
AmeriCorps Week
March 13 – 19 is AmeriCorps Week!
AmeriCorps is an organization that serves people throughout the United States, in areas such as education, economics, disaster response, and providing healthy futures for those that are in need. AmeriCorps Week was created to celebrate the hard work and services that AmeriCorps members provide year-round. At the MHARS Board of Lorain County, Andrea Sedlacek works as our AmeriCorps VISTA member.
Andrea Sedlacek graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2020 with her BS in Criminal Justice, as well as graduating in 2021 from Bowling Green State University with her Masters in Criminal Justice. After graduating in 2021, Sedlacek joined the MHARS Board as the AmeriCorps VISTA worker.
Andrea has been an important member of the MHARS Board, working on different grants and projects for Lorain County. She has worked on the Ohio Collaborative Program Development grant under the Ohio Program for Campus Safety and Mental Health, which provides campus programming, such as suicide prevention training and mental health screenings. Sedlacek is also involved in the Harm Reduction and Family branch and participates in Drug Take Back Day and International Overdose Awareness Day.
Thank you Andrea for everything you do for the Board and the community!
Learn MoreMHARS Welcomes New ISP Director
The MHARS Board of Lorain County welcomes Brooke Sherman, who started February 28 as our Intersystem Program Director.
Sherman has worked in the mental health field for more than 20 years, working at Personal and Family Counseling Services of Tuscarawas County in New Philadelphia, Ohio as an Intensive Home Based Counselor in her early career. Most recently, she worked at The Nord Center as its Crisis Services Director.
Sherman obtained her BA in Psychology at Mount Vernon Nazarene College in Mount Vernon, Ohio as well as her MA in Education and Community Counseling at Malone College in Canton, Ohio. She also obtained herLPCC-S from the State of OhioCounselor, Social Work, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board in 2003. Welcome, Brooke!
Learn MoreArielle Edwards

Arielle Edwards is the MHARS Board of Lorain County’s Program Officer, working with the Adult Services Director.
Arielle has worked passionately in the mental health field for more than 10 years. Before joining the MHARS Board of Lorain County in 2019, she worked at the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court as a Probation Officer in The McDonnell Center Community Based Correctional Facility, where she served as a liaison between the facility, the Court and Probation Department. Earlier in her career, Arielle worked at Recovery Resources in Cleveland first as its EMPOWER Program Coordinator facilitating programming for incarcerated women with PTSD in a therapeutic milieu and then as a forensic liaison, in which she assisted those struggling with mental illness and substance use disorder charged in one of Cuyahoga County’s municipal courts and within the Common Pleas Court. Arielle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology for Ohio University where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She also earned her Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.
Learn MoreJeanette Hinkle

Jeanette Hinkle works at the MHARS Board of Lorain County as the Claims and IT Coordinator.
Jeanette has over 21 years of experience in mental health claims, 14 of those years being at the MHARS Board. She spent seven years at the children’s agency in Lorain County. Before entering the mental health field, she has worked at a variety of places, including working as a civilian employee for the Army. Jeanette holds two associate degrees in the areas of Business and Computers.
Jeanette is a passionate advocate for mental health and addiction.
“Mental health is important to me as I know people who suffer with mental illness and were not receiving adequate help. Getting people connected to the proper services is extremely important for not only the person with the mental illness but the people close to them as well,” she said. “I love the fact that the MHARS Board is concerned not only about the job, but the staff as well. I enjoy helping people and here at the Board I am able to help many people.”
Learn MoreVinaida Reyna

Vinaida Ruth Reyna is the MHARS Board’s Executive Assistant.
She is a longtime resident of the City of Lorain and a graduate of Admiral King High School. She holds an Office Management Certificate from JVS. In February 2005, she was hired with the then-mental health board as a Receptionist, then Secretary and was promoted to Executive Assistant. She is the mother of four amazing young adults and grandmother to a very cool kid. She said of her work with the MHARS Board, “I enjoy being part of serving the community.” Her favorite quote comes from Ghandi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Learn MoreMark Johnson

Mark Johnson works at the MHARS Board of Lorain County as the Chief of Behavioral Health Services and leads the Community Services Team.
Johnson also chairs the Continuum of Care Subcommittee and sits on the Steering Committee for the Lorain County Crisis Response Project. He is also the MHARS lead with the Clear Pathways Learning Community and sits on the State Crisis Task Force. Johnson is also initiating a Continuous Quality Improvement focus that is informed by data and outcomes.
He is a Licensed Independent Social Worker-Supervision, with a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University. He started his career as a therapist serving children and families. He has also held several roles including Clinical Services Director for over two decades for a community-based mental health and substance use disorder treatment agency with multiple Northeast Ohio Sites.
Outside of his work with the MHARS Board, Johnson is passionate about the ASP, the Appalachian Service Project. He is an Ambassador, a Project Leader, and a Helping Hand for the ASP. The Appalachian Service Project is a non-profit organization based in Tennessee that organizes over 17,000 volunteers a year across 5 Appalachian states to work on homes for people to be warmer, safer, and drier. Johnson works with high school and college youth to lead week long mission trips with the ASP.
Learn MoreSarah Reinhold

Sarah received both her Bachelors and Masters in Public Health from Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Missouri and has worked for 5 years in the fields of program planning, evaluation and data analysis. She previously worked for a population health department at Saint Louis Children’s Hospital before joining the MHARS Board in 2019 as the Project Manager/Evaluator for the First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (FR-CARA) grant. This past year, Sarah has taken on a new role as the Continuous Quality Improvement Officer.
Sarah is excited to work at the MHARS Board and to continue to address the mental health and addiction needs of Lorain County residents.
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LCOAT Family Support Branch Debuts Resource Guide
The Lorain County Opioid Action Team’s (LCOAT) Family Support Branch has created a new resource guide for families affected by substance use disorder.
When a loved one struggles with addiction, we may not know how to help. This guide is designed by family members of those struggling with substance use disorder to make the process of finding help a little easier.
Click here to download the printable It’s OK to Talk About It guide.
Learn MoreKaeli Moody
Kaeli is a second-year undergraduate student attending Ohio University’s E-Campus studying psychology with the goal of becoming a social worker after graduation. Her longtime goal is to obtain a PhD in Clinical Psychology and eventually become a Psychologist.
While currently living in Vermilion, Kaeli is originally from Xenia, Ohio and graduated from Beavercreek High School. She works as an intern here at the MHARS Board of Lorain County under Nancy Kelsey, working on communication and networking with providers and residents of Lorain County.
She is extremely passionate about mental health and addiction issues.
“Mental health has always been a big part of my life,” says Kaeli. “I have personally been affected by mental health issues and have struggled reaching out for help many times. I want to be able to help others receive treatment services and to know that they are not alone in their journey.”
Learn MoreMichael Doud

Michael Doud is the Executive Director at the MHARS (Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services) Board of Lorain County. Doud has spent over 30 years in the behavioral health field and most recently, Mr. Doud was the Chief Operating Officer of the Emerald Development and Economic Network, a non-profit community housing development agency in Cleveland.
Earlier in his career, he spent almost 20 years at the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County and also worked at the Nord Center and St. Joseph/Community Health Partners in Lorain. Mr. Doud has a BA degree from Cleveland State University and an MS degree in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University.
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