Meet Our Board

Codi Leary Leitch
Founder/President
Lisa Burnside
Secretary/Treasurer
Jamie Mosley
Board Member
Michael Fellner
Board member

Our Stories

Codi Leary Leitch

Codi lost her husband, the father of her three young children, in 2010 to suicide. The journey she was put on was not only scary, but lonely as well. The shame, blame, and unanswered questions surrounding suicide caused her to feel completely isolated with nowhere to turn. Her determination to ensure that nobody would ever have to feel so alone is what led her to create a safe, non-judgmental place for families to turn and so, We Saw The Light was formed. Everyone has a light inside of them, sometimes we just need someone to see it.

Lisa Burnside

Lisa’s family has been touched by suicide on more than one occasion. She not only provided emotional support to her family after losing their loved ones, but she also assisted with settling estates and arranging funerals. After losing a young cousin and two uncles, Lisa was faced with finding support for her husband as he struggled with serious mental health issues. She knows how lonely the journey can be, how difficult it truly is to help those who need it and how destructive suicide is. We Saw The Light can help lift people into light, love, and understanding.

Jamie Mosley

Jamie faced the devastating grief of losing her 17-year-old son to suicide in 2009. After crawling out of the dark hole of grief, a mission to support others who have experienced a loss became a way of making meaning out of trauma. Over the past 12 years, Jamie has served on committees to raise suicide awareness. She has served on the Mental Wellness Campaign for Anoka County to end the stigma of mental health, worked with organizations in the community to provide grief support and training on suicide prevention and grief. Jamie shares that being a part of We Saw The Light feels like an honoring and organic next step on the road of grief. We were not meant to grieve alone.

Michael Fellner

Mike’s 22 year old son lost his battle to suicide in 2022. This loss gutted not only Mike, but his entire family. Mike’s family was fortunate enough to have We Saw the Light walk alongside them for that first tenuous year and help him, his wife, and his other two children to make sense out of the senselessness and to find hope in their hopelessness. Being one of WSTL’s first families is something Mike’s family is quite proud of and they feel a strong desire to continue this mission for the many families that will sadly come after them. Mike’s dedication to the Board is in honor of his love for Monte and to show his gratitude and unwavering support for We Saw the Light.