Centerstone honors two Community Champions

ALTON - Centerstone, a national leader in behavioral health care, named its 2021 Community Champion Award winners.

The Community Champion Award honors community leaders who have made a difference by advancing mental health and substance use disorder services through their advocacy, leadership and service.

This year’s winners are:

• Dr. Holly Cormier, Director of the SIU Clinical Center and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist
• Jennifer Nagel, Founder and Executive Director of the The Porchlight Collective, SAP

While Centerstone usually holds a Community Champions Banquet in both the Metro-East and Southern Illinois regions, due to Covid-19, Centerstone recognized its 2021 Community Champions virtually through Facebook videos.

“The Community Champions display commitment and dedication to their community, and Centerstone is honored to recognize them for their work and for the positive impact they have made and continue to make in the lives of so many across our region,” said John Markley, Regional CEO for Centerstone.

Holly Cormier

Cormier is a licensed clinical psychologist. She received her doctoral degree at the University of Toronto in 2004. Cormier is the director and chief psychologist at the SIU Clinical Center. She has lecturer status in the Department of Psychology at Southern Illinois University, and supervises graduate students training to become mental health professionals. Cormier has special interests in the areas of trauma, disordered eating, depression, anxiety, interpersonal functioning, grief, and separation/divorce. Cormier has also held positions in several university counseling centers, operated a private practice, and worked at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada. Cormier has received several training and research awards including the Eli Lilly Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Soroptimist Foundation of Canada Award. Cormier has published articles in areas of women’s mental health and neuroscience.

The nomination for Cormier noted, “Ms. Cormier has demonstrated her commitment, patience, and expertise throughout her career but especially in dealing with the recent pandemic. Ms. Cormier runs a facility that trains students to be the next generation of mental health workers, and she does not take this responsibility lightly; she knows that what they learn now will have a direct impact on people’s lives in the future.”

Jennifer Nagel

Nagel said it is an honor to receive the award and “have harm reduction work valued and recognized” by those in our communities.

“"For me, this award comes with my sincere gratitude for The Porchlight Collective SAP's 190+ participants, with whom we have formed genuine relationships with over the years,” Nagel said. “Knowing they feel valued, seen, and empowered to make healthier choices while actively using substances means everything to me. Their stories matter to me. They give me hope that one day, what is now perceived as radical love, will be seen as a bit less radical by those in our communities."

Markley recognized Cormier and Nagel in videos posted on Centerstone’s Facebook page (facebook.com/Centerstone.org/). The videos can be viewed here:

• Cormier - https://bit.ly/HCormier
• Nagel - https://bit.ly/JenNagel

Centerstone accepted nominations for this year’s Community Champions awards from February through May.

Past winners of the Centerstone Community Champions award are:

• 2020:

o Metro-East

• Steve Konopka, Highland High School
• Ty Bechel, Alton Memorial Hospital and Amare
• Lindley Renken, former Centerstone board member

o Southern Illinois

• Nancy Maxwell, The Women’s Center
• Amber Aden, Carbondale Towers
• Joanna Simpson-Abel, Carbondale Towers
• 2019:

o Metro-East

• Cory Davenport with The Riverbender
• Ill. Rep. Monica Bristow

o Southern Illinois

• Camille Dorris, Southern Illinois Coalition for the Homeless
• Brittney Hale, Prevent Child Abuse Illinois
• 2018

o Metro-East

• Toni Corona, Madison County Health Department
• Tia Kingsbury, Gateway Regional Medical Center
• OSF St. Anthony’s Health Center

o Southern Illinois

• Adrienne Baker, Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities
• Matt Buckman, Ph.D., Egyptian Health Department
• Natasha Shafer, APN-FNP, CHESI & Centerstone
• 2017

o Metro-East

• Latasha Barnes, Land of Lincoln Foundation
• Chief Jake Simmons, Alton Police Department

o Southern Illinois

• Lukasz Dabrowski, MD, Southern Illinois Healthcare
• Michelle McLernon, Jackson County Health Department
• 2016

o Metro-East

• Vicki Young, Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation
• Genoa QoL

o Southern Illinois

• Diana Brawley Sussman, Carbondale Public Library
• Patsy Parker, volunteer and advocate

About Centerstone

Centerstone is a not-for-profit health system providing mental health and substance use disorder treatments. Services are available nationally through the operation of outpatient clinics, residential programs, the use of telehealth and an inpatient hospital. Centerstone also features specialized programs for the military community, therapeutic foster care, children’s services and employee assistance programs. Centerstone’s Research Institute provides guidance through research and technology, leveraging the best practices for use in all our communities. Centerstone’s Foundation secures philanthropic resources to support the work and mission of delivering care that changes people’s lives.

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