Our Leadership Team

Diane S. Cross became President and CEO of Fraser in 1989. Her hard work has been instrumental in building the nonprofit into the nationally recognized multi-service organization it is today. When she started, Fraser had a $1 million operating budget and served 200 individuals a year. Under Diane’s guidance, the annual budget has grown to $85+ million, and Fraser now serves over 12,000 individuals each year.

Recently, Diane has pushed to reach even more families throughout Minnesota by expanding telehealth services and opening the Autism Center of Excellence® satellite locations. With her leadership, Fraser continues to make a meaningful and lasting difference for individuals and families living with diverse intellectual, emotional or physical needs, by providing a lifetime of quality healthcare, housing, education, employment and support services.

“Over the years, I’ve talked to so many individuals and families that we’ve helped, and I’ll never get tired of hearing about their victories — both big and small. That’s why I’m excited to come to work every day, to help individuals and families find what success looks like for them. My job has never been work. It is a calling, a passion,” Diane says.

Before she started at Fraser, she was the Director of Medical Rehabilitation and Education at Courage Center, where she led the organization through major growth, obtained Medicare CORF Accreditation and established the contract outreach arm of the organization. She is credited with much of the success that Courage Center achieved during her tenure. The majority of the programs she established continue to serve the organization today. Before Courage Center, Diane practiced as a certified audiologist.

Diane was appointed and currently serves on the Board of Governors of the University of Minnesota Health (M-Health), the Board of Directors of the University of Minnesota Health Clinics and Surgery Center, Inc., the Board Advisory Committee of the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital and the Altair ACO Board. Diane is also a member of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable, Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation, Women’s Health Leadership Trust and the American Hospital Association Leadership Development Committee.

She has also received numerous awards and distinctions like the American Music Therapy Association Advocacy Award and being named an industry leader by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Most recently, she was honored with the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota Heroes for Children Award.

Diane received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Ohio University. She also earned a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She has said that education helped propel her to success, which is why she is so committed to providing continuing education for her employees.

Diane and her husband, Jan Andersen, live in Minnetonka. She has two sons. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, CrossFit, and international travel. Her husband is from Denmark.

Shannon Mayer joined Fraser as the COO in May 2024. She is a seasoned health plan leader and has held leadership positions within managed care organizations in the Minnesota market her entire career. She brings experience as a Health Plan CEO and leadership roles in operations, and consumer and provider services to her role as COO at Fraser. Her deep subject matter expertise in managed care organizations supports performance for internal and external objectives.

As a leader, Shannon builds strong teams that achieve personal and professional goals that support organizational priorities. Shannon has been recognized for her collaborative work-style, positive attitude, and strategic thinking and partnering to achieve results. Leveraging the intersection of people, process and technology has been the foundation of her career.

Her success in driving outcomes and achieving efficiencies is the result of identifying opportunities to standardize processes, increase automated reporting and enabling her team and stakeholders to have access to data to drive decisions.

Helping people live healthier lives regardless of the stage in their life energizes is the “why” to the work Shannon does at Fraser.

Jim Olson started as Chief Financial Officer at Fraser in July 2021, following the retirement of Michael Nass. Jim has a wealth of experience in healthcare finance and a proven track record of improving an organization’s financial performance and bottom line. His last position perfectly aligns with the role of CFO at Fraser.

Jim formerly worked at People Incorporated Mental Health Services, where he has served as CFO for 7 years. He managed revenue, accounting, strategic financial analysis, IT, facilities, development, and central access. Before that, Jim also worked in finance, analysis, and revenue for Regions Hospital, Fairview Health Services, and Park Nicollet Health Services.

“I have over 25 years of finance and accounting experience, with the most recent 18 years being in healthcare finance and accounting,” says Jim. “I am very excited to be part of Fraser, as it has a very strong reputation for autism and early childhood mental health services, which are areas I am very passionate about.”

He was honored by the Business Journal as CFO of the year in the health care category in 2017. Jim has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of St. Thomas and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of St. Thomas.

He lives in Mendota Heights with his spouse and daughter. His family loves spending time outside, and he enjoys collecting and restoring old cars.

Tracy Calhoun is an accomplished HR executive with over 20 years of well-rounded experience and a background in building and leading the HR function for high-growth companies. She has built HR departments from the ground up for three health care organizations and is committed to continually improving processes that deliver excellence and achieve results. 

She was drawn to Fraser because of the organization’s reputation and its commitment to helping employees accomplish the best and most satisfying work of their careers. 

Tracy is known for her ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams, strong communication skills, and agility in adapting to change. As a problem-solver at heart, she enjoys finding creative solutions to complex HR challenges.

Tracy has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in human resource management from Concordia University. She is also a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Pat Pulice is a licensed psychologist with over 40 years of extensive assessment and clinical experience with children and families at Fraser, a nonprofit community mental health center in Minnesota. As Chief Clinical Officer, Pat has led the development of Fraser’s robust clinical staff development program, research, clinical compliance, and integrated health relationships with community partners.  

In 2013, Pat was recognized with the Outstanding Service Award by Minnesota Association of Children’s Mental Health (MACMH). In 2016, Pat was honored to be chosen as one of Zero to Three’s Expert Faculty for training on DC: 0-5™. Pat has provided DC: 0-5™ training to over 3,000 Minnesota mental health clinicians working with young children for Department of Human Services since 2009. More recently, Pat has supported Fraser’s Medical Director with the launch of Psychiatry Services and Health Screening and Monitoring, adding nursing staff to support a culture of integrated health care.

In addition to her work at Fraser, Pat participates on boards with the with Center for Inclusive Childcare as well as with two programs at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Nakita Natala joined Fraser as Medical Director in 2024, following Dr. Suma Jacob’s departure. Dr. Natala’s areas of clinical interest include neurodevelopmental disorders, global health, Diversity and Inclusion advocacy, and cultural psychiatry. She says she hopes to promote an innovative psychiatry care model that reflects Fraser’s values and mission.

Dr. Natala provided consultation to Fraser Psychiatry and Health Screening and Monitoring Programs since December 2023. She is a board-certified child and adolescent and adult psychiatrist at Rogers in St. Paul, where she works with children and adolescents in the OCD and Anxiety and Depression Recovery programs.

Dr. Natala grew up in St. Paul and graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota with a bachelor’s in biology. She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester Medical School in Rochester, New York. She completed her general psychiatry residency and fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and was a National Institutes of Health Global Health Fogarty Fellow in Kumasi, Ghana. In Ghana, Dr. Natala worked on a project to explore routine developmental screening and services for children with developmental disorders.

Prior to joining Rogers, Dr. Natala was a child and adolescent psychiatrist and faculty member at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Natala’s peers have recognized her by nomination for Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine’s’ “Top Doctors: Rising Stars” list.

In her free time, Dr. Natala enjoys riding her electric bike with her two toddler daughters, drinking good coffee, and learning about new cultures.

Nancy Baldrica is a professional communications expert with more than 30 years in the industry. She has led communication development and delivery in the fields of Mental Health, Healthcare, Social Services, Nonprofits, Government, Education, and Publishing. Over the course of her career, she has developed extensive experience in branding, internal communications, team leadership, writing, editing, and budgeting.

Nancy joined Fraser in 2019, after more than a decade working in nonprofit communications for another Minnesota nonprofit children's mental health organization. She currently oversees the Marketing and Development department at Fraser, which includes event planning and volunteer management.

In 2021, Nancy was named to the Twin Cities Business's Notable Executives in Marketing list. Throughout her career, Nancy has been awarded with recognition for newsletter writing, small team communications, publication excellence, videos messaging, corporate-community partnerships, and nonprofit publications. She has also received accolades as a professional ventriloquism performer for children across the tri-state area.

Nancy was born in Minnesota and currently lives in the Twin Cities with her husband David Fettig, her three children, and a grandchild. She is a graduate of the University of North Dakota.

Sheila Grisim is a Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer for Fraser Community Inclusion programs. She began her career at Fraser in 2001 and has been in leadership since 2005, when she was promoted to a Director overseeing home-based, consumer-directed services, and Independent Living. Sheila launched the Case Management program at Fraser in 2007, which is now one of the largest service divisions and began the Supportive Living apartment services in 2011. Her role expanded in 2018 to include supervision of Supervised Living and Fraser School. Sheila currently oversees Fraser’s Community Living, Case Management, Fraser School, and Career Planning & Employment divisions.

Sheila has worked in Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) for the last 25 years. She came to Fraser with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, with a minor in Spanish, and then completed a Master’s Degree in Counseling, Student, Personnel Psychology, both from the University of Minnesota. Sheila also holds a Post-Master’s Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Mary’s University and is qualified as a Mental Health Practitioner.

The majority of Sheila’s professional work has focused on strategic leadership and service improvement for individuals with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and co-occurring mental health needs. She serves on multiple committees in her field due to her broad experience which includes crisis services, juvenile corrections, home-based services, residential, vocational, consumer directed (CDCS), positive supports, and case management services. In addition to her professional experience, Sheila is also the co-guardian for her sister who has autism, epilepsy, mental health disorders, and an intellectual disability.

Elif McCain brings extensive healthcare operations experience and has been serving as Chief Administrative Officer – Specialty Healthcare since July 2022. She has been with Fraser for 8 years and before her current role, she served as the Fraser Clinical Services Sr. Director.

Elif started her career at Mayo Clinic, Rochester and worked at HealthEast (currently part of  MHealth Fairview) prior to joining Fraser. Elif has held several leadership positions in these two organizations. Areas of her experience and expertise include client access, revenue cycle, centralized services such as RN Triage, medication management and scheduling, value based models and population health. With her extensive training and background in lean process improvement, Elif specializes in leading system wide initiatives. 

Elif holds a Master of Arts in Health and Human Services Administration from St. Mary’s University in St. Paul, MN. She received her B.A. in Business Administration (with honors) from Dogus University in Turkey. She is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and Women’s Healthcare Leadership TRUST.

Abby Vavra joined Fraser over 10 years ago as a compliance analyst. She was drawn to Fraser by the organization’s commitment to person-centered services.

In her current role as Public Policy and Compliance Counsell, Abby leads compliance and public policy activities for the organization. Prior to joining Fraser, Abby represented individuals with disabilities who were appealing public benefit denials.

Abby graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and Mitchell Hamline College of Law.

Lucas Kunach joined Fraser in 2001 and quickly fell in love with the organization's mission and impact.

 Lucas has more than 20 years of business development experience. In his current role as Director of Business Development for Fraser, Lucas especially focuses on customer development, strategic partnerships, service and product development, strategic planning, and new organizational capabilities. 

 During his time at Fraser, he has had the privilege of helping multiple teams across the company start new programs and make new community connections. Some of the roles that he has held over the years include working in the community with donors, legislators, and regulators.  He has a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

Carolyn Abler Jones is the Chief of Staff at Fraser. She joined Fraser in 2016 as an Executive Assistant. Carolyn brings over 25 years of experience to Fraser from administrative roles in healthcare private equity, financial planning, and government. Carolyn’s Chief of Staff role serves as liaison to the Fraser Operating Board of Directors and works closely with the CEO and executive leadership group to manage implementation of the CEO’s directives. Fraser’s mission deeply resonates with Carolyn as one of her children has autism and receives Fraser services.