Mental Health Advisory Council Members

Zipporah Levi-Shackleford (Chair)

Dr. Zipporah Levi-Shackleford is the Founder and the Behavior & Education Consultant for the Creative Approach Development Center in Richmond, VA. Inspired by her experiences as a special needs sibling and parent she is a strong advocate in the fields of disability, mental health, and education. Zipporah is a consumer, a parent of children with various mental health disorders, and a sibling to a brother who is a consumer in addition to being a provider and advocate. She assists individuals and families with setting up systems and learning new skills to overcome challenges and behaviors that interfere with reaching goals and increasing independence. She also provides training to businesses and organizations to help them better understand how to support people with disabilities and mental health impairments and those who support them.

Zipporah has a Doctorate in education and certifications in Positive Behavior Supports, Disability Leadership, and Autism Spectrum Disorders. She has spoken and trained across the country on these topics and serves as the Secretary for the Arc of Virginia, Chair for the Parent to Parent USA DEI Taskforce, and Chair for the PAIMI Council for the disAbility Law Center of Virginia.

Heidi Campbell (Vice Chair)

Heidi Campbell served on Mental Health America-Augusta for six years, Western State Hospital LHRC for six years, VCSB/Shenandoah Area LHRC for seven years, served on VCSB Behavioral Advisory Council for three years, and trained as a Consumer Speaker for Blue Ridge Area Crisis Intervention Team for the past six years. Heidi served on Cross-Mapping Systems for four years. She serves on NAMI as an Executive Board Member of the Central Shenandoah Valley Affiliate. Heidi is a member of dlCV’s Board of Directors.

She is a wife and mother to a daughter and a son and lives in Staunton, VA. Heidi enjoys family quality time, knitting, singing, mixed martial arts, and her work, bringing consumer perspective to the board and breaking barriers.

Brandon Cassady (Secretary)

Brandon Cassady is a disability rights advocate focused on issues of accessibility in DC/Northern Virginia. His greatest accomplishments have been in the area of transportation, but his advocacy extends to other areas of community inclusion and integration.

Mr. Cassady is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University. This is his first term on the PAIMI Council.

He once had an argument with himself and won. His charm is so contagious vaccines have been created for it. Presidents consider his birthday a federal holiday.

Weston Allen

(Biography coming soon)

Lisa Coates

(Biography coming soon)

David Gold

David Gold joined the PAIMI Advisory Council in September 2021. He is a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia, with a focus on financial services law, bankruptcy law, and civil litigation.

Dave’s interest in mental health advocacy stems from his past interactions with a parent diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Barbara.

Erika Lythgoe

(Biography coming soon)

Giselle MacDonald (she/they)

Giselle MacDonald came to their passion for mental health crisis-response human rights advocacy through their academic study of psychology, volunteering for The Trevor Project’s Lifeline, and her personal experience navigating the mental health system. Giselle is committed to facilitating self-determination and respect within crisis care, reducing provider-related traumatic experiences for people in institutional care settings, and promoting more attuned care for individuals with marginalized identities. She works at George Mason University (GMU) Center for Community Mental Health and as a research assistant in GMU’s Youth Emotion Lab and Lab for Community REACH (Resilience, Empowerment, Action, CHange).

Giselle lives in Fairfax, VA, with her partner and dog and enjoys hiking, yoga, gardening, and building community with neighbors in her free time.

Clara O’Hara

(Biography coming soon)

Joseph Stafford

Joe Stafford is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist. He has been the peer on the Crisis Intervention Team with the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board since 2016, where he works primarily with people who are under Emergency Custody Orders and Temporary Detention Orders. Joe has lived experience with being in and of mental hospitals for several years. He has found the right help and has the right support in his life and so has not been an inpatient in over a decade.

Joe is passionate about ending the human rights violations that happen to people who are in mental health crises and increasing knowledge about and access to the many services available to assist people in having lives of excellence.