Executive Director

Dr. Kathy Quick, kathy@pmhca.org

As the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers' Association (PMHCA), Dr. Quick is very invested in ensuring that individuals in recovery from mental illness have their voices heard. Dr. Quick is in long-term recovery from mental illness as well as alcohol addiction, and she shares her story to inspire others to embrace recovery and hope. Dr. Quick received her bachelor's degree from Penn State University in 1998, majoring in Criminal Justice. She went on to receive a master’s degree in social work from Temple University in 2005, and her Doctorate in Social Work from Capella University in 2020. She has accumulated over 20 years of experience in providing treatment services in mental health, family treatment, children's services, substance use disorder treatment, and local government before joining PMHCA. Dr. Quick is a resident of Schuylkill County with her husband, German Shepherd Duke, and 3 cats – Little AK, Molly and Princess Fiona. Dr. Quick's recovery tools include reading, hunting, painting, crocheting, counted cross-stitch, and gardening.

Director of Operations

Tyler Eppley, tyler@pmhca.org

Tyler has worked for PMHCA since August of 2001. He's been a drummer since he was 3 years old and is in and has played in a countless number of bands since his high school days (None of them successful). He loves spending time with his wife, Dana, and two pups, Daisy and Chi-Chi. He loves gaming and watching sports, especially his beloved New York Islanders.

Training and Education Director

Tyanna Marge, tyanna@pmhca.org

Tyanna Marge, CRS, CFRS, CCHW, CPS became a Certified Recovery Specialist in June of 2023 and a Certified Family Recovery Specialist and Certified Community Health Worker and Certified Peer Specialist Certification in 2024. She recently celebrated 8 years of substance use recovery and 6 years of recovery from mental health-related conditions. She has lived experience with borderline personality disorder, bipolar, anxiety, and ADHD since her early teen years and through her adverse life experiences has grown a passion for advocacy. Her passions lie in the forensics involved and youth and young adult populations. Tyanna is an avid intellectual, enjoys learning more than anything else, and is pursuing her bachelor's degree in psychology with a concentration in Addiction Studies. She also enjoys spending time with her 4 children and her husband, organization, playing video games, and snuggling her pet cat and bunny.

PMHCA Program Director

Tristan Schnoke, tristan@pmhca.org

Tristan Schnoke is a young adult who is married, is a mom, and also has a mental illness that she battles every single day.  She has learned to grow through things instead of trying to jump over them and that has helped her to become a strong advocate for other young people who struggle with mental health and traumatic experiences. As the Program Director at PMHCA, Tristan's goal is to make sure that everyone's experiences are being included, heard, and understood when changes to the mental health system are being made. You have a voice, and we need to hear it!

Administrative Support Director

Kim Brown, kim@pmhca.org

Kimberly Brown is the Administrative Support Coordinator for PMHCA and YMPA. She became a Certified Peer Specialist in 2023, and looks to complete her Certified Family Recovery Specialist Certification later in the year. In her spare time, she enjoys motorcycle riding with her husband and spending time with their two children, family, and friends.

YMPA Program Director

Kevin Puskaric, kevin@pmhca.org

Kevin Puskaric is the Program Director at Youth Move Pennsylvania, where he brings his expertise in empathetic leadership and youth engagement to the forefront. Kevin's dedication to representing the voice of our youth is rooted in his own life experiences. He has earned certifications as a Peer Specialist, Recovery Specialist, and a Family Recovery Specialist to best serve his community. Kevin's commitment to youth empowerment extends beyond his role at Youth Move Pennsylvania. Through his work, Kevin supports youth peer initiatives throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, demonstrating his knowledge, dedication, and fierce advocacy for the youth population.

Community Outreach & Advocacy Coordinator

Candijoy Myers, candi@pmhca.org

Candi's journey into advocacy work began in 2021 when she became employed at Peerstar and became a Certified Peer Specialist. While employed through Peerstar she received a promotion as the Community Support Ambassador for Clearfield and Jefferson counties. During her time as a Community Support Ambassador, she won an award for outstanding mental health advocate of the year from Skills of North Central PA. She started a lot of different events in her community for CSP. She was a member of the suicide prevention team and chaired their walk last year. She is involved with the heroin and overdose task force in her community. She plans to use her lived experience and training to help rejuvenate the community support program in the central region, while hopefully building ties to other regions in the state. She is excited to be able to advocate for people in recovery because she also suffered from substance use disorder and depression. She is also a suicide loss survivor so has strong ties to suicide prevention in our state. Candi has five kids and lives in the North Central part of Pennsylvania. In her spare time, she enjoys kayaking, fishing, and spending time with her family. She feels her family is her greatest accomplishment in everything that she does.

Statewide Community Support Program (CSP) Ambassador

Alexander Karns-Waters, alex@pmhca.org

Alexander Karns-Waters is the Statewide Community Support Program (CSP) Ambassador for PMHCA. He started providing administrative support for mental health services in 2023 and helped to coordinate training, credentialing, and equipment for over 300 employees. Alex has also worked to care for older adult populations in healthcare and support unemployed Pennsylvanians during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alex has lived experience with autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, orthorexia, and substance use. He is serious about bolstering underserved demographics and tackling social inequities that hold our communities back from growing. Alex also enjoys spending his free time with his family, keeping up with science news, art, fitness, cooking, bushcraft, and hardware repairs.

Region 5 Recovery Hub & Peer Co-Responder Grants Coordinator