Karen Ranus is the executive director of the Austin affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She sits on the Children’s Mental Health Plan Leadership Team, the Board of the Mayor's Health and Fitness Council, the Travis County Behavioral Health Advisory Committee, and she co-chairs the Austin Area Partnership for Mindful Health. She has been featured as a guest columnist on mental health issues in the Austin American-Statesman, Austin MD Magazineand The Daily Texan, and she is a frequent speaker in the community on mental health topics where she has been passionate about developing tools for faith communities to help them better support those living with mental illness. | |
Ilene Gray has worked for nearly 50 years to improve the lives of people with physical and mental disabilities. She has testified before state and legislative committees, conducted public forums, and given numerous presentations at national conferences. Ms. Gray has worked as a psychotherapist, program director, consultant to non-profit organizations, and expert witness in federal courts. Since her retirement two years ago, she has taken an increasingly active volunteer role in the Jewish community and in the areas of prison rehabilitation, mental health, homelessness, and refugee services. Ms. Gray has struggled with a severe mental illness since she was a child. |