National Alliance on Mental Illness
About NAMI Franklin County

NAMI Franklin County Board of Directors (2011-2012)

President: Jeff Brown Brown Shoes
President Elect: Andy Olsen SC Search Consultants
Past President: David Robinson
Secretary: Zandia GalvinRehabilitation Services Commission
Treasurer: Robert Avoli

Board Members

Michael Schottenstein, MD
Mike Unger, MD Concord Counseling Service
Kenneth MillerMesser Construction
Afrika Alsup
Brooke Large Twenty First Century Communications
Greta Kearns, Esq.Squire, Sanders, and Dempsey
Lori Sams-Richardson The Ohio State University
Judith Tompkins Ruscilli Real Estate Services, Inc.
Beverly Bennett

NAMI Franklin County Staff

Executive Director: Rachelle A. Martin rachelle@namifc.org
Membership & Volunteer Coordinator: Jewel Golphin jewel@namifc.org
Fundraising & Event Coordinator: Gabe Howard gabe@namifc.org

Staff Profiles

Rachelle A. Martin joined NAMI FC in November 2009 as the Executive Director. She possesses over 30 years of experience in the health care field, including coordination of health care systems nationally and internationally. Formerly, she was the director of training and prevention network services manager for the ADAMH Board of Franklin County.

Rachelle has also been Project Coordinator for the HIV Outreach Demonstration Support Project, sponsored by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. She also was Project Director for Violence toward Minority Women with HIV Disease, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wherein she was responsible for the analysis plan of this project.

Additionally, she was the team leader for the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Project wherein she monitored and provided technical assistance for two community-based organizations. As the HIV Coordinator for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, she administered all training and technical assistance services offered.

Jewel Golphin joined NAMI FC in October 2008 as the Membership & Volunteer Coordinator. She handles membership and volunteer duties, donation management and coordinates the Family-to-Family and NAMI Basics classes. She also serves as editor for the print and e-Newsletters. Prior to joining NAMI FC she held positions at Ohio Legal Rights Service, and Suburban News Publications. Jewel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Capital University.

Gabe Howard joined NAMI FC in September 2009 as the Fundraising & Event Coordinator. Gabe was formerly a volunteer for NAMI and he currently serves on the board of directors for NAMI OHIO as the consumer representative. He is also on the NAMI National Consumer Council and has had his own struggles (and triumphs!) with mental illness. Prior to joining NAMI FC he was the public relations manager for the YWCA Family Center and a real estate agent in Dublin, Ohio

Board Profiles

Beverly Bennett began serving on the board in 2007 and also teaches Family to Family Classes. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her Master's degree in Learning Disabilities and Behavioral Disorders from The Ohio State University. Having a daughter diagnosed with bipolar disorder who, after much suffering, took her own life, has made Beverly a passionate advocate for the mentally ill. She realizes the need to fight against the stigma that prevents society from providing prompt, effective, and humane treatment for those with brain disorders.

David Robinson was recruited around 1988 to be on the Board by past president Leon Twarog. Leon, then chair of the Department of Slavic Languages of Ohio State, brought David to Columbus in 1964 to be among the first members of the Slavic Department. He retired from OSU in 1991. David has been on the board off and on since 1988, and was treasurer from 1993 to 2006. He recruited his wife Anne, formerly NAMI Franklin County's volunteer Executive Director, to be on the Board around 1995. Together, David and Anne helped organize the first NAMIWalks in Columbus in 2004.

Mike Unger, MD, is a Board Certified Psychiatrist and the Medical Director at Southeast, Inc. since 2005. He is the president of the Psychiatric Society of Central Ohio. He in Frontline/PBS documentary film “The Released” which premiered in April 2009. He is a clinical assistant professor of Psychiatry at OSU and University Of Toledo School Of Medicine. He graduated from Cornell University and received his M.D. from New York Medical College. He completed residency in Psychiatry at New York University/Bellevue Hospital in 1999 and subsequently moved to Columbus.

At Southeast, he works on an Assertive Community Treatment Team. He treats homeless individuals at shelters and on the mobile van. He is most interested in treating the whole person with biological, psychological and social interventions and is certified in auricular acupuncture which is offered free to SE clients with substance use, mood, or anxiety symptoms. He is a strong advocate of the Recovery Model, and believes strongly in core tenets of stage based treatment, recovery leading to self-actualization, and empowerment.

In his free time, Mike builds and plays electric guitars. An avid guitarist who has recorded on several CDs, Mike has toured with bands in Europe and the U.S., including Saving Jane during their ‘Girl Next Door’ tour 2005-6 and Jonalee White’s Armed Forces tour of Europe and the Middle East in May 2009.

Andy Olsen currently works in research and recruiting for SC search consultants, llc, an executive search firm located in Columbus. Andy’s previous work in the mental health field and adult education has given him experience in management via personal and vocational counseling, advising, planning, and outreach.

Andy is a licensed counselor and a graduate of Regent University with a Master’s Degree in Community College. Andy has continued his education with postgraduate work at the University of Dayton, and also possesses a Bachelor’s Degree from Cedarville University in Applied Psychology. In addition to serving on the board of NAMI FC, Andy serves on New Directions Career Center’s program committee and also volunteers his time at his church. Andy resides in Columbus with his wife, Jami, and their daughter, Anna.

Brooke Large became involved with NAMI in 2008 as a way to memorialize her brother, Eric who lost his battle with bipolar disorder in April 2007, just a few weeks shy of his 22nd birthday. In 2009 and 2010, Brooke served as the NAMIWalks Family Chair, and has been team captain of Eric’s Champions since 2008. In May 2011, she accepted a role on the NAMI Franklin County Board. Her role with NAMI has been driven by the hope that she can help other families like hers—who have a loved one with mental illness. She hopes that one day people with mental illness will not be turned away, but will receive treatment with the same urgency as any other physical illness.

Brooke received her B.A. in Strategic Communications in 2008 from The Ohio State University. Currently, she is working for Twenty First Century Communications as a Client Relationship Manager. Brooke also volunteers for Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and serves as a Steering Committee member and co-chair of the Membership and Community Events Committee.

William Avoli is a Vice President in the Capital Markets Group of RockBridge Capital, LLC, a hotel investment firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. In this role, Avoli is responsible for managing the capital raising efforts (debt and equity) for RockBridge’s existing and future investment platforms. Additionally, he supports the firm’s investor relations activities. Previously, Avoli was responsible for managing the closing of RockBridge's investments, acting as an internal liaison between the Risk Management, Investment Origination, and Investment Management Groups.

Avoli has over twelve years of finance and transactional-based investment management experience. Prior to joining RockBridge, he was a Vice President in the Investment Management Group at JPMorgan where he managed a team with investment responsibility for approximately 600 privately-held corporations and partnerships. In this capacity, Avoli served on the board of directors for ten privately held companies. In addition, he was the National Director for JPMorgan’s Valuation Advisory Services Group providing business valuations for transaction analysis, tax planning and reporting, and strategic planning. He also assisted in the establishment of JPMorgan's Business Consulting Group, which provided transactional advisory services to the firm’s small-to middle-market private business clients. Avoli is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Ervin Industries, Inc., Ervin Leasing Company, and Pearson Enterprises.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Economics from Washington and Lee University and a Master's of Business Administration in Finance from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.