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Webinar | Reimagining Behavioral Health Financing for Resilient Systems
October 2, 2025 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Thursday, October 2, 2025
10:00 am PT / 11:00 am MT /
12:00 pm CT / 1:00 pm ET
This event is open to all!
Financial planning in a time of massive federal health changes.
Join us for this briefing and discussion with national policy leaders on financing of behavioral health services in a time of extraordinary uncertainty. With proposed changes to the HHS budget and new pressures on Medicaid, Medicare, and block grants, behavioral health leaders are being called to plan boldly for a rapidly evolving landscape.
Across states, counties, and provider organizations, behavioral health leaders are facing a rapidly evolving landscape — one that demands not just adaptation, but bold, proactive action, including potential Medicaid financing changes. We will explore how local ecosystems can come together to make intentional, strategic decisions that drive meaningful change, even amid policy uncertainty and resource constraints.
Key themes will include:
- Measuring Impact: Understanding and communicating the value of services to funders, legislators, and communities.
- Prioritization Amid Uncertainty: Staying focused on what matters most while adapting to evolving federal and state policy environments.
- Strategic Partnerships: Identifying service gaps and leveraging collaborations to expand reach and effectiveness.
- Efficiency & Effectiveness: Meeting growing behavioral health needs even as resources shift or shrink.
- Cross-Sector Collaboration: Moving from passive coordination to active alignment around shared goals.
- Coordinated Advocacy: Building a unified voice to advance behavioral health priorities and diversify funding.
- Proactive Leadership: Pivoting from reactive to forward-thinking strategies to avoid being left behind.
- Opportunity Framing: Reframing perceived roadblocks as openings for innovation, collaboration, and growth.
Participants will leave with insights on how to lead with clarity, build resilient partnerships, and tell a compelling story that strengthens their case for investment and support — all while navigating the complexities of today’s behavioral health environment.
Meet the Speakers
Jonah Cunningham, MPP
President/CEO
NACBHDD
CBHL Board Member
Jonah C. Cunningham currently serves as President and CEO of the National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD). In this role he proactively advocates for national policies that recognize and support the critical role counties play in caring for people affected by mental illness, addiction, and developmental disabilities. In this capacity he also serves as Executive Director of the National Association for Rural Mental Health.
Prior to joining NACBHDD, Jonah worked at Trust for America’s Health, a public health think tank, where he focused extensively on ways to reduce mortality from substance misuse and suicide. Additionally, he worked as a congressional staffer for several years in the office of Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano (CA) where he helped to reestablish the Congressional Mental Health Caucus and created a Suicide Prevention Task Force within the Caucus.
Jonah C. Cunningham has received numerous awards and recognition for his commitment to the field of behavioral health and those served by the nation’s behavioral health system. Jonah has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Utah and a Master of Public Policy from The George Washington University. In his free time, he enjoys learning how to cook and is an avid Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.
Richard Dougherty, PhD
President, BasicNeeds US
CBHL Board Treasurer
Dr. Richard Dougherty is President of the non-profit organization BasicNeeds US and recently retired, after 35 years of leading DMA Health Strategies, a national behavioral health policy and research organization. Dick is particularly pleased that DMA now has reorganized into a worker and woman owned cooperative.
As President of BasicNeeds US, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Dick volunteers all his time and provides support for effective and recovery-driven, global mental health policy, with a particular focus on low-income countries. He leads fundraising, grant-making, advocacy and technical assistance with a network of BasicNeeds programs and with global advocates. He advises numerous national organizations, has published extensively, sits on several boards and received the 2011 Walter Barton Distinguished Fellow Award from The College of Behavioral Health Leadership.
Dr. Dougherty went to Colgate University, the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago and received his Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology from Boston University.
Monica Johnson, MA, LPC
Managing Director, Health Management Associates
A skilled state and federal government executive, Monica Johnson has over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field. Leveraging her expertise, she has directed numerous behavioral health service areas at the government policy level, has led the formation of several high-profile change initiatives, chaired several collaborations, and served as a board member for a variety of governing boards.
Before joining Health Management Associates, Monica served as the first director of the 988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the U.S. Health & Human Services Department (HHS). In this role, she was responsible for overseeing SAMHSA’s primary aspirations regarding the launch of the three-digit number, 988 and enhancing broader behavioral health crisis services.
In addition to her experience at the federal level, Monica has over a decade of state-level experience. Most recently, she served as the interim commissioner for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). Prior to this appointment by Governor Brian Kemp, she served in other key leadership roles at DBHDD as the Behavioral Health division director, the Community Mental Health director, and the Child & Adolescent Mental Health director.
Gina Lasky, PhD, MAPL
Senior Advisor, Health Management Associates
Gina Lasky is a licensed psychologist with expertise in public sector behavioral health system design and programming including integration of behavioral health and primary care. She evaluates organizational readiness for integration and guides development and implementation of new models of collaborative care for delivery systems, county health systems, community behavioral health centers, and state corrections agencies.
She has examined state policy and administrative barriers to integrated care and has published work on leadership and team development in integrated care with the Center for Integrated Health Solutions and the American Psychiatric Association. She is co-editor of Integrated Care: A Guide to Effective Implementation for the American Psychiatric Association.
In addition to her experience at the federal level, Monica has over a decade of state-level experience. Most recently, she served as the interim commissioner for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). Prior to this appointment by Governor Brian Kemp, she served in other key leadership roles at DBHDD as the Behavioral Health division director, the Community Mental Health director, and the Child & Adolescent Mental Health director.