Clarice RaichelClarice Raichel is a member on the NAMI Board of Directors and the executive director of NAMI Southwest Louisiana in Lake Charles, La. Ms. Raichel was previously the wellness program director at Olin Chemical Corporation.
Ms. Raichel found NAMI through the back of a mental health journal after her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She then joined a NAMI support group. She joined NAMI SWLA in 1996, hosted their first NAMIWalk and was hired as the executive director in 2003. She hopes to remove the stigma around mental illness through her affiliation with NAMI.
Ms. Raichel is a member of the SWLA Homeless Coalition, Catholic Charities, United Way and the Calcasieu Parish School Board “Positive Connections” program. She received the citizen of the year award from the National Association of Social Workers in 2001 and the Women’s Coalition of Southwest Louisiana in 2009, the CIT Award of Excellence in 2008 and the NAMI Louisiana Harold Martin Leadership Award in 2002, among others.
Ms. Raichel earned her M.Ed. at McNeese State University.