Compassionate, community-focused leadership
Kitsap Mental Health Services is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors dedicated to quality behavioral health care services for the people of our community.
Patty Lent
President
Patty was elected to the Board in March 2009 and has served as President of the Board since 2019. She has a staunch commitment to individuals with mental illnesses and issues concerning housing and homelessness. Patty served an 8-year term as Mayor of the City of Bremerton, and a 4-year term as Kitsap County Commissioner. She is active in many community organizations, including the Bremerton Central Lions Club, Kitsap Community Foundation, Red Cross West Sound Advisory Board. U.S. Navy League, VFW Ladies Auxillary. Post 239, The Bremerton Eagles Aerie 193, and is a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church.
Laurie Kadet
President-Elect
Laurie is a retired physical therapist with an MA from Columbia University. She and her husband moved to Suquamish from NY in 2015 and she has served on the KMHS board since May 2019, currently serving as President-Elect. In addition, she is co-chair of the Suquamish Citizens Advisory Committee and is a precinct committee officer and an executive board member for the 23rd LD Democrats. When she isn’t volunteering, she loves to explore the natural beauty of Puget Sound, as well as read, garden and knit.
Emily Olson
Secretary-Treasurer
Emily became a member of the KMHS Board January 2021 and currently serves as Secretary-Treasurer. A Certified Public Accountant and banker with Kitsap Bank, she is a graduate of the University of Washington and Presidio Graduate School. Emily is also a board member of the Kitsap Humane Society and as a lifelong Kitsap County resident is dedicated to serving the Kitsap community. Among her interests are travel, social justice, animal welfare, environmental protection and mental health.
Maureen Gaffney, RN, MN
Director
Maureen was elected to the Board in April 2016. Maureen received her Master of Nursing, with 52 years of professional nursing prior to retirement. Returning to her beloved Great Northwest and hometown of Bremerton, she is delighted to be back near family and participating in volunteer activities within the Community, including KMHS.
Andre D. Henderson
Director
Andre was elected to the Board in January 2021. A graduate of Olympic College, he is currently a student at the University of Washington – Tacoma, working towards his Bachelor’s in Social Work. Andre also serves as the President of the Formerly Incarcerated Students Association (FISA) at the university and a Student Leader co-chair for the Global Honors Program. With a passion for politics and advocacy, he holds a Student Leadership Fellowship with UW-T, is on the Access to Justice Board, and is a member of Civil Survival. While committing to several other community positions, including being a newly appointed member of the Bremerton Housing Authority (BHA) board of commissioners, he is a strong advocate for criminal justice reform and a social justice community activist.
Jean F. Mackimmie
Director
Jean has been on the KMHS Board since 1994 and is a Past President of the Board. A Registered Nurse with a Master of Child and Family Studies, Jean retired in 2003 after a 40-year career in Public Health Nursing. Jean is actively involved with St. Anthony’s Episcopal Church in Silverdale, and enjoys visiting with her two married sons and their families.
Robert Perkins
Director
Robert joined the Board December 2020. A retired engineer, he was a 20 year project manager for NASA/Honeywell. Among his many enjoyments are golf, NASA, family cookouts, boating, flying, and music. He is a board member for the Abundant Life Foursquare Church in Bremerton, board member of the Bremerton Central Lions Club, and small business owner.
Gary Simpson
Director
Gary had served as Kitsap County Sheriff since January 2015 and retired in July of 2021. With a nearly a four decade (37 years) career in Law Enforcement, Gary was a member of both the National and the Western States Sheriffs Associations, the Washington State Association of Sheriff and Police Chiefs, and other law enforcement affiliated organizations. He was also a member of the Bremerton-Olympic Council of the U.S. Navy League. His strong support of healthy communities extends to involvement with numerous organizations including Compassionate Friends of Kitsap County, Peninsula Work Release Advisory Board, Kitsap 911 Advisory Board to name a few. As Sheriff, Simpson’s department was the first to bring a KMHS Designated Crisis Responder onto a Deputy/DCR Mobile Crisis Co-Responder Team, a commitment to seeing that people in behavioral health crisis and offices would be more able to deescalate and improve crisis response in the field.
Steve Strachan
Director
Steve, elected to the Board in 2014, is Executive Director of Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. He was formerly Chief of Police for the Bremerton Police Department, Chief of the Kent Police Department, and the King County Sheriff. During his career, Steve has taken an active role in policy and community dialogue regarding the intersection of behavioral health with the law and justice system, working to reduce involvement in the criminal justice system and provide alternatives to arrest. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology, a Master's Degree in Public Administration. Before his law enforcement career, he served as an elected member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he served on the Judiciary, Government Operations, and State Government Finance Committees.
Jan Tezak, RN, MN
Director
Jan was elected to the Board in February 2008 and is a Past President. Jan has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Nursing Degree, specializing in Psychosocial Nursing. Previous clinical experience included supervisory responsibilities on adult mental health inpatient units at University of Washington Hospital and Cabrini Hospital in Seattle. She is currently an emeritus Nursing Faculty member at Olympic College. In addition to teaching psychosocial nursing theory and clinical courses, Jan taught nursing ethics. She lives in Poulsbo with her husband and enjoys travel, reading, and gardening.
Eve N. Willett
Director
Eve was elected to the Board in 2007 and is a Past President. Majoring in Business Administration, Eve opened Eve Willett Insurance Agency in 1994, reorganized to become Red Pony Insurance Services, Inc and is currently with Sea-Mountain Insurance. Eve has a passion for assuring community behavioral health services are available to all in our community, and that the staff and agency have the resources needed to provide excellent care. Decent, safe affordable housing has been especially important to Eve, knowing how crucial housing is to stability of individuals with serious mental illnesses. In her spare time, Eve enjoys competing with her Half/Arabian show horse in “reining” competitions throughout the Pacific Northwest.
People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.