Skip to main content

About Us

Mission &History
The Network
The House
Employment
Our Team

Well Being Development:

Dedicated to Community Wellbeing

MISSION: The Mission of Well Being Development (WBD) is to support the wellbeing of the Ely community and its members.

Vision: WBD envisions a community with excellent wellbeing, where access to behavioral and mental health support is plentiful and free of stigma, where welcoming and warm spaces with community and connection are embedded in mainstream culture, and where stable, sober housing is available and accessible for those who are ready.

Who we Serve: WBD welcomes all people, especially those who are experiencing disempowerment or reduced access to social supports due to things like poverty, loneliness, physical health issues, behavioral health issues, substance abuse recovery, or mental illness and who are seeking connection and support.

History:

  • 2010 - Well Being Development (WBD) was founded to meet the mental and behavioral health needs of the Ely community. From its beginning, WBD has worked to improve systems through broad community collaboration.
  • 2011 - WBD was a founding member of the Ely Community Care Team (CCT). WBD along with others, acquired funding for a network of Community Health Workers (CHW) embedded across multiple organizations, significantly strengthening behavioral health in Ely.
  • 2017 - WBD, made their part of the CHW network permanent by adding its own certified CHW staff person to lead WBD’s Care Facilitation program, providing clients with assistance navigating the complexities of public benefits.
  • 2023 - WBD was awarded funds to explore the establishment of a Recovery Residence, the first of its kind in the Ely area. In response, WBD completed a community readiness assessment, and gained community input and support through community conversations with stakeholders and those with lived experience.
  • 2025 – In March of 2025, the Northern Lights Residence opened its doors and is providing recovery-oriented community housing.
  • Today - we are working with the needs of our community to ensure our programs and collaborations elevate the wellbeing of everyone we serve and of the community as a whole.

The Network

Well Being Development (WBD) supports the wellbeing of the Ely community and its members. WBD supports the wellbeing of Ely through a network of mutually beneficial and integrated programs and collaborations. WBD Programs provide direct services to individuals that elevate their wellbeing and in turn the wellbeing of the community.

Both our programs, Clubhouse and the Residence, are supported by our key Community Care collaboration: Care Facilitation. A certified Community Health Worker (CHW)on our staff, is available to support residents of the Northern Lights Residence, our recovery-oriented community housing program and to support Northern Lights Clubhouse members, amplifying the benefits of both programs.  CHW support is open to all.  You do not need to be resident or Clubhouse member to benefit from WBD CHW services.

WBD also is committed to upholding Ely’s social safety net and joins in this work with a collaborative team, the Ely Community Care Team (CCT).  This mutually supportive and beneficial group includes several orgs that together employ a network of CHWs who coordinate to provide Care Facilitation. The full CCT provides a wide scope or mental health organizations that coordinate to find people in need of services like the Northern Lights Residence or the Community Care Wellness Fund.

The House

WBD Programs found a permanent home in 2024

A WBD founding member and their family partnered with WBD to pass their landmark family home on, to serve as the program center for WBD. Today it is WBD’s Northern Lights House.

The Northern Lights House (NLH) provides space for our programs and houses program leadership staff.

On the main floor, the Northern Lights Clubhouse program offers members a homey welcoming space, under towering 10-foot ceilings and classic Victorian architecture. The elegant, historic space, conveys a spirit of grace and is in keeping with their own value and importance.

Upstairs, the home’s four bedrooms have been converted to three resident rooms and a common space; this second floor area is dedicated to the Northern Lights Residence The Residence provides supported communal living spaces in a homey well maintained lovely space. Bedrooms are spacious as is the shared kitchen (shared with Clubhouse).

In the main floor room that was used as the library of the stately old home, two WBD staff have office space, including Care Facilitator staff that anchors WBD’s Community Care Program (link to Community Care page) and the Clubhouse Program Director.

The House, at 248 N 3rd Ave E, now the Northern Lights House, was built in 1890 and is an Historic Home.

Located a block north of the Methodist Church, the house known as the Oliver Mine Superintendent’s House, was built for the Superintendent of the Oliver Mining Company. The spacious house has expensive finishes not seen in the homes of miners. The house became private property in in mid 1900s and was home to two Ely families who each enjoyed decades in the House.

The second family that lived there included one of the founders of Well Being Development, a health care professional who wanted to see permanent support for members of the Ely community who struggle with mental health challenges. Her lifelong dedication to health and wellbeing of Ely didn’t end with her professional career, or the founding of WBD. When it was time to move out of their family home, they partnered with WBD to sell it to us so we could have a permanent home for WBD programs like Clubhouse. The Northern Lights House was established as a Program Center for Well Being Development.

Employment

Thank you for your interest.  We do not have any openings at this time.

The Team

Board Of Directors

Elizabeth (Beth) Chapman-Tedrow

Board Chair

Beth Chapman is the WBD current Board chair offering steady supportive leadership to the organization and staff.  Her background in finance and Human Resources serves WBD well on a regular basis. She is personally and professionally community minded, working professionally to lead the Vermillion Foundation, and personally in many volunteer enterprises that uplift the community. Beth joined the Board in 2025.

Suellen Sack

Director

After a lifelong appreciation of Ely and the BWCA, Danyelle lived in Ely for the first time fall 2014-spring 2015 as a medical student participating in the Rural Physician Associate Program through the University of Minnesota Medical School. She returned in 2019 after completing family medicine residency in Grand Junction, CO. Now employed as a physician at Essentia, Danyelle knows firsthand the impact of community and access to care and resources on our health and wellbeing. Board member since February 2020. 

Danyelle Fenner

Director

After a lifelong appreciation of Ely and the BWCA, Danyelle lived in Ely for the first time fall 2014-spring 2015 as a medical student participating in the Rural Physician Associate Program through the University of Minnesota Medical School. She returned in 2019 after completing family medicine residency in Grand Junction, CO. Now employed as a physician at Essentia, Danyelle knows firsthand the impact of community and access to care and resources on our health and wellbeing. Board member since February 2020. 

Kathy Udovich

Director

Diane Vertin is a member of a longtime Ely family and currently works as a therapist with Insight Counseling in Ely. She is also the owner of Bellavita Coaching and Consulting, where she provides coaching, leadership development, and consulting services. Diane brings a wealth of professional experience, having spent nearly four decades in higher education, including numerous executive leadership roles at colleges and universities. Most recently, she served at The College of St. Scholastica, where she held several senior leadership positions and concluded her tenure as Chief Operating Officer in 2026. Diane joined the board in May 2026.

Diane Vertin

Director

Diane Vertin is a member of a longtime Ely family and currently works as a therapist with Insight Counseling in Ely. She is also the owner of Bellavita Coaching and Consulting, where she provides coaching, leadership development, and consulting services. Diane brings a wealth of professional experience, having spent nearly four decades in higher education, including numerous executive leadership roles at colleges and universities. Most recently, she served at The College of St. Scholastica, where she held several senior leadership positions and concluded her tenure as Chief Operating Officer in 2026. Diane joined the board in May 2026.

Staff

Robyn Bertelsen

NLC Program Director

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Robyn has lived in Ely since the early 80s, attending Vermillion and, like many Elyites, has worked for many different orgs and outfits. She has been with the Clubhouse from its early days.  Joining the team in 2015, she stepped into the role of Clubhouse Program Director in 2017 and has been providing strong and steady leadership ever since. Robyn is the true north of the Clubhouse, calm and kind, executing programs and classes so they go off without a hitch. She is also a talented chef, developing a tradition of weekly homemade lunch at the Clubhouse; always delicious, and truly the cornerstone of the Clubhouse community.

Riana Hegman

Grants & Projects Director and CCT Team Lead

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Riana brings expertise in project management and behavioral health.  She was a key leader in the Ely Behavioral Health Network (EBHN) and leads the still thriving Ely Community Care Team (CCT).  The CCT is a collaborative organization founded in 2011, that brings all the agencies in Ely together who are striving to support Ely’s behavioral Health and uphold the social safety net. Riana facilitates the CCT, but today spends most of her time managing a Minnesota Department of Health funded project to build a community-based, collaborative that strengthens youth suicide prevention factors.

Laurel Kaercher

Care Facilitator & Residence Program Coordinator

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Laurel has spent the better part of her adult life in service to others.  She has almost always worked in roles that mean she is helping folks in need.  Her role at WBD is no exception. Laurel provides advocacy, guidance, support and or a listening ear for folks who are facing challenges and need a helping hand as they navigate the complicated work of public benefits. As Care Facilitator, Laurel is there for folks in need, period.  She helps people. Laurel also supports the residents who live in WBD housing, the Northern Lights Residence. She meets with them regularly and helps them get access to care and benefits.

Amy Saxton

Executive Director

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amy Saxton stepped in as Executive Director in October of 2025. She brings 25 years of nonprofit leadership and has deep roots in Ely.  She first came to Ely as an Outward Bound student in 1988 and returned in 1989 as staff. She stayed, for 16 years, having two kids and working for Outward Bound, Wintergreen and Hand-Done T-Shirts, before moving to Colorado 2005.  She is so happy to back in Ely and is honored to support the mission of WBD and be a part of this amazing community.