Members of the NDCPD Consumer Advisory Council represent a wide range of interests and needs in the disability community.
Deanna Bakken
Deanna
resides in Fargo and volunteers on the board as the secretary at Red River
Human Services and as a council member with the Merit Care Family Patient Advisory
Council. She enjoys doing advocacy work and is interested in transportation
and housing issues for people with disabilities. She likes to shop and go to
the movies.
Sheryl Beard
Sheryl
is a person with a disability from Williston and is employed at Wal-Mart. Sheryl
is concerned that the disability community is not heard and joined the CAC
to be part of a voice that advocates for people with disabilities. Sheryl graduated
with an Associate’s degree from Williston State in May of 2008. She is
working on her Bachelor’s degree. Sheryl believes we all can make a difference.
Shirley Brennan
Shirley
is a person with a disability from Minot and a former employee of NDCPD. Shirley
serves on the ND State Council on Developmental Disabilities and enjoys spending
time with her service dog Annie. Shirley is interested in People First of North
Dakota.
Jane Haerter
Jane
is a member of the ND State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Jane is
a Guardian ad Lidem (G.A.L.) from the Fargo area. She works with abused and
neglected kids as a G.A.L. Jane graduated from San Diego State University with
a degree in Social Services. Jane has three college age children. Her hobbies
and interests are going to her twin’s sports games (soccer for Gerrit
at Jamestown College and basketball for JoJo and U of M, Crookston).
She
also enjoys reading, walks with her dog Simba and trying new restaurants.
Chennette Jelleberg
Chennettee
is an active member of the Christus Rex Choir. She volunteers in her community
in such programs as Adopt a Grandparent Program and 30 Hour Famine. Chennettee
served as Lieutenant Governor of Girls State, and as President of the National
Honor Society at her high school. She attended the Harold Schaefer Leadership
Camp and was a counselor in training at Youth Rally and is currently a student
at the University of North Dakota.
Janice Kern
Janice
lives in Grafton and works as a dental hygienist. She and her husband
have four sons, one with Autistic Disorder and life-threatening food allergies.
She is the co-coordinator for Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) of North
Dakota receiving annual training in order to provide support and information
to families affected by autism.
Pam Mack
Pam
is a 1991 graduate of the University of Mary with a degree in Social Work.
She is currently the Advocacy Director with the ND Protections and
Advocacy (P&A) Project. Prior to her work at ND P&A, she was a Program Director
for a Developmental Disabilities provider. Pam’s previous experience
is in hospital and nursing home social work. Pam and her husband, DeWitt,
live in Mandan with their three children. In her spare time she loves
to read, attend her children’s sporting events, and spend time with family
and friends.
Jane Nelson
Jane
and her husband have four children. Her young adult son has developmental disabilities
with a diagnosis of Cornelia deLange Syndrome. She is a social worker who is
employed as the Experienced Parent Project Coordinator. She is also involved
in several local, state and regional projects related to disability issues.
Norma Nichols
Norma
was born in upstate New York on a dairy farm. She went to college for
recreation education at Orange County Community College and then transferred
to Cortland State College and received a Bachelor’s degree in recreation.
She began working for HIT INC in 1986 where she started her career of working
with people with disabilities. Norma was the supervisor of a group home
for three years then moved to the individualized supported living arrangement
(ISLA) position of the program. She worked for HIT until May of 2006. For a
short time Norma owned her own business called Nan’s Parlor a soft
ice cream and coffee shop. Later she worked for Community Options working the
supportive home care contract she had started years earlier. She has worked
for Community Options for several years now and has started working with many
different families in the area. Norma enjoys this work very much. Her
hobbies include woodworking, and she has made furniture and crafts. She does
canning of chairs, (which means putting seats in with the rattan) and has finished
more furniture than she cares to count. Norma bought a house in Bismarck in
2001 and has done most of her own work in fixing it up. Norma has been a member
of the CAC since October 2006.
Shannon Simonson
Shannon
is a person with a disability and is currently the chairperson for the Consumer
Advisory Council. Shannon is an office assistant employed by Darveaux, Eaton
and Associates in Minot. She has been employed with them for nine years. Shannon
enjoys spending time with her niece, Bentley. Shannon enjoys reading and listening
to music.
Connie Springsted
Connie
lives in Minot and retired from the Minot Commission on Aging in 2008 as a
nutrition specialist. She also worked for First District Health Unit for 22
years. She has two teen age granddaughters who keep her very active in watching
them at rodeos, volleyball and basketball games. Each summer she attends the
North Dakota Association of the Blind Camp at Camp Grassick where she teaches
crocheting.
Mary Lou Stip
Mary
is a volunteer at Trinity Hospital and has received two Volunteer of the Year
Awards. Mary has a son who lives in Fargo and two granddaughters. She has lived
in Minot since August of 2000 at which time she moved from Fargo to marry her
husband Doug. Mary has been active in fundraising for NDAB (The North
Dakota Association of the Blind) and NDCPD. She also serves on the Scholarship
Committee for NDCPD. Mary loves to knit, read books on tape, quilt and walk.
She is a good cook and loves to bake.
Deborah Unruh
Deborah
and her husband have four children, and live on a small farm just outside of
Dickinson. Deb’s husband and two of their children each have different
disabilities, which were all diagnosed within one year of each other. This
sparked her interest in, and involvement with, several different organizations,
including the PLAY Project in Dickinson, Family Voices of North Dakota, and
a support group for parents of children with special needs. Deb enjoys
spending time with her family outdoors, working with the animals on their farm,
cooking, and reading in her spare time.
Gloria Chavez
Gloria Chavez was born in San Antonio Texas and resided in Sacramento California for 12 years before moving to Minot where she currently lives. For a time she worked with American Red Cross of North Dakota and enjoyed the opportunity she had at that time of helping others in need. She currently works for Minot Housing Authority.
Gloria is fluent in Spanish and is very active in her church which includes going on mission trips for her church. She continues to volunteer for the American Red Cross and the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP).
