A special thank you to Thad Shunkwiler, Founding Director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health at Minnesota State University, Mankato

As Founding Director of the Center, Thad brought the big idea and vision for the Center to life, to address the critical shortage of behavioral health professionals and ultimately increase access to care for our communities in outstate Minnesota. His vision has been integral to getting the research, continuing education, and workforce development mission of the Center to the launchpad. He has championed funding efforts through grants, community partnerships, and most recently a significant state appropriation. We are on solid footing because of his relentless efforts. Thad will be returning to his faculty appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Health Sciences. He will contine to work with the Center in his faculty role as Principal Investigator on several funded projects in progress and assist through the transition in leadership.

Staff

Center Director

Darcie Davis-Gage, PhD, LMHC
Professor
Department of Counseling & Student Personnel
Email: darcie.davisgage@mnsu.edu

Darcie Davis-Gage is a licensed mental health counselor, counselor educator, and consultant with over 20 years of experience in behavioral health. Her leadership roles have included work as the Chair of Graduate Faculty, Program Coordinator of Counseling, and numerous leadership roles in community and campus advisory boards and non-profit organizations. Dr. Davis-Gage actively collaborates in numerous interdisciplinary research and grant endeavors and frequently publishes and presents nationally and internationally on compassion fatigue, rural health and wellness, and occupational trauma. Dr. Davis-Gage founded the Tenacity Institute for First Responders in response to the rising mental health needs of volunteer first responders in rural communities. The Institute is designed to provide services to first responders, firefighters, and frontline workers to prevent burnout and vicarious trauma and build resiliency through a variety of services. She also serves as the clinical consultant for Hero Haven, a non-profit agency providing support to rural volunteer firefighters and first responders. She remains clinically active and has completed numerous evidence-based treatment programs for treating trauma and post-traumatic stress.

Associate Director of Clinical Operations

Jennifer Andrashko, MSW, LICSW
Associate Professor
Department of Social Work
Email: jennifer.andrashko@mnsu.edu

Jennifer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work. As the Associate Director of Clinical Operations for the Center for Rural Behavioral Health, Jennifer works closely with center leadership to ensure clinical compliance in the clinic setting. Jennifer is a seasoned clinical social worker in rural settings with a special interest in perinatal mental health care.

An alumna of the Hubert H. Humphrey Policy Fellowship Program and an appointed member of the Minnesota Maternal Mortality Review Committee, Jennifer is actively engaged in policy and advocacy practice. She has experience in political campaign management, grassroots organizing, nonprofit board leadership, and as a candidate for public office. Research interests include health equity, maternal mortality, the maternal medical home, anti-racist social work practice, and social welfare policy.

Associate Director

Paul Force-Emery Mackie, PhD, LISW
Professor & Distinguished Faculty Scholar
Department of Social Work
Email: paul.mackie@mnsu.edu

Paul Mackie holds the rank of Professor in the Department of Social Work. He has published several articles and books addressing rural policy and behavioral health concerns and is a Past President of the National Association for Rural Mental Health.

Throughout his academic career, he has placed rural issues and concepts at the forefront of his teaching, scholarship, and service and has had the honor to work on rural health care policy along with rural behavioral health labor shortage concerns at the State and Federal levels.

Associate Director of Education & Outreach

Jennifer Londgren, EdD, LMFT, NCC
Associate Professor
Department of Health Science
Email: Jennifer.londgren@mnsu.edu

Jennifer Londgren is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Science. She is the Program Coordinator and Internship Coordinator of the Alcohol and Drug Studies Program. Jennifer is a licensed marriage and family therapist, a nationally certified counselor, and a board certified telemental health provider. For the past decade, she has been working in a variety of clinical settings in the Mankato area, with a specialty in women's issues and addiction.

Jennifer leads a variety of trainings at the local, state, and national level, with a specialty in self-care, mental health resilience, habits and routines, happiness and mindset, and innovative teaching techniques.

Associate Director of Research & grants

Tracie Rutherford Self, PhD., LPCC and Asssociate Professor
Department of Counseling & Student Personnel
Email: tracie.self@mnsu.edu

Dr. Rutherford Self is an Associate Professor in the Counseling and Student Personnel Department at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Dr. Rutherford Self’s primary areas of research interests include suicide, pedagogy, rural mental health, and autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Rutherford Self has previously presented nationally, regionally, and at the state level. Dr. Rutherford Self has been in higher education for over 14 years, and has experience working in college counseling, teaching, and administration. She was previously the Director of Student Support Services, TRIO Director, and an Equity Director at a small rural higher education institution. She has taught courses at several colleges in undergraduate psychology and sociology departments, along with graduate courses at both the master’s and doctoral level in counseling. A teaching area of specialization for Dr. Rutherford Self is human sexuality in relational counseling.

Additionally, Dr. Rutherford Self has owned her own mental health private practice for the past decade where she works with clients from 3-70 years old in a predominately rural area in the Midwest. An area of specialization at her private practice is identifying and managing children and adolescents who are twice exceptional and working with high-risk populations struggling with crisis and suicide. Dr. Rutherford Self’s private practice includes working with individual, relational, and group counseling with diverse populations. Dr. Rutherford Self is trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy and implements this with clients struggling with traumatic reactions and using it as a technique for relaxation and stress management.

Clinic Manager

Addie Evans
Email: addie.evans@mnsu.edu

Originally from Kansas City, Addie pursued their education at Fairhaven College of Western Washington University, focusing on Intersectional Feminist Health Practices. Their career brought them from Colorado to Oregon, and now back to the Midwest. With over six years of impactful experience at Planned Parenthood, Addie has been a champion for reproductive health and mental health advocacy, with an emphasis on removing stigma and serving marginalized communities. Their expertise in navigating healthcare policy and community engagement has been instrumental in breaking down barriers and ensuring equitable access to care. Driven by a deep commitment to health equity and social justice, Addie is eager to leverage their expertise and passion to make a positive impact in healthcare advocacy.

Integrated Healthcare Coordinator

Lynn Kuechle

Within the coordinator role, Lynn will oversee the Center's Minnesota Department of Health grant aimed at increasing training opportunities for mental health professionals within integrated healthcare settings.

In addition to her role with the Center for Rural Behavioral Health, Lynn has been the coordinator for the Taylor Nursing Institute within the School of Nursing at Minnesota State University, Mankato. At the Taylor Nursing Institute, Lynn has been instrumental in managing funding from the endowment as well as helping to secure additional funding from both private and public grants. She has been involved in several healthcare projects from a community-based collaborative aimed at reducing sugary beverage consumption in Madelia, Minnesota, to international research related to nurses connecting with families in the ICU.

Clinical Education Coordinator

Elizabeth Harstad, MSW, LISW

Elizabeth Harstad joined the Center for Rural Behavioral Health in fall 2023 as the Clinical Education Coordinator to advance the center’s objective of continuing education and customized training. Elizabeth has experience convening and collaborating with community stakeholders to address unmet community needs and bringing educational opportunities to the region. Prior to joining as staff, Elizabeth was on the Advisory Board for the Center for Rural Behavioral Health. She is a founding board member of Mankato Youth Place and serves on various regional committees that focus on human development and behavioral health. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Master of Social Work program at Minnesota State University, Mankato and is a Minnesota Board of Social Work Licensed Independent Social Worker.

Rural Behavioral Health Fellowship

The Center's fellowship program is a competitive, yearlong opportunity for graduate students to work alongside the faculty and staff of the Center for Rural Behavioral Health to enhance their research and clinical knowledge in rural behavioral health. This funded program requires that the Fellow commit to completing their clinical internship in a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area and work on behavioral health research with a faculty mentor.

Advisory Board

Affiliated Faculty

Administrative Assistant

Katie Roeder
Email: roeder@mnsu.edu

Katie joined the Center for Rural and Behavioral Health in Spring 2024. Katie has worked at Minnesota State University, Mankato for over 20 years in various roles and departments and brings great experience in operations of the campus community.