Leadership & Staff

Carla Pretto is the Executive Director of the Association for Children’s Mental Health (ACMH), where she leads statewide efforts to improve systems of care for children, youth, and families. Driven by lived experience following the loss of her daughter, Carla is a passionate advocate for meaningful systems change and accessible mental health supports. She brings over 25 years of experience in research, healthcare, and program leadership, along with a strong commitment to family-driven, youth-guided care. Carla is also a registered nurse and continues to contribute to the field through both professional and advocacy roles.

Krissy Dristy, Director of Peer Programs is a leader in Michigan’s youth and family peer support movement, with more than 13 years of experience advancing youth voice, family engagement, and systems change in children’s mental health. Drawing on lived experience with mental health and substance use challenges, Krissy began her career in 2011 championing authentic youth voice within the Kalamazoo System of Care. She joined ACMH in 2015 and has played a key role in developing and advancing Michigan’s Youth Peer Support field, serving in statewide coordination and program leadership roles before becoming Director of Peer Programs. In this role, she oversees Michigan’s Youth Peer Support, Parent Support Partner, and Crisis Support Partner training models and leads the teams responsible for statewide implementation and certification. Krissy has contributed to the development of each program’s training curricula and infrastructure and continues to advocate for meaningful youth and family leadership across Michigan.

Hi, I’m Krissy Dristy! In my role at ACMH, I help oversee our peer delivered services for youth and families. In partnership with the staff at ACMH, I provide training and technical assistance to Youth Peer Support Specialists, Partner Support Partners and supervisors around the state. I am passionate about the importance of lived experience in our public mental health system, and the difference our stories can make when supporting youth and families to find their voice. I love talking about how YPS and PSP enhance our service array in Michigan, and I am very fortunate to be able to do this regularly in my work!

Favorite piece of wisdom:
Trust the process. When you are going through hard times remember who you are, where you are going and how far you have come. It may be a bad day, but it’s not a bad life!

Sara Reynolds, CPSS, Youth Peer Support Statewide Coordinator, is a peer leader whose work has been central to the development of Youth Peer Support in Michigan. Drawing on lived experience and more than a decade of professional peer support, Sara has been at the heart of building Michigan’s YPS model since joining ACMH in 2015. She played a leading role in developing the state’s YPS curriculum, training, and infrastructure and has continued to drive its growth and evolution as Youth Peer Support Statewide Coordinator since 2019. Sara provides statewide leadership, technical assistance, and training to Youth Peer Support Specialists and supervisors while advancing quality and fidelity across the field. She also leads ACMH’s Youth Advisory Committee, creating meaningful opportunities for young people to influence advocacy, education, and systems change. Her expertise is regularly sought for statewide and national presentations on youth peer support, youth voice, and engagement.

Hello! My name is Sara Reynolds and I am the Statewide Coordinator for Youth Peer Support. I lead the Youth Peer Support training and certification model by facilitating trainings, coaching calls, and technical assistance as well as heading up our continued development of the model. As a person with my own lived experience with mental health challenges, I am passionate about Youth Peer Support – particularly the hope and empowerment that is at the core of this unique service. I believe that we are extremely fortunate to have such a powerful support available to youth in Michigan and I am so pleased to be able to partner with the Youth Peer Support Specialists and their supervisors across the state who are truly making a difference.

Favorite piece of wisdom: “We rise by lifting others”

Margo Pierce is the Statewide Coordinator for the Parent Support Partner (PSP) Program at ACMH. With over 30 years of lived experience as a parent navigating mental health and developmental systems, she is deeply committed to supporting and empowering families. Margo oversees training and certification for Parent Support Partners across Michigan and works to ensure that parent voice is integrated into both policy and practice. She is a passionate advocate for helping families find their voice and navigate complex systems.

My role will be to support the PSP model and service by preparing for and conducting trainings, providing coaching support, and assisting with technical assistance and professional development meetings for both new and recertifying PSPs. I also assist with the orientation and evaluation processes, training events, refinements to training materials, technical assistance, and other materials and processes.

Favorite piece of wisdom: You will absolutely get through this and come out on the other side.

Dianna Robinson, CPTD, Director of Operations, is a strategic operations and talent development leader with more than a decade of experience advancing organizational effectiveness, workforce development, and systems improvement. She brings 36 years of lived experience navigating her now-adult son’s intellectual and developmental disabilities, serious emotional disturbance, and co-occurring disorders, grounding her work in family experience and advocacy. As Director of Operations at ACMH, Dianna leads strategic initiatives, internal systems, statewide engagement, and organizational infrastructure while overseeing the Statewide Parent Advisory Committee. She has developed statewide training and resources focused on parent advocacy, education, and student mental health, including the Amplify Your Voice series. Dianna is a Certified Professional in Talent Development and holds Six Sigma Greenbelt and Blackbelt certificates, with PMP coursework completed.

Angela “Angie” Engler is ACMH’s Parent Support Partner Lead Trainer, bringing extensive lived and professional experience to Michigan’s family peer support movement. A parent of four, including a child with developmental differences and children who experienced trauma, Angie has firsthand experience navigating early childhood, behavioral health, foster care, kinship care, and social service systems. She became a Parent Support Partner in 2017 and has spent years using her experience to strengthen family engagement, advocate for family voice, and promote trauma-informed, family-driven care. As ACMH’s PSP Lead Trainer, she brings this experience directly into the development and preparation of Parent Support Partners across Michigan. She is currently pursuing a BS in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Kyla Viurquiz is ACMH’s Lead Crisis Peer Trainer, bringing lived experience and firsthand youth peer support expertise to the development of Michigan’s crisis peer workforce. Before joining ACMH, Kyla served as a Youth Peer Support Specialist at Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority, supporting young people navigating mental health challenges and building practical experience in peer-led care. She now leads training for Crisis Peer Support Partners across Michigan, helping prepare peers to support youth and families during moments of crisis with connection, compassion, and lived expertise at the center. Kyla also contributes her perspective to statewide systems and policy efforts through the MC3 Advisory Committee and the ACMH/MDHHS Joint Advisory Committee. She has presented on youth peer support and continues to advocate for trauma-informed, peer-led approaches that meaningfully include young adult voice.

Shawna Kassuba is the Education and Outreach Coordinator at ACMH whose work brings together lived expertise, academic training, and hands-on experience supporting families through complex mental health systems. A former Parent Support Partner who served families across six counties in Northern Michigan, Shawna has spent years advancing family voice, resilience, and meaningful peer support. At ACMH, she has played a key role in developing Michigan’s Family Crisis Response Peer model and co-developed its training curriculum, helping establish a new approach to supporting families during a child’s mental health crisis. She also contributes to statewide training, outreach, and systems-improvement efforts with MDHHS and community partners. Shawna holds a master’s degree in Positive Psychology and brings a strong focus on resilience, connection, and dignity-centered care to her work with youth, families, and peer professionals.

Niki Sturkie is ACMH’s Administrative Assistant, helping keep the organization running smoothly behind the scenes. She supports the team by coordinating reservations, organizing materials and supplies, managing orders, preparing for trainings and events, and jumping in wherever she’s needed. Niki brings a strong sense of organization, positivity, and flexibility to her work, along with a genuine enjoyment of being part of a team that makes a difference for children, youth, and families across Michigan.

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Leadership & Staff

Carla Pretto

Krissy Dristy

Sara Reynolds

Margo Pierce

Dianna Robinson

Angie Engler

Kyla Viurquiz

Shawna Kassuba

Niki Sturkie