our accomplished faculty combines many years of leadership experience at the local, state, and national levels, in public and private agencies. Faculty members have all led system change efforts, steering their organizations through the resistance and struggles that inevitably accompany significant change and forward movement. They have studied and effectively applied leadership and change theory to their own and other leaders’ experiences.
Our faculty helped develop and conduct a series of 5-day national leadership seminars for professional and parent leaders in community-based systems of care. Each has extensive group facilitation and training experience across a broad range of participants.
Gary De Carolis, M.Ed., is president of the Center for Community Leadership and author of the book, A View from the Balcony: Leadership Challenges in Systems of Care. He has over 20 years of leadership experience designing, building, and administering community-based systems of services and supports for children with disabilities and their families. Gary has received several national awards in recognition of his outstanding service and leadership in children’s mental health. Innovation and sharing knowledge across a broad range of stakeholders are hallmarks of Gary’s work. Gary was the driving force behind a series of national policy and national leadership academies and for publication and distribution of 17 “Promising Practices” monographs on systems of care. He created and chaired the influential 150-member federal/national Partnership for Children’s Mental Health. In addition to conducting extensive leadership training, Gary has been keynote speaker at scores of national conferences on topics including leadership, public policy and children’s mental health, and systems of care.
Gary directed the federal government’s national office for child, adolescent, and family mental health from 1993-2002. He served as Deputy Commissioner for the Vermont Department of Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health, and previous to that directed child, adolescent, and family service and system development for the Department. Gary additionally served three terms as a Burlington (VT) City Councilor.
Kenley Wade, M.M., is the founder and president of Wade Management Consulting Services, Inc. He is a management consultant with over 35 years of experience specializing in leadership, organizational and systems assessment, strategic planning, and cultural competence. During a distinguished career as a state-level administrator in Illinois, Kenley was instrumental in developing community-based service systems for children and families. As a management consultant, Kenley has worked in 29 states and is a frequent speaker at national conferences and seminars.
Pamela Marshall, J.D., M.S.W., has directed both not-for-profit and for-profit community agencies, as well as serving as Director, Arkansas Department of Mental Health. Pam provides extensive technical assistance and training for communities and other audiences engaged in building community-based systems of care for children and their families. Pam effectively draws on her legal training and background as well as her personal experience as a parent advocating for her own child with special needs in her system reform work.
Anne Lezak, M.P.A., a nationally-recognized consultant, specializes in policy, planning and services issues in mental health, children's and family services, and homelessness. Anne is a skilled writer, analyst, group facilitator, and teacher. In recent years she directed a non-profit youth-serving agency, and has held leadership positions on several boards. Prior to moving to Vermont in 1987, Anne worked for the National Institute of Mental Health, coordinating federal funding and efforts for people who are homeless and have mental illness.
Marketing Director
Allison Mahan brings over twelve years of experience to the Community Leadership Institute. As a marketing and communications consultant, she leads press and marketing initiatives for several community organizations and world renowned advocates for non-violence. In addition to overseeing the Institute’s logistics and acting as a resource for participants, Allison leads conference promotions and planning.
Institute Manager
Peter Edwards coordinates the
logistics and serves as a resource for participants at the Institute. Peter brings
to this role 20 years of planning and executing regional, national, and
international conferences and meetings. His experience includes 15 years managing
and supporting events throughout the United States and U.S. territories for
the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Mental Health Services, and
other federal and private agencies.
