Gennae is the Executive Director for MN CIT, as well as being in charge of Staff Learning and Development.
Our Team
Minnesota CIT was founded in 2005, by Michael Peterson and Steve Wickelgren. There was an obvious need in the First Responder community to have a better understanding of mental health related issues as more and more calls involved people having a mental health crisis.
Both Michael and Steve are retired law enforcement officers, having served their communities for many years. Furthering their careers, they have both been trained in mental health and are bringing that expertise and training to the First Responder community. Their goal was to help educate, train, and enhance the safety of first responders when responding to calls involving subjects with mental health situations.
Jerry Hutchinson
Training Director
Jerry is the Training Director for MN CIT. His role in the organization is to schedule all the classes as well as participate in them as a coach.
Peggy Hutchinson
Facilitator Manager
Peggy Hutchinson is a class facilitator for MN CIT. She helps the organization by having all the administrative materials ready for class, she also works with the site coordinators for training to make sure the facility is set up properly for class. Once class begins, she helps keep everything running smoothly.
Nancy Masson
Records Manager
Nancy is our records manager. She helps make sure all credits are recorded and sent to POST.
Cheryl Ameluxen
Office Manager
Cheryl is our office manager. She has the important responsibility to make sure each class has actors, presenters, speakers, and coaches assigned, as well as general office duties.
Leah Isaacson
Actor Coordinator
Leah is our Actor Coordinator. She is responsible for providing actors for each scenario at the trainings, as well as ensuring the actors are trained and up to speed on characteristics being portrayed in each scenario.
Sandy Behnken
Facilitator
Sandy joined our team at MN CIT and began facilitating earlier this year. She helps in greeting all attendees and speakers, and makes sure that the classes she is present at run smoothly.