NPI
Consulting Services
What Can NPI Do for Your Organization?
NPI has assembled a group of experienced professionals in housing development, finance, program design, grant writing/administration, advocacy and
cause marketing.
As cost-effective consultants, NPI can bring you a wealth of expertise from
the following team:
John has over 20 years of
professional community planning and development experience. He has spent the
past 17 years applying this knowledge to increase housing and employment
opportunities for people with mental illness. He was hired by the Lucas County
Mental Health Board in 1987 to assist in founding and growing NPI. As a private
consultant John conducted state and local needs assessments, created housing
corporations, conducted strategic planning efforts, written grants, arranged
financing and developed affordable housing in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina,
Florida and Indiana. He has presented at numerous state and national
conferences on the issues of affordable housing, homelessness, social purpose
ventures, supportive housing for people with a mental illness and property asset
management.
As Executive Director of NPI since
1995, he has been instrumental in increasing the corporation’s capacity from 300
apartments and four employees to 661 units and 50-plus employees. NPI’s annual
operating budget is $6 million. During this time he provided leadership that
resulted in the improvement of the Adult Care Facility program that provides
group homes to persons with mental illness.
John has a bachelor's degree in
natural resource management from the University of Toledo and a master's degree
in geology, also from UT.
Email JIM GUENTHER, AICP – VP of Development & Operations
Jim has a
bachelor's degree
in architecture from University of Michigan and a master’s in business
administration from the University of Toledo.
Prior to joining NPI, he
worked in the community development department of the City of Toledo.
There he oversaw community development activities and administered $20-plus million in federal, state
and local funds as the manager of programs.
He has been responsible for NPI real
estate development since 1999, overseeing the purchase and/or construction of
dozens of apartments. He
provides oversight to both the human
services and property management side of the business. Most recently
Jim completed
an Asset Management plan for NPI.
Finally, he is responsible for grant
development, generating millions of dollars in federal and state grants over the
years.
Email KATHY BIHN, CPA - CONTROLLER
Kathy
has over 20 years of experience in the accounting field. She began her career in
1984 with the William Vaughn Company. In 1996 she moved to Gilmore, Jasion &
Mahler (GJM), where she worked in the tax and audit division. GJM is a
prestigious, locally owned firm in Toledo that is well known for its expertise
with non-profit finances.
The complicated and
ever-changing regulations surrounding governmental and not-for-profit work
require both specialized knowledge and ongoing education. A leader in this area,
Kathy was the audit manager on NPI before joining the NPI team.
She has
a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bowling Green State University and is a
member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
and the Ohio Society of CPA’s (OSCPA). She also serves on the Finance Committee
of the local YWCA.
Email JUANITA HALBIG-SANCHEZ, LSW – MANAGER OF TENANT SERVICES
Juanita
has brought her special touch to the mental health consumers of Toledo for over
15 years. She was a community support provider for 10 of those years, working
with conditional release/forensic clients through Unison Behavioral Health
Group. There she and others worked to develop a program to engage homeless
persons with serious mental illness, and helped them get linked with needed services.
Juanita is
currently the Manager of Tenant Services at NPI, where she supervises 12 people.
Her department encompasses housing support services, a PATH team, and four projects to house special populations (veterans, families,
young ex-offenders and chronically homeless persons). She
gets her energy from interacting with the people she serves.
She earned her bachelor's
degree in social work from Lourdes College.
Email LARRY WANUCHA – HOUSING SUPPORT SPECIALIST
Larry has worked
with mental health consumers in Lucas County
for over a decade.
He began
with NPI as a part-time consumer advocate in 1993. Two years later he was
working full-time to encourage tenants in their recovery and prevent homelessness.
He is known for his friendly and engaging communication style and strong work
ethic.
In addition to his career in social work, he is known in the mental health
community as an activist and artist. He has shared his personal story of
recovery as a public speaker with groups of all sizes. His beautiful,
abstract acrylic paintings are hanging in various facilities in Toledo,
including the Thomas M. Wernert Center, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental
Illness) of Greater Toledo, Zepf Community Mental Health Center, Rescue Mental
Health Services and NPI.
Larry earned
his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Toledo in 1995. He
is nearing completion of his master’s in rehabilitation counseling at Bowling
Green State University.
Email LYNNETTE HAIR, MSW – MANAGER OF ACF OPERATIONS
Lynnette
has spent more than a decade working with
disadvantaged and disabled
populations in Northwest Ohio. Before joining NPI she honed her skills at
Volunteers Of America, specifically with two rehabilitation programs for
juvenile and adult offenders leaving correctional facilities. In addition she
has designed programs to mainstream developmentally disabled students into
public schools for the Lucas County Board of Education.
With
NPI since 1996, Lynnette has partnered with other agencies to develop new
supports for mental health consumers, and created programs to fill gaps in
transitional and permanent housing services. She currently monitors 48 Adult
Care Facilities for severely mentally disabled adults in Lucas County. Her role
involves assisting with state licensing procedures and placement of mental
health clients into facilities.
She has a bachelor's Degree
in psychology from the University of Toledo and a master's in social work from
Eastern Michigan University.
Email PEG MORRISON, MBA – MANAGER OF COMMUNICATIONS & FUNDRAISING
Peg has 20 years
of experience in communications, ranging from journalism with a Gannett
newspaper to non-profit marketing. During the 1990’s she built a public
relations program from scratch at WSOS Community Action Commission, a $20
million anti-poverty agency serving four counties (Wood, Sandusky, Ottawa and Seneca)
in Northwest Ohio. She is a 1995
graduate of the Leadership Sandusky County Program.
She has conducted and/or
coordinated marketing surveys for WSOS, the Sandusky County Visitor’s Bureau and
NPI.
From 2004-2006
she organized the NPI Tenant’s Association, which has made its
voice heard on all levels of government regarding Medicaid, Section 8 funding
and NIMBY’ism.
She earned her bachelor's
degree in journalism from Kent State University and her master's in business
administration from Bowling Green State University.