Meet the Board & Facilitators
Dawn Jackson,
Board President
As the newly appointed President of NAMI Flathead Dawn brings experience and a sincere commitment to support mental health advocacy. Her involvement with NAMI began in 2003, and she openly shares that her connection with NAMI has been a sanity saver and has helped her navigate the complexities of mental health challenges for loved ones.
Trained as a leader for NAMI Programs, Family-to-Family and Family Support Group. Her expertise extends to training future leaders at the state level, for both programs, to empower others within the NAMI community.
Beyond her professional pursuits, Dawn cherishes her roles as a mother to two grown sons and a proud grandmother, finding immense joy in her family. Dawn values quality time with her life partner, as well as family and friends. As the Group Sales Manager for Discover Kalispell and the owner of DJ’s Mystery Parties, Dawn’s professional background complements her dedication to NAMI’s mission.
Collaborating with the NAMI Board, Dawn aims to strengthen the organization’s financial foundation and continue to create essential resources within the community for individuals facing mental health disorders and the families who support them.
Dawn recognizes the transformative power of knowledge, support, and shared experiences, all of which NAMI Flathead provides to the community. Committed to giving back, she is driven to contribute to the ongoing cultivation of mental health awareness, support, and empowerment.
Eileen Lowrey,
Vice President
With more than 20 years of dedicated advocacy for mental health services, Eileen has personally and professionally witnessed the power and effectiveness of NAMI and the many different services it provides.
In addition to serving as Director of Manzanita Services in Northern California , Eileen has served on many state and local mental health boards in both Montana and California. Eileen is also a trained Family to Family teacher and Family Support Facilitator and has proudly served on the board of NAMI Flathead for more than 10 years.
Eileen believes the education, the support, and the understanding that she has received from NAMI while navigating the challenges of having a loved one with mental health issues has saved not only her own life, but saved the life of her daughter, her granddaughter, and countless others.
In short, her gratitude for NAMI and all it has to offer is boundless, and she hopes that anyone who lives with mental illness or knows a loved one who does reaches out to NAMI and finds the support they need. They are not alone.
Colleen Konopatzke,
Board Treasurer
Colleen’s involvement with NAMI began in 2013, when she saw an ad for a NAMI Family to Family class happening in Kalispell. Her son had recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia and she needed help navigating through the muddy waters that were ahead. What she received from that class was mental health education, local resource information, and most of all, the support of others who were in the same boat as her. It was a life-changing experience that gave her the passion to be an advocate herself.
She pursued getting trained at the State level and is now a facilitator for the NAMI Flathead 8-week Family to Family classes and facilitates a NAMI Family Support Group in Columbia Falls. She is also trained to teach future facilitators at the State level for NAMI Family to Family and NAMI Family Support Group facilitators.
She is currently the Vice President of NAMI Flathead. She is very proud of being a part of NAMI Flathead and the work that is being done within the group of people who serve. We are aware that as the Flathead Valley grows, so does the need for mental health resources. Her passion is to grow NAMI Flathead advocacy to fit the needs of our community.
Jenn Wheeler,
Board Secretary
Bio Coming Soon…
Julia Doyle,
Past President
Past president of Nami Flathead. Trained in FSG and FTF.
Retired RN, Child Life Specialist, mother of two, grandmother of four, lives in Marion with her collie, ZInnia and cat, Birch. Loves flowers, water colors and weaving.
Nino & Victoria Gabaldon,
Committee Chair's for Public Relations
Figuring out what you want to be when you grow up can be HUGE, especially when you’re already grown. Yay us, for finally figuring it out! (Apparently it’s been staring us right in the face for years.) All we had to do was ask ourselves a few simple questions.
1. What do we feel most purposed and called to do?
2. When do we feel most happily and usefully whole?
The answer was clear. It has ALWAYS been when we are loving, serving, and recovery commUNITY building. And it was from these three things that the idea of starting a “Supportive Tiny House Community” was born.
What does that even mean? To keep things simple; it’s nothing more than substance-free cohousing that has a commercial component designed to assist with individual and communal self-sustainability. We are building a healing environment for individuals who need or desire support with their mental wellness and substance abuse recovery journeys. (We are ALL recovering from something.) -NOT a “Sober Living” but a place where people are LIVING sober.
We are a sober, husband and wife team that has been active in the recovery community and Human Services for over 50 years combined. In that time we have definitely discovered where our hearts live, uncovered a few of our gifts, and received great training. Through lived experience, continued education, and providence, we have become Mental Wellness and Recovery Peer Support Specialists, Family Members of, and Advocates for – those experiencing symptoms of mental health conditions.
Along the path, we also became partners with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and continue to serve in several capacities at the local level. We participate in Board Leadership, Facilitate Groups, and are part of the NAMI Certified Provider Program which educates/prepares Service Providers on more informed ways to interact with their care recipients with mental health challenges.
Our hopes have always been that one day we would find out how God could use us best, and the day arrived. We are forever grateful. Finally realizing that we are standing on the path and ready to take full responsibility for this mission, is awesome and scary all at the same time. Our commitment is to fear less, and remain faith-FULL, as we step forward.