NAMI Southwest Iowa announces leadership transition as Killpack plans retirement

NAMI Southwest Iowa will have a new executive director at the end of 2026, when longtime leader Anna Killpack retires and current program coordinator Amy Sherer takes over the organization serving nine counties across southwest Iowa.

Killpack announced that she will step down at the end of December after more than six years leading the organization. Sherer, who originally joined NAMI Southwest Iowa as a peer support specialist, will take over following Killpack’s retirement. “I am retiring at the end of 2026,” Killpack said. “At the end of December, I will officially be stepping down, and Amy here will be our incoming executive director.”

Sherer moved quickly through the organization after joining the staff. Killpack said she saw early on that Sherer had the ability to take on a larger role and asked her to become program coordinator when the position opened. “Amy has just by leaps and bounds impressed me,” Killpack added. “She has a real passion for this work.”

Sherer came to NAMI Southwest Iowa with experience in education and public service. She served on the Woodbine Board of Education and later on the Harrison County Board of Health. Her involvement in mental health began in part through her family’s experience adopting children from the foster care system and navigating the challenges that followed.

She later earned a degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on trauma and resilience. Sherer recalled that she originally expected her work with NAMI Southwest Iowa to amount to only a few hours each week after spending about 25 years away from full-time employment. Instead, she found work that quickly became important to her. “I’ve loved everything about the job,” Sherer said. “It’s just become an immense passion.”

Sherer said the need for mental health support is evident throughout the nine-county service area, including in hospitals, schools, jails and smaller rural communities. Part of her focus will be making sure people know where to turn when they need help and continuing efforts to reduce the stigma that can keep someone from reaching out. “I think the more that we can get the word out, not just to the people that need it, but to the general public, and get a deeper understanding with it, we’re reducing that stigma as we go,” she explained.

Peer support will remain an important part of that effort. Sherer noted that connecting someone with a person who has lived through similar experiences can provide something different from traditional clinical care and can help guide people toward other services when needed.

Killpack said she never expected to remain in the executive director position as long as she has. Her original goal was to help build the organization to the point where someone else could eventually take over and continue the work.

Finding the right person to follow her became part of the decision to retire. “One of my internal stipulations for retirement was that I needed to feel okay with who was coming into the position,” Killpack said. “If we did not have a good candidate for the position, I don’t know that I would have made the same decision.”

The leadership change will come as NAMI Southwest Iowa also faces a major financial challenge. The organization had expected another year of state funding that will not be available in 2027. Killpack noted that the loss is more than $250,000 from an annual budget of slightly more than $500,000.

Sherer said the organization is already looking at grants and other sources of support in an effort to maintain existing programs while leaving room for future growth. “We’re really making an effort to ensure that all of it stays, but then there’s room for growth in there,” she added.

Killpack acknowledged that losing nearly half of the organization’s budget changes the situation surrounding the transition, but NAMI Southwest Iowa has faced financial challenges before. “It’s a challenge, but we’ll rise to it,” she said. “We’ve done it before.”

Fundraising will be one of the focuses of NAMI Southwest Iowa’s annual gala Nov. 7 at the Mid-America Center. Killpack said this year’s event will help support the organization’s free programs while also serving as what she jokingly described as her final major event before retirement.

The gala will include a live auction built around experience packages and keynote speaker Cody Green, a mental health advocate who speaks publicly about his experiences with schizophrenia, substance use and incarceration.

Killpack plans to remain involved with NAMI Southwest Iowa after stepping down. She explained that she will continue volunteering and facilitating programs while Sherer assumes responsibility for the organization’s day-to-day leadership.