Jinny Palen Executive Director

Jin Lee (Jinny) Palen is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minnesota Association of Community Mental Health Programs (MACMHP). Her background includes public health research and analysis, community engagement, legislative advocacy, government relations, public policy, and community leadership. She serves on the Boards of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Disability Directors. Prior to her role with MACMHP, Jinny was Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers (MNACHC) Public Policy Staff. Jinny stays active in her local neighborhood community clinic and AAPI community. Jinny worked for the Minnesota Department of Health in the Health Economics Program, Tobacco Prevention and Control, and the Legislative Affairs Office. Jinny was a Legislative Policy Fellow of the Partners for the Americas Policy Exchange Fellowship in 2014. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph MN, and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota.

Gladys ChuyChief Operating Officer

Gladys Chuy, is the Chief Operating Officer for the Minnesota Association of Community Mental Health Programs and the Executive Director for Convergence Integrated Care (CIC). Chuy brings over 20 years of healthcare industry experience including industry research, project management, care delivery, quality and performance improvement, and claims and data analysis; she also brings over 15 years as an administrator in provider settings with proven success managing stakeholder engagement and strategic objectives in the design, implementation, and operationalization of quality and performance improvement initiatives in clinical settings. Chuy has held roles as a healthcare administrator, Health and Human Services federal government consultant, and Patient Safety Officer. Chuy has worked directly with federally qualified health centers,  primary care, and specialty services providers to develop clinical care models, best practices, and strategic interventions, and reduce health disparities. She has led and implemented quality and performance improvement efforts and programs in integrated healthcare systems to optimize healthcare outcomes and enhance healthcare delivery systems. Chuy is committed to supporting diverse and underserved communities through system-level changes. She has an MHA from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Simona StoianoviciOperations Manager

Bio and photo to come

Tyler Reitzner Business Development Director

Tyler Reitzner is the Business Development Director for Minnesota Association of Community Mental Health Programs (MACMHP) and Convergence Integrated Care (CIC). He is also a husband, a father, and an impassioned advocate for everyone’s right to quality care. In long-term recovery from developmental trauma, PTSD and substance use disorder, Tyler has put his experience in personal recovery, consulting, marketing, and community-capacity-building into helping transform mental health, social services, and health care services for greater healing. By taking an ecological approach, Tyler supports work that transforms the communities we work, play, and raise our families in. 

As Business Development Director, Tyler leads strategic initiatives that advance the growth, visibility, and sustainability of the association. He is responsible for developing and managing partnerships with state agencies, providers, and community stakeholders; identifying opportunities for funding, innovation, and advocacy; and aligning business strategies with MACMHP’s mission to promote equitable accessible mental health care across Minnesota. Through a focus on collaboration, strategic planning, and resource development, Tyler plays a key role in strengthening MACMHP and CIC’s impact on supporting member organizations in delivering high quality, community based mental health services. 

Tyler and his wife Bethany are happy parents to two boys, Logan and Lucas.

Parker Lewis Population Health Director

Parker brings 15 years of healthcare experience to the MACMHP team, including FQHC and hospital administration, clinical quality data and process improvement leadership, and expertise in developing and publishing Federal rules and sub-regulatory guidance. He has spent the last 9 years as a Federal consultant for the MITRE Corporation and IBM Watson Health, primarily focusing on rule-writing initiatives for the Marketplace and managing Medicare quality reporting program appeals. Additionally, he authored an FQHC excellence framework and contributed to a research study using publicly available datasets to identify correlations between skilled nursing facility characteristics and COVID-19 outcomes. 

Prior to consulting, Parker led the quality data team at Methodist Hospital and worked at Clinica Family Health, a five-site FQHC in Colorado, where he focused on clinical outcomes and UDS improvement, community engagement, and PCMH level III accreditation.

Parker graduated from Dartmouth College with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish language and literature and obtained his Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota. He lives in Minnetonka with his wife, Alli, their 6-year-old son, Hart, and two yellow labs, Samson and Nelly. When not focused on community health, the Lewis family enjoys the outdoors and visiting the mountains whenever possible.

Parker couldn’t be happier about joining MACMHP’s mission-driven work as the Population Health Director and supporting mental health organizations as they make meaningful differences in their local communities.

Aminah HarutExecutive Assistant

Photo and bio to come

Zach MichalPopulation Health & Policy Specialist

Zach Michal recently earned his Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota with a focus on Health Administration and Public Policy. He completed his undergraduate studies in psychology and neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, where he conducted research on mental health topics, including creativity, neurodegenerative disease, addiction, coping, and racial and ethnic identity. Following graduation, Michal worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs on clinical mental health research, using health data to predict treatment outcomes and contributing to studies on intimate partner violence, suicide assessment, and childhood trauma.

Since transitioning from psychology to public health, Michal has worked on initiatives including evaluating long-term housing outcomes for a homeless initiative, volunteering in a hospital emergency department, and participating in student-led health advocacy efforts. His first-year master’s project examined suicide disparities between rural and urban Minnesota, exploring the underlying causes, and identifying potential solutions. His thesis later focused on the experiences of clinical leaders and staff operating and sustaining mobile crisis teams at three rural CCBHCs in Minnesota. As an intern with MACMHP and CIC, he is committed to advancing rural mental health by sharing data insights and creating opportunities for members to engage with this work. He will also assist in projects aimed at defining risk in the network’s patient population, improving the use of assessments like the PHQ-9 to enhance outcomes, and developing legislation to expand mental healthcare access.