Sponsoring Organizational Members
The question “What will keep children and adults with disabilities safest?” is the heartbeat of the Georgia Advocacy Office (“GAO”). Founded in 1977, the GAO is the independent Protection and Advocacy System (P&A) for people with disabilities or mental health histories in Georgia. The GAO is mandated by federal law to protect and advocate for individuals who are socially devalued and isolated. Many individuals live in state hospitals, nursing facilities, residential treatment centers, and other institutions. For forty-six years, the GAO has investigated incidents of abuse and neglect, and pursued administrative, legal, and other appropriate remedies to ensure protection from harm and enforcement of rights.
Johnson County Mental Health Center began operation in 1962 providing outpatient services in one location. Today, mental health services are provided in five separate facilities located throughout the county. The Mental Health Center is a department of County Government and is licensed by the State of Kansas as a Community Mental Health Center and has earned accreditation from Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International. The center employs more than 360 staff who provide a wide range of mental health and substance abuse services to more than 10,000 county residents annually. Operations are overseen by the Board of County Commissioners and its day-to-day operations are managed by an Executive Leadership Team that reports to the Assistant County Manager as well as a 13-member Advisory Board appointed by the Board of County Commissioners.
Community Care Behavioral Health Organization (Community Care) is a nonprofit behavioral health managed care organization that is part of the UPMC Insurance Services Division. Based in Pittsburgh, Community Care was created in 1996 to support Pennsylvania’s HealthChoices program for Medicaid recipients. Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of the community through the delivery of effective and accessible behavioral health services, with a focus on recovery.
Sponsoring Leaders
David L. Albright, PhD, MSW, is a University Distinguished Research Professor and the Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health Research at The University of Alabama. He studies the ecologic features of behavioral health, focusing on occurrence, severity of harm and psychosocial impact, and the differential consequences for high-risk, underserved, and vulnerable populations. His research examines both the health status and risk behaviors of individuals with trauma, psychiatric, or substance use history, and barriers and facilitators to their access and utilization of mental health and addiction treatment services. David also serves on the CBHL Equity-Grounded Leadership Advisory Committee. Full Bio, LinkedIn
Richard Dougherty, PhD, 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 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 (CBHL). Dick also serves as the Treasurer of CBHL. LinkedIn
Dr. Ken Minkoff, MD is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Senior at ZiaPartners, Inc., a behavioral health system consultation firm in Tucson, AZ. He is Board-Certified as an addiction psychiatrist and community psychiatrist, Board Member and Products and Services Committee Chair of the American Association for Community Psychiatry. Dr. Minkoff has been recognized as a national and international leader in the strategic development of quality-driven managed behavioral health care systems and integrated services and systems for complex populations for over 25 years. Full Bio
David Shern, PhD, joined the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors in the fall 2012 as a Senior Public Health Advisor. This followed Shern stepping down as President and CEO of Mental Health America, formerly the National Mental Health Association, the country’s oldest and largest advocacy group addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. Prior to joining MHA in 2006, he was dean and professor at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) at the University of South Florida, at the time one of the nation’s largest research and training institutes in behavioral health. Shern also founded and directed the National Center for the Study of Issues in Public Mental Health – a National Institute of Mental Health-funded services research center – located in the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). He currently is a Senior Associate in the Department of Mental Health and the Bloomberg School of Public Health Johns Hopkins University. LinkedIn
Alicia D. Smith, MHA, is an Independent Behavioral Health Policy Consultant based in Columbus, Ohio. She also serves as Director of Policy and Implementation of Peg’s Foundation, the largest philanthropic funder of mental health services in Ohio. In her role, Alicia advances the foundation’s strategic priorities to improve systems, programs and policies in service to persons with mental illness. Alicia has over 25 years of experience with Medicaid and other public assistance programs, and has worked extensively with national and state mental health and substance use disorder payment and regulatory systems and providers. Alicia serves as the President of the CBHL Board of Directors. LinkedIn, Full Bio
