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Meet Our Team

Our staff bring diverse levels of lived experience, education and training

Amber Hutchison

Executive Director

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Nathan Borlee

Member Care Coordinator

Gabriella is pictured smiling in front of a gray brick wall wearing a plaid jacket and black shirt

Gabriella Thiel

Mental Health Navigator / CCS Provider

Board of Directors

Dan Hornung

Board President

Callie Schroeder

Board Vice President

John Stangel

Board Treasurer

Gary Keesling

Candice Giesen

Cindy Carter

Heather Verhelst


>> In the event of a behavioral health crisis call <<

CALL 988

Suicide and Crisis Hotline
Available 24 hours
Prefer to text or chat?

920-683-4230

Manitowoc County Crisis Support
M-F 9am-3pm or by appt

888-552-6642

Manitowoc County Crisis Support
Nights / Weekends / Holidays

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Clubhouse Hours

Mon-Thurs: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, Fridays 9:00 am-2:00 pm or by appt

Address

1226 Washington Street
Manitowoc, WI 54220

Phone

920-652-9952

© 2024 PAINTING PATHWAYS CLUBHOUSE. 

Brian Portzen

Brian was born and raised in Manitowoc, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin: Madison. Brian worked in government, primarily in St. Paul, Minnesota, for 35 years and joined Painting Pathways as Executive Director in 2022. He defines his 35-year career as bringing care, compassion, and meaningful services to those who have been mislabeled and mistreated by society.

During Brian’s 35 years in government service, he was involved in providing, developing and supervising programming in juvenile corrections. In addition, Brian was involved in Juvenile Justice Reform, specifically being part of the Annie E Casey Juvenile Detention Reform Alternative Initiative (JDAI). The result of that work was the reduction of the use of juvenile detention, reform of the juvenile detention practices, and in providing mental health services and programming to all youth who were incarcerated.The success of these reforms were due to the use of data based decisions and practices and community engagement. Brian brings those practices to his work at Painting Pathways Clubhouse in Manitowoc County 

Brian is an advocate for increasing access to helping relationships for those in greatest need. He is dedicated to bringing peer-led mental health programming and services to Manitowoc County in an effort to increase the overall quality and availability of mental healthcare.

Brian resides in Two Rivers with his wife. In his free time, he enjoys nature, bicycling, photography, and listening to music.

Linda Kerscher

Linda Kerscher

Linda Kerscher is a native of Manitowoc County, born and raised in the country and living her adult life in the city of Manitowoc. After graduating from Lincoln High School, Linda continued working and traveling the country. Her proudest accomplishment is fulfilling the role of “mom”. The decision for their boys to attend Catholic School allowed ample opportunity for volunteering. Her involvement as a volunteer not only gave hands on time with her two sons, but also created strong relationships with many of the families.

Working side by side for over 15 years set the foundation for her role at Painting Pathways. While fundraising is a huge part of her job, getting members involved in supporting the maintenance of our community is the most important challenge. At Painting Pathways, Linda teaches life skills and helps members accomplish goals through emphasizing not only the importance of diligence and daily tasks but the rewards and boost in confidence that come through accomplishment. Linda has also completed training in Question-Persuade-Refer, Drug Identification and Recognition, Food Safety, and has attended several educational conferences throughout the years.

Gabriella is pictured smiling in front of a gray brick wall wearing a plaid jacket and black shirt

Gabriella Thiel

 

Gabriella was born and raised in Chilton and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. Passionate about psychopathology, Gabriella uses her work at Painting Pathways to help members better understand how the biological aspects of their brains interact with environmental factors, impacting how we think, feel, and act. As a co-facilitator of Pathways to Resilience, our newly formed group focused on helping 16-30 year olds develop practical life skills and manage their mental health, Gabriella hopes to deepen Painting Pathways’ advocacy for young adults. She is also a provider of comprehensive community services (CCS) including medication management and individual skill development.

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