Executive Director: Louis Martinelli
Louis Martinelli is a poet, playwright, essayist and educator. His play, TAKE MY HAND,
won an NEA Outstanding Achievement Award and he has been nominated for a MacArthur
Foundation "Genius Award" for his work in helping create sustainable communities The literary
executor of Paul Gruchow’s estate, he is the executive director of The Paul Gruchow Foundation -
a Minnesota based, non-profit organization whose mission is to foster awareness of the
relationship between nature, creativity, community and mental health. A native of Cincinnati,
Louis divides his time between Ohio and Minnesota -- his "second home."
Board of Directors Chairperson: Mary Doucette
Mary Doucette is a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner interested in the mental health of older adults.
She is the founder and was, for 18 years, Executive Director of Elder Network -- a peer
counseling program for older adults. A native and resident of Southern Minnesota, she has
close ties to the Mississippi River and the bluff lands and prairie, where she enjoys hearing
the nurturing sound of the wind and the songs of birds.A recipient of a Point of Light award
for her geriatric mental health advocacy work, Mary became Board Chair of the Paul Gruchow
Foundation out of her belief in the need for creative approaches to mental illness, her positive
experiences with peer support, her role as a change agent within the mental health treatment
system, and her desire to explore the healing power of nature.
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