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Partners in Health & Wholeness

An initiative of the NC Council of Churches

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PHW Staff

Chris Pernell, Director, Partners in Health and Wholeness
christine@ncchurches.org
Recent Articles
  • Lenten Guide – Fifth Sunday
  • Lenten Guide – Fourth Sunday
  • Vetting the Vote: Medicaid Expansion
  • Council Welcomes Elizabeth Brewington to Partners in Health and Wholeness
  • PHW Expands and Welcomes New Staff
Chris is a native Kentuckian and the daughter of missionary parents who served Eastern Kentucky for more than 40 years. She relocated to North Carolina in 1981 and has come to call NC home. Prior to coming to the Council, she spent several years in corporate America with The Diabetes Treatment Center and Honeywell International before joining a faith-based, nonprofit medical clinic serving the uninsured and under-served of Franklin County. Chris is excited to be a part of the Council's PHW program where she can utilize her background in health care and service. She and her husband, Joey, have two children, a cat, and a surprisingly friendly bearded dragon. In her free time, Chris enjoys reading, basketball, and traveling, especially to the mountains.

Nicole Johnson, Associate Director, Partners in Health and Wholeness, Denominational Support
nicole@ncchurches.org
Recent Articles
  • Advent Guide: Fourth Sunday, December 20
  • Thank You NC 100 Mile Challenge Churches: You Inspire Us!
  • Experience NC in the NC 100-mile Challenge
  • 1 Church/10 People/100 Miles/$1000
  • Advent Guide: First Sunday After Christmas Day
Nicole has had the wonderful opportunity of living in different countries, having been born in Belize City, and currently calling North Carolina home. She is deeply convicted in her belief that faithful congregations can meet the environmental, social and ethical challenges of the 21st century in practical and tangible ways. Her travels and beliefs have motivated her to seek ways of merging faith, health, sustainability, justice and ethics. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to be working with congregations and individuals in creating and supporting more healthy communities. Nicole is a graduate of Salem College and of the  dual degree MDiv/MA program in sustainability at Wake Forest University. Her favorite things to do include traveling, hiking, growing things, trying new recipes, and spending time with her husband and two boys.  Nicole began her time with PHW as an intern and has remained as a regional coordinator.

Jessica Stokes, Associate Director, Partners in Health and Wholeness, Mental Health Advocacy
jessica@ncchurches.org
Recent Articles
  • Mental Health and Race: Barriers, Ideas, & Sacred Work (Part III)
  • Advent Guide: Second Sunday, December 6
  • Mental Health and Race: Barriers, Ideas, & Sacred Work (Part II)
  • Mental Health and Race: Barriers, Ideas, and Sacred Work (Part I)
  • Light a Fire in our Midst
Jessica Stokes is the Associate Director of Partners in Health and Wholeness leading our state-wide mental health advocacy efforts. Jessica earned her Master of Divinity from Wake Forest University and BS in Clinical Psychology from Averett University. She is an ordained Baptist minister and joined the Council’s staff in 2016 after directing an interfaith non-profit in Washington State. Jessica’s background includes non-profit work, hospital chaplaincy, interfaith campus ministry, and the local church. Her convictions are rooted in experiences that range from ministry in Appalachia, as a chaplain in a psychiatric hospital, to learning about systemic issues Eastern NC while living in Greenville and Wilmington, as a PHW Regional Coordinator. She seeks authentic and earnest conversation. Jessica’s work for PHW includes a focus on mental health education and advocacy, specifically tailored for faith communities. Jessica is based in Durham with her wife, Vanessa, and two pets. 

Karen Richardson Dunn, Associate Director, Partners in Health and Wholeness, Healthy Aging
karen@ncchurches.org
Recent Articles
  • Advent Guide: First Sunday after Christmas, December 27
  • Blessed are those who continue to mourn
  • The Spirituality of Loneliness in Life’s Second Chapter
  • Caring for Elderly Loved Ones During COVID-19
  • Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Karen Richardson Dunn is a native of North Carolina.  Although she currently resides in Asheville, she has also lived in New York City, Edisto Island and Charleston, SC, and Northumberland, England.  Karen received her MDiv from Wake Forest University School of Divinity in 2011 and was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 2013. She has served as a parish minister, hospice chaplain, and as the director of the Creation Justice Network of the UCC's Southern Conference.  She most recently has worked as the program coordinator for Wake Forest School of Divinity's Food, Health and Ecological Well-Being program.  Karen is also an editor and writer, and mom to two fine sons, Dylan and Roan.  They are members of First Congregational UCC in Asheville.

Elizabeth Brewington, Overdose Response Program Coordinator
elizabeth@ncchurches.org
Recent Articles
  • October is National Substance Use Prevention Month
  • World Hepatitis Day: Finding the Missing Millions
  • Sacred Spaces
  • Lenten Guide – Palm Sunday
  • Lenten Guide – Third Sunday
Elizabeth is a native North Carolinian, who spent most of her life in Greensboro before deciding to explore the Midwest for college. She graduated from the College of Wooster in Ohio, where she received a dual Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Religious Studies. After college, she returned to North Carolina and did a year of service through the Episcopal Service Corps. Elizabeth joined the Council in 2018 and loves being a part of the Partners in Health and Wholeness Program. Her work is focused on ending the overdose crisis, harm reduction, and drug policy. In her free time, she loves watching TV with friends and family and constantly annoying them with her many references.

Michelle Peedin, Program Coordinator, Partners in Health and Wholeness
michelle@ncchurches.org
Recent Articles
  • Reflecting on the Climate Strike
  • Welcome NCIPL Intern Daniel Perrin
  • PHW Collaborative and Mini-Grant Application Now Open
  • New Tax Law Will Harm Environment
  • NCIPL Testifies at EPA Hearing on Clean Power Plan
Michelle was born and raised in North Carolina. She pursued her higher education at UNC Chapel Hill where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies, with a concentration in economics, trade, and development, and a minor in music. Identifying as first generation Peruvian-American, Michelle's area of study while at UNC was Latin America. She credits her time studying in Ireland and volunteering in Costa Rica for how she was shaped both personally and professionally during her undergraduate time. She continued her educational experience as a Fellow at Student Action with Farmworkers, a non-profit organization in Durham, NC. Since February of 2017, Michelle continues to spend her time at the Council working with Partners in Health and Wholeness. She seeks to listen, learn from, and empower all communities of NC to pursue a just future for all beings on earth. In her downtime Michelle loves to travel and sing in a barbershop chorus.

Lindsay Barth, Event Coordinator & Partners in Health and Wholeness Communications Associate
lindsay@ncchurches.org
Recent Articles
  • Spotlight: Free COVID-19 Testing
  • Holy Breaths: Our Health Tips in Response to COVID-19
  • Spotlight: St. Stephen Church of Christ
  • Spotlight: Woodleaf United Methodist Church
  • 2020 Open Enrollment: What You Need to Know
Lindsay is a native of Western North Carolina. She continued her education at UNC Chapel Hill where she studied Communication, with a focus in Interpersonal and Organization Communication, and Hispanic Literature and Culture. While at UNC, Lindsay realized her passion for public health education through working with a student-led nonprofit called GlobeMed. Since the fall of 2017, Lindsay has been working with Council in an event planning and office management capacity. She also serves as the Communications Associate for the Partners in Health and Wholeness Program. When she’s not at work, you can catch her exploring new places and watching UNC basketball.

Related

Mental Health and Race: Barriers, Ideas, & Sacred Work (Part III)
Blessed are those who continue to mourn
Mental Health and Race: Barriers, Ideas, & Sacred Work (Part II)

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Partners in Health and Wholeness
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
PHWinfo@ncchurches.org

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We are excited to have 2 climate justice advocates join our team this spring as interns, Noely Bernier and Dani Bahena Bustos! Please take a moment to read Noely and Dani’s stories, and join us in welcoming them to our team! ncchurches.org/2021/…

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Join @NCJews4Justice for a webinar tonight discussing the Wilmington Coup of 1898. Speakers and participants will be drawing lessons from the coup to the current political moment we find ourselves in. Follow the link to register. carolinajewsforjusti…

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"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed." - Martin Luther King Jr. pic.twitter.com/cQ72…

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RT @ncchurches We are excited to have 2 climate justice advocates join our team this spring as interns, Noely Bernier and Dani Bahena Bustos! Please take a moment to read Noely and Dani’s stories, and join us in welcoming them to our team! ncchurches.org/2021/…

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