Jay Bechtol
Jay BechtolCEO
Jay has over thirty years of social service experience working with children, adults and families. He has a Master’s in Social Work from California State University, Los Angeles and a Master’s in Business Administration from California State University, San Bernardino. He firmly believes that everyone has capacity to transform their lives.
Carla Meitler
Carla MeitlerCFO
Carla has been with SPBHS for over 15 years, starting as the Accounting Supervisor, and moving into the Chief Operating Officer role during her tenure at the agency. Her background includes holding management positions in financial departments at savings banks in California and Washington, as well as an Accountant position at Premera Blue Cross in Washington. She was born and raised in Southern California, and moved with her husband to Washington, then to Alaska. Carla holds a Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University. She enjoys spending time with her husband and her dogs, and they spend as much time as possible in the summer in their RV exploring Alaska and Canada.
Carol Barrett
Carol BarrettQuality Improvement Director
Carol Barrett, Quality Improvement Director, has worked at SPBHS since 2003- starting as Executive Assistant. Carol moved to Alaska from Oregon in 1992 where she was a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor. She lives “off the grid” in a cabin she and her husband built. Family, gardening, fairy lights, chocolate and tie dye all make her feel good.
Christy Russ
Christy Russ Program Manager- Pride/ Supported Housing
Christy started her career in education, teaching Kindergarten and First Grade in Madison, Wisconsin for 13 years. After moving to Alaska in 2010, she discovered social service and found that her teaching skills combined with her passion for helping people transferred well to that work. She began at SPBHS as a Direct Service Professional. When the Program Manager position for PRIDE became available, she jumped at the chance to try her hand at guiding the program. Christy strongly believes in person-centered service and empowering independence in program participants. She also really enjoys working with staff and finding ways to problem solve and support them in their work. In her personal time, she enjoys going camping and fishing “refill her cup,” and make her smile.
Jon McGhee
Jon McGheeProgram Manager - Adult Rehab / IPS
Jon has over 25 years of experience in social services. Prior to working at SPBHS, he lived and worked internationally in 10 countries in the social services field, primarily in Asia. Jon was hired at SPBHS in 2017 to start the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employment program at the agency. IPS soon took off and became a model program for other Alaska agencies and was used by the State of Alaska as a training resource. In 2019 Jon was excited to be offered the chance to lead the Adult Rehab program. He is a firm believer that, even though recovery looks different for everyone, recovery is in fact achievable with the right tools, supports, and encouragement. Outside of work, he enjoys spending simple quality time with his family and friends in all that our small Alaska town has to offer.