Speakers

Mayra E. Alvarez is the Director of Public Health Policy in the Office of Health Reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, where she has primary oversight responsibility for coordinated and timely implementation of the public health, prevention, and healthcare workforce policy provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Previously, Ms. Alvarez served as a Legislative Assistant for Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Majority Whip of the U.S. Senate, where she advised the Senator and helped develop his legislative agenda on health issues. Prior to working in the office of Senator Durbin, she served as a Legislative Assistant for then-Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis, the chair of the Health Task Force for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Ms. Alvarez began her work in Washington D.C. as a David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow in the office of then-Senator Barack Obama. She completed her graduate education at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her undergraduate education at the University of California at Berkeley.

Stephen T. Baron is Director of the Department of Mental Health where he leads the development, management and oversight of the District’s public mental health system.

The Department provides emergency care and ongoing services and support to about 17,000 residents each year, and includes a network of community based private mental health providers, unique government delivered services, and Saint Elizabeths Hospital—the District’s in patient psychiatric facility.

Since his appointment in 2006, Mr. Baron has led the implementation of initiatives that increase access to care and expand the range of available services, including emergency mobile crisis services for adults and children/youth and an urgent care clinic at Superior Court for on the spot referrals to mental health treatment.   In partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department, he started crisis intervention training on the most appropriate response to people with mental illness who come in contact with law enforcement officers and don’t require arrest.
 
Before joining District government, Mr. Baron was president of Baltimore Mental Health Systems, Inc. for 17 years where he developed a range of innovative community-based programs for adults, increased affordable housing for people with mental illness, and expanded school-based and early childhood mental health services. He also served as the Executive Director of People Encouraging People, a comprehensive community rehabilitation program for individuals for serious and persistent mental illness, and spent eight years in the field as a social worker and therapist. 

A Baltimore native, Mr. Baron has received numerous awards and honors, including the Champion Award from the DC Mental Health Association. He holds a Master of Social Work from Howard University in Washington, DC, and his field placement was with the Saint Elizabeths Hospital outpatient program.  He received a Bachelor of Social Welfare from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

Tisa Bernally-Russell is a Certified Peer Support Specialist on the Navajo Nation and is currently working at The Healing Circle Drop in Center in Shiprock, New Mexico. A student at the New Mexico Highlands University and is working on her Bachelors In Social Work and she has served a volunteer public speaker in DWI facilities, jails and other areas in the treatment setting.  Tisa is a recovering alcoholic and has been soer for the three years.  She has also been a consumer in Mental Health and has successfully recovered from these co-occurring disorders.  Mrs. Bernally-Russell is an enrolled member of the Dineh (Navajo) Tribe and grew up on the Navajo Reservation.  Her passion for helping others to find sobriety reflects through her work on the Navajo Reservation and surrounding communities.  Tisa is utilizing her education and is rediscovering her culture and traditional teachings through her sobriety and is able to give back to her people and others through her peer support work.

Ann Boughtin, MS, MPA is a Principal of Boughtin and Orndoff Consulting, (www.boughtinandorndoff.com) focused on heath care systems management and behavioral health operations.  Recently, Ann has worked with governments and providers to develop strategic plans and creative approaches to the new fiscal challenges.   She has worked on all sides of the managed care business, negotiating contracts for providers, designing Medicaid managed care policy for government, and leading large managed care operations in the private sector. She spent 15 years with the New York State Office of Mental Health, leading the development and implementation of transformative ambulatory programs for people with serious mental illness, and has led large Medicaid managed care programs for Magellan Health Services.  As a consultant Ann has worked with counties, non-profit organizations, national healthcare companies and technology companies related to business development and operational improvements.   

Ann Boughtin is currently President Elect of the Board of Directors of Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health Association).  Also,  Ann Boughtin is a co-author with Dick Orndoff of  “The Future of Managed Behavioral Health Care”, Chapter 21 in Service Delivery for Vulnerable Populations  New Directions in Behavioral Health,recently released by Springer Publishing Company.

Sabrina Corlette, J.D. is a Research Professor at the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. There she directs research on health insurance reform issues as they affect consumers and patients. Her areas of focus include state and federal regulation of private health insurance plans and markets and implementation of new insurance market rules under health care reform.  She trains individuals and organizations on federal and state health insurance laws and programs and provides technical support through the development of resource guides, issue briefs, and fact sheets.

Prior to joining the Institute faculty, Ms. Corlette was Director of Health Policy Programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families, where she provided policy expertise and strategic direction for the organization’s advocacy on health care reform, with a particular focus on insurance market reform, benefit design, and the quality and affordability of health care.

From 1997 to 2001, Ms. Corlette worked as a professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, where she served as health legislative assistant to Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA).  After leaving the Hill, Ms. Corlette served as an attorney at the law firm Hogan Lovells (formerly Hogan & Hartson LLP), where she advised clients on health care law and policy relating to HIPAA, Medicare and Medicaid, and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Ms. Corlette is a member of the D.C. Bar and received her J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin and an A.B. from Harvard University.

Larry Fricks currently serves as the Director of the Appalachian Consulting Group and Deputy Director of the SAMHSA/HSRA Center for Integrated Health Solutions. For 13 years Larry was Georgia’s Director of the Office of Consumer Relations and Recovery in the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases. He is a founder of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network that now has some 4,000 members and a founder of Georgia’s Peer Specialist Training and Certification. He served on the Planning Board for the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Carter Center Mental Health Journalism Fellowships.

Larry has a journalism degree from the University of Georgia and has won journalism awards from the Associated Press, the Georgia Press Association and Gannett Newspapers. He is the 1995 recipient of the Clifford W. Beers Award given annually by Mental Health America and the 2001 recipient of the American Association for World Health Award for significant contributions to improving community mental health. In 2004 he received the Recovery Award from International Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services and in 2008 the Lifetime Achievement Voice Award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the development and adoption of multiple innovative, recovery-oriented programs and services. Larry’s recovery story and life’s work to support the recovery of others was published by HarperCollins in the New York Time’s best-selling book Strong at the Broken Places by Richard M. Cohen and was featured on the Today Show in 2008.

Susan Furrer, Psy.D., is the Acting Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of the Behavioral Research and Training Institute and the Violence Institute of New Jersey at University Behavioral HealthCare at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. 

Dr. Furrer administers a number training and technical assistance efforts, directs a variety of research and program evaluation projects focused on violence prevention and heads two APA accredited psychology internship programs.  She is responsible for operations of UBHC’s Access Center which provides a single point of access to UBHC’s service delivery system and a variety of contracted services; Information Services and specialized educational programs for children and adolescents at UBHC.  Dr. Furrer administered the statewide training and technical assistance program for the New Jersey System of Care for Children from its inception in 2001 until 2005. 

Her clinical interests are in the treatment of children and adults who have experienced trauma.

Dr. Furrer earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology in 1990 from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University.

Connie Garner, MS, Ed. S. focuses her practice as Policy Director in the Government Strategies Practice Group, and Executive Director for Advance CLASS, Inc. Her areas of expertise include health care, disability, long term care, and education.
Before joining Foley Hoag, Connie was Policy Director, Disability and Special Populations, to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) for 17 years , where she has served Chairman Harkin, Senator Dodd, and the late Senator Kennedy.  In that role, Connie was the lead Democratic Committee architect for the CLASS Act, the major long-term care legislation that is part of health care reform; enactment of the landmark Mental Health Parity Act 2008; the 2006 and 2009 reauthorizations of the $2 billion Ryan White CARE Act; the Family Opportunity Act of 2006 and the 2005 reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act  (IDEA), the Special Education Law; and the 1999 Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act.

Connie also served in the U.S. Department of Education, as Director of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council for Children with Disabilities and the Secretary of Education’s principal liaison on all interagency health care matters, including health care reform.

Prior to her work with the Federal government, Garner provided clinical nurse specialist services in both urban and rural public health settings as well as inpatient hospital settings, and  managed several large maternal-child health inpatient hospital units in both Philadelphia and the Washington-DC area.

Garner has a B.S. in Nursing (University of Pennsylvania, 1979) and M.S. in Nursing (George Mason University, 1982), an Ed.S in Special Education (George Washington University, 2000), and her Doctoral work is in both Health and Education Public Policy (George Washington University, 2001).  She is also certified as a Pediatric and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

Kathy Greco, LMSW, CEAP is Vice President, Commercial Sales at ValueOptions®. She began her career in the workplace behavioral health arena more than 18 years ago. A licensed master social worker and Certified Employee Assistance Professional, Kathy brings her human behavior, product, market and operational expertise to help organizations develop the best behavioral health and wellness strategy to meet objectives.

Kathy is a member of the Employee Assistance Society of North America (EASNA) Board of Directors, and the immediate past President of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) Northeast New York Chapter. She is a frequent speaker on the impact of behavior on health and work and has authored several articles on the workplace’s role in supporting a culture of health

Patrick Hendry is the Senior Director for Consumer Advocacy at Mental Health America and the Associate Director of the Family and Consumer Networks Technical Assistance Center. He is the former Director of the National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center (NCSTAC) and was a founding member and past Executive Director of the Florida Peer Network.  He is also the former Coordinator for the Florida Self-Directed Care Program in SW Florida.  He has lectured on recovery, self-determination and self-directed care nationally and internationally.  For the past 20 years he has worked as a mental health advocate and director of peer-run services.

Eric Hipple is a former NFL quarterback whose ten-year career was spent with the Detroit Lions. His accomplishments include two playoff bids and a divisional championship. In addition, in 1981 he was named Most Valuable Player, and his jersey hangs in the Canton Hall of Fame for a Monday Night Football debut deemed best in NFL history. He is ranked fifth in all-time career passing yards in the Detroit record books.

After his football career, Hipple worked as a freelance sports field reporter and was an analyst for the Fox Network’s local pre-game show from 1995 – 2000. He has been featured in television’s Home Improvement, Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer and played a part in The Bear, a movie about legendary University of Alabama football coach Bear Bryant.

Since his retirement from the Detroit Lions, Hipple has been a professional motivational speaker and a sales consultant. Hipple’s public speaking work shifted to topics of depressive disorder awareness and treatment and to suicide prevention in 2000, after the tragic suicide of his 15-year-old son.

Hipple now serves on the board of AAS (American Association of Suicidology). He works at the University of Michigan’s Depression Center as an outreach coordinator. Born in Texas and raised in California, he attended Utah State University and graduated in business administration with a computer science option. After graduation, he was drafted by the Detroit Lions. Hipple and his family live in Michigan.

Hipple has recently authored a book Real Men Do Cry. It chronicles his life, including his time as a NFL Quarterback, his struggle with suicide loss and his own depression. His story is one of hope and recovery and uses education as well as practical advice to help others live and enjoy life again.

Pamela Hyde was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2009 as Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.

Ms. Hyde is an attorney and comes to SAMHSA with more than 30 years experience in management and consulting for public healthcare and human services agencies. She has served as a state mental health director, state human services director, city housing and human services director, as well as CEO of a private non-profit managed behavioral healthcare firm. In 2003 she was appointed cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department by Gov. Bill Richardson, where she worked effectively to provide greater access to quality health services for everyone.

Ms. Hyde is a member of or has served as a consultant to many national organizations, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the American College of Mental Health Administration, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and the United States Department of Justice. She has been recognized by many groups, including the American Medical Association, the National Governor's Association and the Seattle Management Association, for her creativity and leadership in policy and program development and in organizational management issues. She has received special acknowledgment for her ability to build teams, develop coalitions and consensus, develop strategic plans and form the basis for action and achieve identified goals in a constantly changing environment.

Ms. Hyde received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School (1976) and her B.A. from Southwest Missouri State University (1972).

Christopher Kosseff, who functions in a dual capacity at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), is the Senior Vice President for Administration and the President and Chief Executive Officer for University Behavioral HealthCare (UBHC). As Senior Vice President for Administration, Chris has system-wide oversight of Information Services and Technology; Human Resources; Public Safety; Facilities Planning, Management and Construction; Physical Plant; Emergency Management and Occupational Health and Safety; and Workplace Diversity. In his role as chief executive officer for UBHC, Chris is responsible for the initiation, development, and oversight of multiple levels of care in mental health and addiction for children through senior adults throughout New Jersey; managing a budget in excess of $228 million and approximately 2,200 staff and faculty. Under his guidance, UBHC has been transformed from a community mental health center to one of the largest providers of behavioral healthcare in the country. Offering a wide range of services that include inpatient units, partial hospitalization programs, outpatient treatment, as well as an array of specialty services. Probably the most significant of these being a large contract with the New Jersey Department of Corrections for the provision of all mental and physical healthcare for inmates within the state prison system. Chris has a Master of Science degree from Syracuse University. Additionally, he holds clinical assistant professor appointments in the departments of Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School.

Celinda Lake, M.S. is one of the Democratic Party's leading political strategists, serving as tactician and senior advisor to the national party committees, dozens of Democratic incumbents, and challengers at all levels of the electoral process. Celinda and her firm are known for cutting-edge research on issues including the economy, health care, the environment and education, and have worked for a number of institutions including the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Governor's Association (DGA), The White House Project, AFL-CIO, SEIU, CWA, IAFF, Sierra Club, NARAL, Human Rights Campaign, EMILY's List and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Her work has also taken her to advise fledgling democratic parties in several post-war Eastern European countries, including Bosnia, and South Africa. In 2008, Celinda worked as pollster for Vice President Biden.

Since its formation, Lake Research Partners has become one of the most respected Democratic polling firms in the country. The firm's work has moved the progressive agenda forward on a variety of issues. In the healthcare arena, her research showed that talking about "reducing health care costs" and the 8 out of 10 working families without adequate health insurance was key. Her interviews and statistics have been quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal as well as a variety of magazines, including Newsweek, Glamour and Marie Claire, and Celinda has appeared on numerous television and radio news programs, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News and NPR, discussing her work and providing expert commentary.

Celinda, a native of Montana and one of the political world's most avid whitewater rafters, holds a master’s degree in political science and survey research from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and a certificate in political science from the University of Geneva, in Switzerland. Celinda received her undergraduate degree from Smith College in Massachusetts, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and was recently awarded the Distinguished Alumna Medal by the College.

Mellisa Logg, M.Ed., brings her lived experiences and her Navajo beliefs to her role as the Program Manager for Mental Health America of the Four Corners Region. In  blending, the challenges of working on the reservation, with individuals and outside organizations. And background in education, community health and development, she has brought her experiences to the program, by connecting with local and surrounding organizations to build the Workforce Opportunity Program for Peer Support Workers and Trainings.

Former All-Pro Punter, Greg Montgomery, played nine seasons in the NFL for the Oilers, Lions and Ravens. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1997, he has continued his search for a better understanding of human performance under pressure. Athletes at all levels deal with some degree of performance anxiety and fears of failure and perhaps even how to handle success. There are many forms of internal interference or mental chatter that disrupt performance. These behavioral phenomena are universal. They carry many different names--we call them the "butterflies", "jitters", or worse.
Greg's career was spent searching for the roots of these phenomena. His experience in the NFL and his subsequent research and study of mental activity in elite athletes has informed the work he now does. Learning from legendary players, observing other players and being in the locker rooms resulted in Greg's excellent career record of being in the top 3 of NFL in gross punting average 5 of his first 7 years and leading the NFL three times, all with two undiagnosed injuries: a broken L4 vertebrae and a torn labrum in his left hip.
Greg's very successful career might have been a Hall of Fame career had he possessed the scientific knowledge and insights then that he does now. Nevertheless, his constant search for a better understanding of the interior life of athletes has brought him to the point where he is able to help coaches understand the battles that players have inside their heads, and to help players with the struggle to win the battle within themselves.

John O'Brien is the Senior Advisor to the Administrator on Health Care Reform at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  John O’Brien was the Director of a Cross System Financing Project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  The project provides an opportunity for states, counties and cities to develop strategies for coordinating funding for human services from federal, state and local dollars.  

He was also a member of the Advancing Recovery Project staff.  The Advancing Recovery project Advancing Recovery is an $11 million initiative to improve the quality of addiction treatment through the use of evidence-based practices, or practices supported by research to improve patient outcomes in treatment settings. He was also the Program Director for Resources for Recovery, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative to implement strategies to expand alcohol and other drug treatment within state’s public AOD systems. 

Prior to Resources for Recovery, Mr. O’Brien worked with the Technical Assistance Collaborative for fifteen years as an Senior Consultant.  He has provided consultation to over 30 states and local human services authorities.  He has worked with Medicaid, state mental health and substance abuse authorities.  John’s primary focus is designing services and systems of care for individuals with behavioral health needs and their families.  He also assists states with financing these services and systems.  He has worked with states to develop federal Medicaid Waivers, Medicaid state plan amendments, and federal grant applications (e.g., children’s system of care).  He has experience designing and implementing qualitative and quantitative research of children's behavioral health systems.  He was also the Director of Planning and Program Development at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children where he oversaw the agency’s development and implementation of a lead agency child welfare managed care initiative.  Mr. O’Brien has also been a manager at KPMG Peat Marwick and worked for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, the Massachusetts Developmental Disability Council, the Illinois Governor’s Office, and the Illinois Legislative Commission on Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse.  He was a program staff at Thresholds, Inc. in Chicago.  

Amy holds a masters degree in Instructional Systems Design from Florida State University and bring over 15 years of statewide and national experience developing and administering professional adult education, training and certification programs to the FPN.

Harvey Rosenthal has over 35 years of experience working to provide or advocate for state and national programs and policies that advance the recovery, rehabilitation and rights of people with psychiatric disabilities or diagnoses. Since 1993, as NYAPRS executive director, he has helped lead numerous successful advocacy efforts to advance policies and funding supportive of recovery and peer support, choice and self direction and community integration and inclusion. Under his leadership, NYAPRS has helped launch several nationally initiatives including the much replicated NYAPRS Peer Bridger model, training Collective to transform community based mental health services, We Can Work/Save campaigns and the NYAPRS E-News. He currently serves on the boards of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and the American College for Mental Health Administration, and is a member of the state's Most Integrated Settings Coordinating Council. Harvey's interest in promoting mental health recovery is also personal, dating back to his own hospitalization at age 19.

Elizabeth “Beth” Sammis, M.A., Ph.D. was appointed the Acting Commissioner in January 2010. She had served as Deputy Commissioner since December of 2007 under former Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler. In this role, she has primary responsibility for oversight of the agency. Previously, she largely focused on legislative and regulatory policy, with an emphasis on health insurance.

Sammis was most recently Vice President for Government Affairs, Mid-Atlantic Region, for United Healthcare, and she previously held senior positions at Mid-Atlantic Medical Services Inc. (MAMSI), prior to its acquisition by United Healthcare. Between 1993 and 1996, Sammis was Deputy Director of the Health Care Access and Cost Commission (now the Health Services Cost Review Commission), and before that (1985-1993), she was a Legislative Analyst with the Department of Legislative Reference.

Sammis is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and she received her M.A. and Ph.D degrees in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She lives in Severna Park with her family.

Mike Turner, M.B.A. joined the Mental Health America team on November 16, 2009.  He has been a nonprofit fundraiser since 1997, having worked at the American Red Cross, Junior Achievement, Inc., the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, and, most recently as the Chief of Congressional Affairs at the Wounded Warrior Project in Washington, DC.

Mr. Turner retired as a colonel from the United States Air Force in 1997 where he served for 24 years as a command fighter pilot and air rescue helicopter pilot.  He is a Desert Storm veteran.  Additionally, Col. Turner was a national military commentator for CNN, NPR, and Newsweek.com in 2003-2004.

Col. Turner is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and holds a BS degree from USAFA and an MBA from Chapman University. 

Judith Warner is best known for her 2005 New York Times best-seller, Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety, and New York Times column, "Domestic Disturbances."  She remains a frequent contributor to the New York Times op-ed page, and writes for The New York Times Magazine and other publications. A former special correspondent for Newsweek in Paris, she hosted "The Judith Warner Show" on XM satellite radio from 2005 to 2007, and wrote the 1993 bestseller Hillary Clinton: The Inside Story, as well as several other books. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and children.

Phil Wyzik, M.A. is the President and CEO of the Mental Health Association of Connecticut.  Starting his career in community mental health as a counselor in a day treatment program in the 1980s, he has held a variety of supervisory, director and leadership roles in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.   As an online faculty member, he has been a Lecturer at Granite State College for the last 12 years, teaching adult learners courses in Quality Improvement, Healthcare Finances, Ethics and other healthcare management topics.  He has co authored journal articles on Recovery, the implementation of evidence based practices, and program innovations and has given presentations at 15 professional conferences. 

Ran Zilca is a research scientist, a writer, and an entrepreneur, currently serving as Chief Scientist of bLife, a company developing scientifically-based digital well-being tools. He has published numerous scientific papers and patents while leading R&D projects at IBM Research and the Israeli military over the course of the past 20 years. In 2006 Ran started Signal Patterns, a company that marries psychology and technology into a new field called Positive Computing, working with leading authors and scientists like Sonja Lyubomirsky, Stephen Covey, and Deepak Chopra.

Ran writes about the human thriving and flourishing and the new technologies that support it. He currently writes on Psychology Today (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/confessions-techie) and on his Ride blog (http://www.RideOfYourLife.com)