Board President Stephanie Pavol has taken part in pivotal change at MHAOhio since she joined in 2016. The staff grew from 10 to 20, and the number of trustees increased from 17 to 25 – all vital to the organization’s ability to begin expanding its mental health services statewide.
“We’ve done a lot of work to form a board that is engaged and enthusiastic about this work,” she says. “We’ve also made some strides with the diversity of our board, and that’s a work in progress. We’re trying to be thoughtful and mindful about our board makeup in the meantime.”
Stephanie leant strategic support in launching Mental Health First Aid, Family Advocate, Occumetrics, and new services for Peer Recovery Supporters. She also worked to grow POEM – the program that introduced her to MHAOhio when she experienced her own prenatal anxiety and depression. After receiving POEM’s support, she decided to become a peer volunteer and help other moms.
“With the right help and support, POEM being a big part of that, I was able to make a quick recovery,” she says. “Then I became really passionate about paying that forward.”
Associate Director Tonya Fulwider advocated for Stephanie’s joining the board, explaining that having a client who had utilized MHAOhio’s services would be extremely valuable to the organization. “Stephanie’s service to MHAOhio is a beautiful and inspiring example of the breadth of incredible contributions of those who’ve experienced mental health complications,” Tonya says. “She’s gifted her passion and talents to make a tremendous impact on the board, the staff, our partners, and ultimately the thousands of people that this organization serves each year.”
As Stephanie begins to think of her work and career beyond her presidency on the MHAOhio Board, she leaves some parting wisdom: “In the past 10 years since I started becoming a vocal advocate about my experience, I’ve seen it become a lot less stigmatized. But the need is not going away. If anything, it’s getting greater. When we see these increased numbers, we shouldn’t see tragedy. We should see them as all the more reason to work on access and quality of care.”
Stephanie’s guidance and support throughout her tenure with the organization have been invaluable. She will serve as Past President in the coming year as MHAOhio continues to transition into statewide work.
“Not everyone has that depth of empathy and understanding for the work we do,” Tonya says. “We’re all grateful to have benefitted from Stephanie’s caring and dedicated leadership.”
