Unsung heroes: LifeWays’ executive leads from behind the scenes

LifeWays’ COO Shannan Clevenger recently had a frank conversation with a family who was struggling with decisions regarding their young adult with intellectual disabilities. This family wasn’t sure what to do, what was available, and —
thanks to the jargon often used by certified professionals in the mental health industry — they felt lost and confused. 

“I tried to have a conversation with them using the least amount of jargon I could to explain ‘This is what happens next. These are the types of things that you need to consider. Here is what services on our side might look like for a person getting done with school. Here are the types of services that families tend to gravitate towards,'” Clevenger says.

Leading with experience

Unlike many COOs, Clevenger prefers to be as hands-on as she can. Whether helping her staff or those who walk through LifeWays’ doors, she’s always ready to share her 30+ years of knowledge, connect those in need with more information or services, and do what she can to reduce barriers for others. 

“I try to connect with individuals to provide as much education as I can,” she says. “I try to help people feel less like they’re an island unto themselves, less like they’re the only ones dealing with this.”

Clevenger’s first job was in a group home for people with intellectual disabilities. She learned about LifeWays from a caseworker who came to the home. She started at a LifeWays group home as a direct care worker in 1992. A self-described “do everything, grease-the-wheels” type of person, Clevenger became a case manager, then an assistant supervisor, and finally a director. After over 30 years in the mental health and wellbeing realm, she is still moved and energized by the individuals Lifeways’ programs serve and support. 

“There is something about being a person to cheerlead and champion that I find a lot of enjoyment with,” she says. “I work a lot with the Hillsdale Intermediate School District, and so I work a lot with families and young adults as they’re creating those transition plans —
what they want their adult life to look like. It’s exciting and meaningful to see someone five to 10 years from now who has a job, has their own place, and has a relationship they value. That’s what provides me with that energy to keep going in the moments that don’t feel as exciting.”

Leading from behind the scenes

While these days Clevenger’s life as the COO often requires her to sit in more meetings than she’d prefer, her passion still lies in working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

“It’s kind of my niche. I really enjoy those opportunities to work with individuals and families or guardians to create opportunities and plans for individuals to have the best quality of life as anyone else in the community would,” she says. “My goal is always to see how we can help this individual have the best quality of life as they see it and help them be as included in the community. A lot of what I do all day is help find those opportunities and find those collaborations.”

Clevenger’s knowledge of her profession and her community comes from years of hands-on experience as well as her openness to learn and connect. It also comes from years of trial and error and pushing back against some of the long-standing barriers to mental health services. 

“It used to be ‘I’m the professional and I know what’s best,'” Clevenger  says. “Now instead of saying ‘people with intellectual disabilities can never live on their own,’ we are having conversations and questioning that. Let’s teach them. Let’s not be the reason why a person doesn’t get the chance to try. We’ve been able to challenge people to allow every person to have the ability to have a life that they want to have and the same opportunities everyone else has. It might just look a little different.”

Leading within her community

Clevenger takes that passion and drive to do well by others outside of LifeWays. In addition to her career, she is on the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) board, Will Carlton School Board, and Child Abuse Prevention Board in Hillsdale, serves as board chair for Domestic Harmony, which supports victims of domestic abuse, and volunteers at the local humane society. 

“They are all ways to be helpful, ways to bring that mental health lens and work across systems. I want to be helpful in those spaces,” she says. “And then I love dogs. I have five dogs right now! It all just feeds my soul. There’s something about being able to be helpful that is a bit regenerating for me.”

To Clevenger, success for LifeWays is people getting what they need when they need it, and for the community to have more compassion. 

“Stigma is the biggest thing we still struggle with,” Clevenger says. “There’s still concern that those with mental health struggles are dangerous, that it’s a choice. I don’t know anyone who chooses the struggle. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. If we could all just ask for what we needed, maybe we would all be a little better off.”

LifeWays serves anyone regardless of their residence or insurance coverage with services that focus on recovery, wellness, trauma-informed care, and physical-behavioral healthcare integration. Clevenger can’t express enough how willing and able her team is to help and serve. 

“We’re here to provide quality service to individuals and the community in which we serve,” she says. “We’re here to be collaborative, to be a helper. It’s hard to walk through that door asking for help.”

Photos by Doug Coombe and John Grapp.

The MI Mental Health series highlights the opportunities that Michigan’s children, teens and adults of all ages have to find the mental health help they need, when and where they need it. It is made possible with funding from the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan, Center for Health and Research Transformation, Lifeways, OnPoint, Sanilac County CMH, Summit Pointe, Michigan Health and Hospital Association, Washtenaw CMH, and Public Safety Preservation Millage.