Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist

Dr. L. Read Sulik is a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and pediatrician. Read is the Founder and CEO of Portages Health, andalso serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the entire team of Portages practitioners. For 25 years, Read has passionately and tirelessly pursued the vision, design, and development of innovations to improve mental health and wellbeing and integrate behavioral health into primary and specialty healthcare. At Portages Health, he continues the adventure, forging new paths needed to bring better access to better mental health and wellbeing care to individuals, organizations and communities. He is a passionate and compassionate leader, clinician, teacher, and mentor.

Read provides psychiatric care for children, adolescents, adults, elders, and employees of the the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. He is leading the Portages Health team working together with the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council to complete the program design and development of the GLITC Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center. He also serves patients from across Minnesota via telehealth through the Portages Health outpatient program.

He and his wife have three young adult children and live in the heart of Minneapolis. Read loves to travel the world and has regularly trained for the past ten years with a local hardstyle kettlebell community in Northeast Minneapolis.

Mental Health Therapist

Hailey Chandler, LGSW, earned her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is a School-Based Mental Health Therapist with Portages Health, serving students at Rock Ridge Elementary Schools. Hailey is passionate about supporting children and families, especially those who have experienced trauma, are navigating anxiety or depression, are working on recognizing their self-worth, and strengthening parent–child relationships.

Hailey uses motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and a strengths-based, trauma-informed approach. She believes that every client is the expert of their own life. She sees her role as being in the passenger seat, with the map, while the client takes the wheel. She hopes to empower them to guide their own journey toward growth and healing. She hopes to continue to grow her clinical knowledge as she works towards obtaining her LICSW.

Hailey grew up in the rural town of Culver, MN, and recently relocated to the Iron Range. Outside of work, Hailey enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and dog. Hailey's family is one of the most important parts of her life. She also loves being outdoors, biking, hiking, watching bad reality TV, and listening to audiobooks.

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Erica is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She received her Masters Degree in nursing from the University of North Dakota. Erica’s education also includes an Associates Degree in Nursing, and a Practical Nursing Diploma. Prior to becoming a nurse Erica worked as a Medical Assistant for many years, gaining an abundance of experience working with patients from birth to old age in a family practice clinic. Erica’s career as a Public Health Nurse brought awareness to the need for mental health providers and sparked her ambition to continue her education to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Erica’s experience in public health included working with pregnant and postpartum women, as well as mothers of young children.

Erica’s practice philosophy is to listen to her patients so that she is better able to help her patients identify their needs in their mental health journey and allows her to collaborate with her patients in creating a plan to improve their wellbeing. Everyone has their own unique challenges and care team, collaborating with all members of the team optimizes the quality of care every patient deserves.

Erica sees clients via telehealth who are referred from the iHealth Women’s Health Clinics and Stellis Health, as well as individuals referred to Portages Health from the broader Minnesota community.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Supervisor

Ben is a Mental Health and Wellbeing Coach for Portages Health

He received his degrees from Bemidji State University and Dakota County Technical College. He loves working with and helping individuals in the mental health care field and finds it incredibly rewarding.

He coaches and coordinates care for children, adolescents, and adults from across Minnesota remotely via telehealth.

He is also a professional wildlife photographer. His goal is to continue to work on conservation initiatives with his partners using photography. His hobbies include camping, backpacking, canoeing, photography, and creating other forms of art.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Coach

Shelley Rintala is excited to join the Portages Health team of Bois Forte as a Mental Health Coach. She worked as an Activity Director at Waterview Woods for 21 years. She graduated from Eveleth-Gilbert High School and lived in Eveleth most of her life. She has 2 sons and a Black Lab dog. Shelley has always enjoyed helping people both personally and professionally. She worked hard to enrich the lives of her residents to make their days as meaningful as possible. Shelley enjoys being outdoors walking her dog, camping, fishing, boating, relaxing by a bonfire, and spending time with family and friends.

As a Portages Coach, Shelley will be guiding patients along their entire care journey from guided self-care using the Portages app to comprehensive Portages team-based clinical care. She looks forward to learning more and gaining more knowledge to help support patients through Portages Health.

Shelley serves children and adolescents, adults, and elders of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Community at the Vermillion Clinic and surrounding schools.