Dublin residents who need help finding a doctor, understanding insurance or locating food assistance now have a named person to call: Jodie Cobbell, a Syntero professional stationed at the Dublin Community Recreation Center twice a week as the city's first Community Wellness Navigator.
The pilot program, which launched Aug. 6, is the product of a three-year effort by the Dublin Wellness Alliance. But behind the announcement are two key figures residents should know: Sara Harrison Mills, CEO of Syntero, and Molly Steiner, the city's recreation administrator who serves as Dublin's liaison for the program.
"What I appreciate most about the city of Dublin is it's truly committed to creating a community of wellness," Harrison Mills said on the city's Link Ahead podcast on Aug. 5.
How to reach the navigator
Cobbell holds walk-in hours at the Dublin Community Recreation Center on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Residents can also call 614-889-5722, extension 811, or email [email protected]. She returns calls and emails during her rec center hours.
The navigator can help residents find healthcare professionals, understand insurance enrollment, locate prescription assistance, access food resources and overcome transportation barriers. The service is free.
A clinician riding with police and fire
One dimension of the Syntero-Dublin partnership extends beyond the rec center: a mental health clinician embedded with Dublin Police and Washington Township fire crews.
Harrison Mills described the role on the podcast: after officers or firefighters respond to a call and identify that an individual or family could benefit from services, Syntero receives a direct referral and follows up to connect them with mental health care and community resources. The clinician is separate from the navigator role.
Syntero named Shannon Black-Dotson as its Public Safety Services Liaison with Dublin Police in June 2024. The Aug. 5 podcast did not name the current clinician in the role.
Three years in the making
The program traces back to Dublin's 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment, which identified four priority areas: community connection, youth behavioral health, healthcare navigation and transportation. A 2025 follow-up found that 75% of Dublin residents feel disconnected from their neighbors.
The Dublin Wellness Alliance, a coalition of public, private and nonprofit partners, formed to address those gaps and held a key alignment meeting April 6. City Manager Megan O'Callaghan described the navigator in a CityScene/Dublin Life column as an experienced professional who serves as a trusted local resource and understands both the health system and the community.
Harrison Mills has led Syntero since Aug. 1, 2024. She joined the nonprofit as a part-time therapist in 2011 and holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan. Syntero was founded in 1978 as Dublin Counseling Center by residents who wanted to bring mental health care into the community.
The navigator builds on the existing Forever Dublin Navigators program, which provides a Syntero navigator specifically for caregivers and adults 55 and older seeking resources to age in place.
No timeline has been announced for evaluating the pilot or deciding whether to expand it.
