Future of Mental Healthcare: East

Suzanne Kunis is Vice President of Behavioral Health Solutions for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. She brings over 30 years of experience in the health care  industry with a significant focus on behavioral health. Suzanne is a registered nurse and moved from care delivery to health care management early in her career.

Suzanne was recruited to Horizon in March 2017 to develop and lead Horizon’s first ever internal Behavioral Health strategy and team. Suzanne is responsible for all behavioral health strategy development and execution including Horizon’s commitment to the  integration of physical and behavioral health. In her five years at Horizon, Suzanne has led the development of Horizon’s continuum of behavioral health capabilities, programs and services – an innovative approach to ensure the right care at the right time for all of Horizon’s members. Suzanne oversees all work related to behavioral health including the 2020 insourcing of behavioral health clinical operations from an MBHO vendor and has developed and successfully launched a first-of-its-kind integrated system of care to address the challenges of our fragmented delivery system for our most vulnerable members in New Jersey. Suzanne is Horizon’s behavioral health champion – the opioid crisis and continued battle to eliminate mental health stigma are priority items on her agenda and she is working tirelessly to ensure that Horizon’s employees, provider network and members know that “mental health is health.” Prior to joining Horizon BCBSNJ, Suzanne served for 22 years as Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health Services for Magellan Health Services. She was the business owner for Magellan’s health plan (Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid) and employer client relationships. She was responsible for oversight and management of nationwide service delivery including member services, clinical operations, network development  and management, quality, sales, EAP and finance. During her tenure with Magellan,  Suzanne developed a deep understanding of the behavioral health care issues facing our country and the long overdue recognition of the impact of behavioral health issues on comorbid medical conditions.Suzanne also served as Senior Vice President of Account Management and Implementations for ComplexCare Solutions (CCS). CCS provided in-home risk adjustment assessments and care management services for its health plan clients.

After graduating from Thomas Jefferson University, College of Allied Health Sciences in Philadelphia, Suzanne began her nursing career at the East Orange Veterans Administration Hospital. She then began a 12-year career journey with which was then Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey where she served many roles including Vice President of the Individual Market segment.

As Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Mark Friedlander, MD, MBA, oversees the medical strategy of our behavioral health facilities, contributing an integral perspective including thought leadership, oversight of medical staff across the network and utilization management.

Dr. Friedlander joined UHS in 2020. Prior to that, he served as Chief Medical Officer for Aetna’s Behavioral Health unit from 2010 to 2020. In this role, Friedlander was responsible for utilization management, quality, NCQA accreditation and clinical compliance, overseeing 400+ physicians, clinical and non-clinical staff providing 24/7/365 services to multiple lines of business.

Prior to his time at Aetna, Dr. Friedlander served as Corporate Medical Director for Penn-Friends Behavioral Health Systems in Plymouth Meeting, PA, responsible for the formulation and development of enterprise behavioral health strategies; and the design and implementation of emergency assessment capability to triage and manage high-risk patients. Before that, Friedlander served as Director, Outpatient Clinic and Adolescent Inpatient Care at Friends Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. Earlier in his career, Friedlander was the Psychiatrist and the Acting Medical Director at Child Guidance Resource Centers headquartered in Havertown, PA.

Dr. Friedlander earned his MD from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and his MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. He completed postdoctoral residencies in General Psychiatry and in Child/Adolescent Psychiatry. He currently serves on the American Medical Society, Pennsylvania Medical Society and the Delaware County Medical Society.

Dr. Young leads the departments of psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and Zucker Hillside Hospital, and he oversees behavioral health at Northwell.

Previously, he served as vice chair for education in the department of psychiatry at the Zucker School of Medicine and Zucker Hillside Hospital. He also directed the Psychiatry Residency Training Program at Zucker Hillside and chaired the Curriculum Committee, which oversees the four-year curriculum at the Zucker School of Medicine.

Prior to joining Northwell, Dr. Young served as associate professor of psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine. He held a number of roles including associate director of the Residency Training Program in the department of psychiatry (2005-2012), director of the medication management clinics at the Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics (2005-2012), and chair for the Advanced Studies Committee at the Zucker School of Medicine (with oversight over the Med4 curriculum, 2008-2012). While based at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center (2012-2013), he was the associate director for the Kaiser- UCSF Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship and a physician investigator with the Behavioral Health Research Initiative at Kaiser’s Northern California Division of Research. During this time, he also helped create a primary care consult service supporting over 120 primary care physicians.

Dr. Young’s research has focused on improving quality and patient safety in the clinical learning workplace. In particular, he has made important contributions to multiple literatures, including cognitive load, handoffs and patient safety; the ‘July Effect’; professional identity formation; and workplace-based assessment in psychiatry. He has published extensively in the leading medical education journals. He served as associate editor for AHRQ’s WebM&M (2009-2013) and now serves as associate editor for Perspectives on Medical Education and as an invited member of the International Competency-Based Medical Education Collaborative. Throughout his career, he has participated in local patient safety committees and led efforts to incorporate quality improvement processes into ambulatory settings.

Dr. Young has held leadership roles in numerous medical education organizations. He is a former program chair and chair of the Assessment Committee and the current secretary and member of the Steering Committee and executive council of the Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training. He was a member of the National Board of Medical Examiner’s (USMLE’s) inaugural Patient Safety Test Materials Development Committee and now serves on the Evidence Based Medicine Interdisciplinary Review Committee. In July 2017, he was chosen to serve on the ACGME Psychiatry Review Committee.

Prior to his career in medicine, he did human rights work in southern Africa and Asia and served as legislative director for an assemblywoman in the California State Legislature where he helped lead several important health policy initiatives.

He received a BA (magna cum laude) from Harvard University with a double concentration in social studies and the comparative study of religion. He earned a master’s degree in public policy from the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and a PhD in health professional education from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He obtained his MD from the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, where he also completed residency training in general adult psychiatry.

Gino Mortillaro, MD, is the Assistant Chief of Psychiatry in San Bernadino County California at Kaiser Permanente. In this role, he sees a wide variety of patients in the pediatric consultation service as well as his general mental health and adult autism outpatient clinics. He also serves as core faculty for the residency and fellowship programs and associate clinical professor at the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. 
 
When not seeing patients, Dr. Mortillaro is a member of AACAP’s media committee and chairs a Kaiser Permanente national initiative aimed at reducing mental health stigma in the video game community. His research interests are varied but his particular focus includes large scale database mining studies, borderline personality disorder, and the interface of media and mental health.   
 
Dr. Mortillaro was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana where he previously competed for USA Gymnastics as a professional gymnast prior to pursuing his medical education. He stayed in New Orleans to complete his college and medical schooling at Tulane University before moving to Boston to complete his residency and fellowship with Harvard Medical School at the Harvard South Shore and Boston Children’s Hospital programs, respectively.  
 
Throughout his education, Dr. Mortillaro has had the opportunity to spearhead development of LGBT+ focused educational initiatives and research aimed to reduce the health disparities for this patient population.  

Pamela Greenberg is the President and CEO of the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness (ABHW). She joined the association in 1998 and since that time has become a nationally recognized leader on managed behavioral health care policy.ABHW is the leading association working to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and advance federal policy to improve mental health and addiction care. ABHW represents major national and regional health plans who care for more than 200 million people.Pamela has extensive experience in behavioral health policy, particularly in the areas of parity, prevention, access, integration, and outcomes. She currently serves on the Joint Commission’s Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Advisory Council and URAC’s Health Standards Committee and Parity Advisory Council.Prior to joining ABHW Pamela was the Deputy Director of Federal Affairs for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Before joining AHIP Ms. Greenberg was a Legislative Assistant at Capitol Associates, a healthcare consulting firm in Washington, D.C.Pamela has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University.

Dr. Simon (Kevin M. Simon, MD, MPH) is a physician leader, health equity researcher, and
unwavering advocate, his expertise spans the spheres of mental health, substance use
disorders, and community wellness. In 2022, he was appointed as the inaugural Chief
Behavioral Health Officer for the City of Boston. Through the Boston Public Health Commission,
Dr. Simon champions a City–wide mental health vision, prioritizing the well-being of Boston’s
most vulnerable.
Dr. Simon’s impact extends into academic medicine and clinical settings. He is an attending
pediatric addiction medicine psychiatrist – physician-scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital, an
instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and has secured multiple federal grants for
research on structural violence. His insights are shared through notable journals, such as the
American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the
New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Simon completed dual clinical fellowships in child & adolescent psychiatry and addiction
medicine concurrently at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He completed his
adult psychiatry residency at Grady Memorial Hospital and the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical
Center through Morehouse School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from the
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, after graduating from Morgan State University.
Dr. Simon is a former Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy and has a Master’s
in Public Health in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard School of Public Health. His
journey is not just of professional triumphs but also personal joys. He shares his life with his
best-half Dr. Brittne Halford and their two children, a testament to a life dedicated to service,
knowledge, and family.

Sushant Gupta is a healthcare executive and entrepreneur with over 14 years of experience across marketing, technology, and strategy. He currently serves as Co-Founder and CEO of Meomind, an innovative digital mental health enterprise expanding access to therapy worldwide.

Previously, Sushant was a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company where he advised public health, medical devices and life sciences clients on strategy, operations, and digital transformation. He then joined Abbott Laboratories overseeing marketing teams and commercial strategy.

After Abbott, Sushant served Philips Healthcare as a senior leader in Strategy, M&A and Alliances for Philips’ digital health and devices business. He was later an Investor at Gilde Venture Capital, focused on venture and growth investments in healthcare technology.

Sushant then joined Optum (part of UnitedHealth Group) and led product management and go-to-market strategy for a suite of mental health solutions serving enterprise clients.

Sushant holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He also has an MS and BS in Computer Science from IIT Kharagpur. With his blend of healthcare expertise and passion for innovation, Sushant leads Meomind in its mission to pioneer the future of mental healthcare.

Marjorie Morrison is Founder, Board member and former CEO of Psych Hub, the world’s largest mental health education and connection platform. A visionary and passionate pioneer in the mental health space, Morrison co-founded Psych Hub with former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy to connect people with engaging, evidence-based content on mental health topics, delivered in many ways to meet learners where they’re at. Morrison is reimagining behavioral health through intentional and thoughtful design by leveraging the digital space and combining clinical research with the art of storytelling. Her mission is to improve quality of care by moving behavior health providers from generalists to specialists by certifying them in evidence-based interventions and increasing access to care by training non-clinicians how to be Mental Health Allies to offer support to those benefiting from a lower level of care.

Prior to launching Psych Hub, Morrison was the Founder and CEO of PsychArmor Institute, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, committed to bridging the military-civilian divide by developing, promoting, and distributing free online courses spanning a wide range of topics important to those who serve military service members and their families.

Morrison is a CA Licensed Marriage Family Therapist, a CA Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, a PPS-credentialed School Psychologist, and the author of The Inside Battle: Our Military Mental Health Crisis. As a renowned subject matter expert, she has spoken at hundreds of conferences, been featured numerous times by national media giants such as BBC, NBC, FOX, CBS, CNN and NPR, along with being a contributing writer for multiple outlets including TIME, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, and Huffington Post. Morrison has received numerous awards for her advocacy and leadership. She is a native of California who currently splits her time between Nashville, Tennessee, and New York City. She is the mother of three adult children: Jacob, Lindsey, and Charlie.

Dr. Parks currently serves as Medical Director at The National Council for Mental Wellbeing and Chief Medical Officer for firsthand. He is a Distinguished Research Professor of Science at Missouri Institute of Mental Health with the University of Missouri, St. Louis and the national behavioral health representative at large for The Joint Commission. He practices outpatient psychiatry at Family Health Center, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center and federally funded community health center in Columbia Missouri.

He previously served as the Director of Missouri MO HealthNet Division (Missouri Medicaid) in the Missouri Department of Social Services. He was also Medical Director for the Missouri Department of Mental Health in Jefferson City and the Division Director for the Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services.

Dr. Parks has conducted research and published in the areas of implementation of evidence-based medicine, pharmacy utilization management, integration of behavioral healthcare with general healthcare,
and health care policy. He has received numerous awards for improving the quality of care and leadership.

Dawn Zieger is Vice President of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Geisinger.    Dawn is a dynamic speaker, change agent and advocate for mental health services.   In her current role, she is responsible for the operations of a full continuum of behavioral health services, including inpatient and outpatient behavioral health, addiction medicine and substance use treatment services serving Central Pennsylvania.  Dawn has led the transformation efforts to bring needed Behavioral Healthcare to rural Pennsylvania through virtual care while creating surge capacity for mental health services.  Ms. Zieger has a passion for integration and transformation, leading multi-organizational initiatives to bring needed behavioral healthcare to patients across the continuum.   

Ms. Zieger has a diverse background in healthcare, payer and technology-based environments. Prior to coming to Geisinger, she led transformation programs at JPS Health Network as Executive Director of Community and Director of Ambulatory Behavioral Health. Ms. Zieger is a proud Army veteran with experience working with PATRIOT missile systems. She’s also an assistant professor at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, supporting cross disciplinary educational programming.

She earned a master’s degree in public health from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College and has a bachelor of science degree from Dallas Baptist University. Dawn is dedicated to developing people and programs, leading teams through change and serving the needs of the community.  

Brad Lerner is a Director of Public Policy & Manager of Behavioral Health and Enterprise Issues for Anthem and formerly served as vice president government affairs/associate general counsel for Beacon Health Options. He is government relations professional with more than 25 years of public and private sector experience analyzing and addressing regulatory issues, including complex legal and policy issues in health care. He is a leading expert on Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) analysis and compliance and works with federal and state policymakers on ways to improve mental health and substance used disorder system of care. He is currently serving on the Board of Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness and is a subcommittee chair on the American Health Lawyers Association Behavioral Health Task Force. Previously, he worked as a regulatory attorney at the Federal Communications Commission and as in-house counsel at Cavalier Telephone, LLC. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from Wayne State University Law School.

Dr. Mason Turner is the Senior Medical Director for Behavioral Health for Intermountain Healthcare based in Salt Lake City, UT. 

His leadership in mental health care focuses on the development and evolution of strategic innovations in behavioral health care delivery that enhance quality of care and clinical excellence and are guided by principles of equity and inclusion of the patient/consumer voice into all aspects of the behavioral healthcare ecosystem. 

Including integration initiatives which link mental health care and addiction medicine services with both primary and specialty medical care, as well as supporting innovative technological means of reaching patients for treatment of behavioral health conditions, he is also committed to enhancing access for behavioral health care services to all those who need it. Additionally, he has extensive experience in promoting employee health and well-being in a variety of corporate and healthcare sectors.

As a clinician, he specializes in addiction medicine, consult-liaison psychiatry and treatment of personality disorders. He has received extensive training in resiliency-and systems-based approaches for improving the mental health and well-being of refugees, asylum seekers and torture survivors.

Dr. Turner also served as a former Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School, where he taught medical students at all levels the practice of interviewing patients and clinical reasoning skills. He also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Dr. Turner earned his AB degree in psychology from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, and completed his MD degree at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center/ Parkland Hospital in Dallas, TX. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Harvard University Medical School through Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, in Boston, MA, with additional training in psychotherapy at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital and addiction psychiatry at McLean Hospital. He is board certified in Psychiatry and certified in Addiction Medicine through the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

Jonathan enjoys working with the Meomind team to deliver zero-wait mental health support to health plans, providers, and employers. After undergraduate school at Wake Forest University, Jonathan earned his Master in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Jonathan has worked his entire career in the employee health risk management industry serving from multiple perspectives: a US Navy officer commission, large employer work at Target around team member wellbeing, health & benefits consulting at Lockton, and digital health vendor leadership roles in both analytics and strategy/business development. Most recently, Jonathan helped scale employer and health plan adoption of digital substance use disorder clinical tools at Pelago, and he advanced B2B enterprise growth at Headspace following its merger with clinical care provider Ginger. Jonathan appreciates that Meomind tackles — and actually answers — the biggest question in mental health therapy access today: how can we sustainably solve the supply and demand imbalance?

Nathaniel Z Counts, JD, is the Chief Policy Officer for The Kennedy Forum, where he advances a public policy agenda which aims to ensure that all individuals have access to the treatment, services, and insurance coverage that meets their needs and the supports necessary to promote prevention, recovery, and mental well-being. In particular, Nathaniel supports the mental health and substance use care community in policy and advocacy to achieve the Alignment for Progress movement goal: 90/90/90 by 2033 – 90% of individuals are screened for mental health or substance use disorders, 90% receive the evidence-based services and supports they need, and 90% of those treated can manage their symptoms and achieve recovery.

Prior to joining The Kennedy Forum, Nathaniel served as Senior Policy Advisor for Mental Health to the Commissioner of Health for the City of New York, where he advised on innovative financing, policy, and research strategies for achieving the city’s mental health goals. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health Innovation for Mental Health America (MHA), the nation’s leading community-based mental health advocacy organization. Nathaniel is a sought-after advisor on mental health policy issues, having served on a range of national committees and in roles such as Senior Fellow for Behavioral Health Policy at the Commonwealth Fund, expert member on the Forum for Promoting Children’s Wellbeing at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and Visiting Scholar with the Outreach & Education Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His thought leadership and research have been published in journals such as JAMA Pediatrics, Lancet Psychiatry, and Nature Mental Health, and he has presented at annual conferences for societies such as AcademyHealth and the American Society of Health Economists. He received his JD cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was a Student Fellow at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, and his BA in biology from Johns Hopkins.

Tammer Attallah serves as the Executive Clinical Director for Intermountain Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Clinical Program.  Tammer Attallah has over 25 years’ experience in mental health and substance use disorder services across the lifespan. He holds a master’s in social work and business administration from the University of Utah.  

For 14 of those years, he led multiple programs and initiatives in a tri-county community mental health center serving Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties in Utah. Notably, he launched a system wide school mental health programming across multiple school districts.  He led multiple implementations of systemwide evidence-based treatment models across the services’ continuum. Furthermore, he also led the organization’s cultural competency program that focused on removing internal and external barriers to care from disenfranchised community members. 

Over the 10 nine years at Intermountain Healthcare, he also served as the Administrative Director of Behavioral Health Services at Primary Children’s Hospital and then the Director of Community Services for Children’s Health Pediatric Behavioral Health Service Line where he led a continuum of behavioral health services and more recently he focused in community based service to enhance coordination and continuity.

Additionally, he served on community and state boards to include Utah’s Salt Lake County Council on Diversity Affairs, the Division of Occupation and Professional Social Work Licensing Board. Currently, he serves on National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Utah Chapter Board, Impact Clinic Board, a nonprofit free mental health clinic treating low-income and the uninsured in Utah, University of Utah’s College of Social Work Community Advisory Board and chairs Salt Lake County’s System of Care Advisory Council.

Over the course of his leadership career, he emphasizes the value of delivering evidence based behavioral health care.  From this cornerstone, a clear vision and collaboration create innovations that ultimately overcome the barriers to those we serve to meet our mission.

Tammer enjoys spending time with his partner and two daughters. He also appreciates his time in the outdoors cycling and skiing.

Dr. Hossam Mahmoud is Regional Chief Medical Office at Carelon Behavioral Health, overseeing a large regional team of medical directors, psychologists and pharmacists, dedicated to supporting behavioral health programs across multiple states. Dr Mahmoud leads the overall direction of the regional strategy to optimize behavioral health, improve whole-person health outcomes and implement innovative approaches and digital solutions to enhance behavioral health care access.  

Prior to joining Carelon Behavioral Health, Dr. Mahmoud was the Medical Director for Behavioral Health at Cambia/Regence, where he provided medical leadership, strategic direction and clinical oversight for behavioral health services across all lines of business within the health plan. Dr Mahmoud has also served as medical director and senior vice president at Array Behavioral Care, a national telehealth organization, focusing on implementing clinical telehealth programs and expanding access to BH services across the country.

Dr Mahmoud is a Board-Certified psychiatrist, Past President of the Illinois Psychiatric Society and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He earned his Medical Degree and Master of Public Health at the American University of Beirut. He worked as a Medical Officer at the World Health Organization before completing his residency training at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University in Chicago. Dr Mahmoud holds an academic appointment at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr Mahmoud has worked in inpatient, outpatient and consultation/liaison psychiatry and telepsychiatry, and he is passionate about increasing access to high quality behavioral health services nationally. 

Dr Mahmoud has published multiple peer-reviewed papers on telebehavioral health and digital solutions, and he has recently published a book with Springer Health titled Essentials of Telebehavioral Health: A Practical Guide

Abeer is a seasoned healthcare leader with over 17 years of government programs experience in roles that span business analytics, compliance, network strategy, account management, growth and financial performance. She led the Medicare Product for Optum Behavioral Health where she focused on building the value-story of increased and integrated BH services and solutions for over 6M seniors that resulted in improved total health outcomes and member growth. In her current role, Abeer is responsible for the development and oversight of integrated behavioral health solutions for millions of members cared for by the Optum Home and Community Care Advanced Practice Clinicians, Care Management and Care Navigation teams.

 Abeer is also a proud United Health Group Culture Facilitator and active proponent of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is a certified leadership coach, certified Fair Play facilitator, and sits on multiple boards including Wafa House, a Domestic Violence Agency in NJ. Abeer received her B.S. and MBA from Rutgers University and lives with her husband and 3 children in Monroe Township, NJ.

Jason Washburn is the Chief Clinical Officer for Owl. He is a practicing clinical psychologist, professor, and chief psychologist within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University.

Shairi R. Turner MD, MPH, is an internist and pediatrician with expertise in trauma-informed practices. She currently serves as the Chief Health Officer at Crisis Text Line, leading the organization’s external policy, advocacy, and partnership initiatives related to mental health. Crisis Text Line is a national not-for-profit organization that provides free, 24/7 text-based mental health support and crisis intervention in English and in Spanish.  In this role, she is fervently committed to addressing the youth mental health epidemic.

Prior to joining Crisis Text Line, Dr. Turner served four years as the first Chief Medical Director for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, responsible for the oversight of Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Services. Her office’s focus included the impact of childhood trauma (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse) on youth involved in the juvenile justice system. She then served two years as the Deputy Secretary for Health and the Interim State Surgeon General for the Florida Department of Health.  

After her departure, Dr. Turner was a faculty consultant for the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care, co-leading national trainings on the neurobiology of trauma. As the Co-Director of the U.S. Office on Women’s Health Trauma-Informed Medicine e-Cases, she was responsible for the development of a compendium of online virtual patient cases (for primary care providers) focused on practical approaches to caring for patients who have survived traumatic life experiences.

She received a BS in Biology from Stanford University, a Doctor of Medicine degree from Case Western University School of Medicine (with honors), and completed the Harvard Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program. As a Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellow in Minority Health Policy, she earned a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. 

She is married and the mother of two college students.  She serves on the board of the Innocence Project of Florida and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett is the Vice Chair of Primary Care Innovation and Transformation in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston Medical Center (BMC), a Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, an Associate at Harvard’s Center for Primary Care, and a Health Innovators Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a highly competitive fellowship that catalyzes leaders to improve US health care.

Prior to joining BMC in 2009, Dr. Gergen Barnett attended Yale University School of Medicine, worked at the National Institutes of Health, and completed a fellowship studying a model of group prenatal care for women in low-income communities. At BMC, she has served in multiple leadership roles including as a chief resident, Director of Integrative Medicine, Medical Director, Residency Director, and Vice Chair. Her primary clinical interests are behavioral health, preventive medicine, nutrition, trauma informed care, gender affirming care, women’s health, reproductive care, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and group medical care.

Dr. Gergen Barnett’s research career has been focused on innovative models of care to address chronic medical conditions, physician burnout, and engaging community partners in creating feasible solutions to increase health and wellness and to address medical distrust in traditionally marginalized communities. Dr. Gergen Barnett brings her training and passion for community engaged research to her role as PI in a clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of Paxlovid, an antiviral, in treating high risk children infected with COVID-19.

Finally, Dr. Gergen Barnett is involved in local and state health policy addressing health inequities, national policy addressing primary care delivery, and is a regular contributor to The Boston Globe, Boston Public Radio, and multiple television outlets.

Dr. Santopietro is the first physician-in-chief of the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network, Connecticut’s leading provider of addiction and mental health services. A nationally recognized leader, Dr. Santopietro comes to Hartford HealthCare from Silver Hill Hospital where he served as president and medical director. Prior to that, he was chief clinical officer for behavioral health and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit healthcare systems. He has published and lectured extensively, especially on the use of technology to enhance the delivery of behavioral health services, and integration of behavioral healthcare into primary care practices.

Tim Clement is the Vice President of Federal Government Affairs at Mental Health America.
Tim drafts legislation, works with Congress, and partners with federal regulatory agencies, all for
the purpose of advancing substantive and impactful mental health policy. Tim has been working
in mental health policy and advocacy for over ten years, previously working for the American
Psychiatric Association and before that the Kennedy Forum. He has written dozens of state laws
and multiple federal laws, including the 2020 amendment to the Mental Health Parity and
Addiction Equity Act.

Samantha is the Director of Trauma Services for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program where she focuses on developing trauma-informed care and services for patients. She also leads initiatives to support staff who are exposed to primary, secondary, and vicarious trauma and developing an internal critical incident response team specific to the complex psychosocial and mental health needs for those experiencing homelessness and their care providers. She has created a women’s only program for female or non-binary identifying community members experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders in the area of “Mass and Cass”; which creates a safe space for community building and increasing access to psychosocial and patient-centered female medical and mental health care.

Previously, Samantha also developed the mental health and SUDs treatment protocols for the BHCHP led Boston Hope, Boston’s medical field hospital, during COVID-19s initial surge and spent two years at the Clinical Operations Manager of the BHCHP OBAT program. Prior to these roles, she worked at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in the Emergency Department and on the inpatient Addiction Consult Team as a clinical social worker.

Her clinical areas of interest include Psychological First Aid, trauma and co-occurring substance use disorders, community building and advocacy within the unhoused populations of Boston, and Harm Reduction. She has facilitated many education events around special populations experiencing SUDs at MGH, Harvard Medical School, Boston Medical Center, and MGH Institute of Health Professionals and continues to work towards reducing the long-term health impacts of stigma and discrimination through education and advocacy efforts. Samantha is a 2014 graduate of Simmons University School of Social Work where her clinical focus was the treatment of substance use disorders and trauma.

Shawna Zabkiewicz, RN BSN CCM SSYB is the Program Director, PH/BH Integration for Carelon Behavioral Health, a US Navy Veteran who has worked in several capacities within the healthcare field as an RN, including nursing, home health, occupational health, acute care, case management, and managed care. In previous roles, Shawna has developed and implemented several value-based care initiatives in the orthopedic space. Prior to coming to Carelon Behavioral Health, Shawna worked in the acute care setting at her local level 1 trauma center managing the Case Management, Social Work and Behavioral Health Crisis Teams. She is passionate about improving the alignment between quality care and financial efficiencies within our healthcare system.

In her current role at Carelon Behavioral Health, Shawna has developed and implemented a program to address rising Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) through a whole person care peer-based initiative. Her role as a thought leader focuses on integrated care, care management delivery and digital solutions using evidenced-based physical and behavioral health principles.  

Shawna is a Registered Nurse with certification in Case Management and is currently pursuing her Masters in Business Administration.

Amara Anosike is the Chief of Staff and Strategy at Somerville Public Schools  (SPS) where she brings a wealth of experience in driving impactful change. With SPS’ diverse student population of 5,000 PK-12 students, including 50% English language learners and 20% in special education, Amara is deeply committed to implementing systems of support that enhance inclusive and equitable learning environments where all students can thrive.

In her role, Amara spearheads strategic initiatives, such as the Superintendent’s Entry Plan, where she gathers insights from key stakeholders to inform a comprehensive strategic roadmap. With oversight of a $100 million operational budget, Amara serves as a key member of the team responsible for strategically allocating resources to drive improved outcomes. Additionally, Amara serves as the district liaison coordinating efforts across the School Committee, the Mayor’s office, and other governmental agencies, advancing critical projects including the building of the Winter Hill Community Innovation School.

Prior to her role at Somerville Public Schools, Amara served as the Director of Behavioral Health Policy and Advocacy at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she championed initiatives to expand access to quality behavioral health care for all children. Her expertise has been recognized through media features on outlets such as Boston 25 News, Chronicle’s WCVB Channel 5, and NBC10 Boston, as well as contributions to major publications like the Boston Globe and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Amara is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and George Washington University Law School, and her diverse professional background includes roles such as an Assistant Attorney General at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office and as a judicial law clerk.

John serves as the CEO of The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit organization that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults. JED works across the country helping youth, families, schools, and community organizations to take actions to support youth mental health and reduce risks for suicide. Passionate about supporting young adults in their transition to adulthood, John advises several organizations including the S. Jay Levy Fellowship for Future Leaders at City College, Trek Medics, Opera Ebony, the Health Policy and Management Department at the Mailman School of Public Health, and HIV Hero.

Earlier in his career, he served in executive positions and board roles for several pharmaceutical companies, where he oversaw functions such as business development, alliance management, clinical development, regulatory affairs, and commercial operations. 

John is a recipient of The Allan Rosenfield Alumni Award for Excellence in the field of public health from the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He earned a BA from Columbia College, an MBA from New York University, and an MPH from Columbia University.

Jill Borelli is a transformation leader with success in steering organizations through groundbreaking changes in clinical services, systems, and healthcare business processes that drive quality, regulatory compliance, efficiency, and profitable growth. Her expertise includes leading large scale, organization-wide quality infrastructure, strategy and Board-approved initiatives and is known for pragmatic development and operationalization of compliance and quality processes. Motivated by a deep commitment to collaboration and talent/team management, Jill Borelii achieves strong results, as demonstrated in her previous work at Tufts Health Plan and current work at Point32Health.

Dr. Ronke Komolafe is an executive leader with over 15 years of healthcare experience creating business value through systemic programs, evaluation, strategic planning, market expansion, product development, and revenue generation. Dr. Ronke is the Board Chair and CEO of Integrated Physical & Behavioral Health Alliance, a business and market expansion Company that provides leadership and go-to-market strategies to healthcare and health IT Companies. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Integrated Health Magazine, a thought leadership magazine focusing on integrated health approaches to care delivery and digital health.

Dr. Komolafe is the Lead for the Mental Health Group of the Forbes Business Council, the Vice Chair of the American Association for Doctors of Behavioral Health, the Vice President of HIMSS South Texas Chapter, and an Associate Professor at Morehouse School of Medicine. She also serves as an Advisory Board Member and Associate Professor at Cumming Graduate Institute of Behavioral Health.

 Dr. Komolafe has extensive experience in mental health IT, Medicaid, leadership, healthcare strategy, business development, integrated care, and healthcare regulatory affairs. Dr. Komolafe is known for her multi-dimensional perspective on integrated and mental health and her passion for health innovation and advancement.

Samta currently serves as the Director of Data Science at Blue Cross Blue Shield, MN, building robust data science and generative AI capabilities spanning all areas of business while leading data teams from their inception. Her experience spans over a decade in machine learning, statistical optimization, and artificial intelligence, with a focus on addressing healthcare challenges. She previously held the position of Senior Data Science Manager at CVS Health, overseeing healthcare delivery portfolios and managing a team of data scientists. Her academic background includes a PhD in Computer Systems from RPI and a Master’s degree from IISc, with a specialization in machine learning and algorithms. Outside of work, Samta enjoys nature, music, and painting. For more information, you can contact her at shukla.samta@gmail.com. 

Sarah E. Wakeman, MD is the Senior Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Medical Director for the Mass General Hospital Substance Use Disorder Initiative, program director of the Mass General Addiction Medicine fellowship, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. 

She received her A.B. from Brown University and her M.D. from Brown Medical School. She completed residency training in internal medicine and served as Chief Medical Resident at Mass General Hospital. She is a diplomate and fellow of the American Board of Addiction Medicine and board certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. She served on Massachusetts’ Governor Baker’s Opioid Addiction Working Group. Nationally, she serves on the American Society of Addiction Medicine Ethics Committee.

Clinically she provides specialty addiction and general medical care in the inpatient and outpatient setting at Mass General Hospital and the Mass General Charlestown Health Center. Her research interests include evaluating models for integrated substance use disorder treatment in general medical settings, low threshold treatment models, recovery coaching, physician attitudes and practice related to substance use disorder, and screening for substance use in primary care. 

Tracey Weeden, MSW, LICSW is currently the executive director for Boston Medical Center’s Brockton Behavioral Health Center. Ms. Weeden has more than 25 years of experience serving behavioral health and marginalized communities along the East Coast. Ms. Weeden has a passion for shaping systems of care that place the person-served front and center by ensuring ease of access to quality treatment through the development of sustainable and efficient healthcare systems.  Ms. Weeden also spends much of her time volunteering on non-profit and governmental boards to ensure representation of the communities in which she serves.

Michelle Hoy, LPC, CAS is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at Ellipsis Health, a market leader in AI-generated vocal biomarker technology that is pioneering a new standard in mental healthcare by using patient voice samples to better detect, assess, and monitor anxiety and depression. With ten peer-reviewed published studies in tier-one journals, Ellipsis Health uses both acoustic and semantic machine-learning models to analyze voice, offering clinical-grade measures of mental health used by leading healthcare organizations.

As a psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field, she has a background as a leader of provider organizations with expertise in spearheading change initiatives. Michelle has led teams to win two prestigious national awards, one for innovation from The National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the other for patient engagement and innovation from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Michelle has always been dedicated to helping others in need and has used that passion to focus on the use of technology in healthcare to create more access and better care. Michelle earned her M.A. in Community Counseling at Adams State University in Alamosa, Co. Michelle enjoys life in rural western Colorado near Grand Junction, spending time with her husband, son, and furry family members as well as riding motorcycles, racing, photography, and reading.

Chris is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She earned her Master of Social Work degree rom Rutgers,
The State University of New Jersey and a Bachelor of Social Work from Slippery Rock University of
Pennsylvania. Chris has spent her life influencing change in our broken behavioral health treatment
system, from within New Jersey state government, as a C-Suite executive in substance use treatment
and social services, and now as an executive leader in Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield’s behavioral health
affiliate, NovaWell.
At Horizon, and now NovaWell, Chris has been responsible for developing and expanding an innovative
program that integrates physical health, behavioral health and social determinants of health care
through a network of community treatment providers and physical health partners. This program is
achieving significant reductions in substance use and mental health symptoms and improvement in
quality of life for members served, and is also reducing ER visits and overall cost of care. Chris is also
responsible for Horizon’s cutting edge behavioral health value based contracting work and the
implementation of Horizon’s Youth Behavioral Health strategy.

Mike is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, based out of New Jersey, who earned his Bachelor’s
degree in Sociology and Master’s Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University. Currently,
Mike serves as Vice President at Oaks Integrated Care overseeing operations for Ambulatory and
Acute Behavioral Health Services as well as being involved in strategy and business
development for the agency. With over 15 years in the field, Mike has served a variety of
populations throughout his career including children and families, individuals with serious
mental illness, and those with substance use and co-occurring disorders in a variety of settings
including ambulatory, acute and in-community. As a champion of evidence-based practices,
data driven decision-making and person-centered care, Mike has been a driving force behind
implementing new models of behavioral health care such as the Certified Community Behavioral
Health Clinics both at Oaks as well as at the state and national levels. Mike has experience
advocating for legislative change to improve behavioral health services throughout New Jersey
and the country in addition to serving on steering and advisory committees on the county, state
and national levels. Mike also works as adjunct faculty for Rutgers University’s School of
Social Work. His blend of strong leadership and clinical expertise helps to ensure sound
business decisions without compromise to clinical quality. Mike lives in Burlington County,
NJ with his wife, who is a practicing LPC and professor, along with their 2 children.

Marlon is a curriculum consultant for Harvard Medical School and works with leading corporations, including Amazon.com, to support employee mental well-being. He has received special recognition from the U.S. Congress, the California State Senate, and the California State Assembly for his innovative work promoting mental health and wellness in education. Marlon is also an honorary faculty member at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.

Marlon began his career as a school counselor and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, creating student support programs for underserved students in an effort to close the achievement gap. He was appointed by the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) in 2016 to develop policy recommendations for the SSPI and the California State Legislature. Marlon lives in Southern California with his wife and two sons.

Dr. Sameer Awsare is an Associate Executive Director (SEVP) for The Permanente Medical Group with extensive experience in strategy development, health policy and delivery system operations. He has a distinguished track record of success in delivering industry leading performance in clinical quality, health outcomes and economic value across multiple domains including Pharmacy, Behavioral Health, Primary Care Medicine, Revenue Cycle, Resource Utilization, Pain Management and Customer Engagement.

Dr. Awsare is a practicing internal medicine physician with decades of success building highly productive multidisciplinary teams focused both on the individual patient experience and population health. He has deep experience with corporate governance serving in board officer and committee chair roles for The Permanente Medical Group and the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group for over two decades.

Dr. Awsare joined the Permanente Medical Group in 1993 and is board certified in Internal Medicine. He received his BS in Biology, and his MD from the University of California, Irvine. He has served on the voluntary clinical faculty at the Stanford University of School of Medicine.  Dr. Awsare is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Josh Pappas has spent his entire career at the intersection of healthcare and sales.  He has deep experience as an early-stage sales leader building go-to-market strategies for top VC-backed digital health firms like optimize.health, Biofourmis, and Tendo.  Josh is passionate about advancing technology solutions to help create better future healthcare for all.  Josh resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he enjoys golfing, tennis, basketball, pickle ball, and exploring new restaurants around town.

Dr. Peter Cornish is an Honorary Research Professor at Memorial University, and the Co-Director of  Student Mental Health at the University of California Berkeley. His clinical and research interests include  online mental health, stepped-care treatments, mental health service innovations, and interprofessional  team functioning. Over the past ten years, he has provided consultation and on-site training on his  Stepped Care 2.0 model to over 200 organizations globally, including work with transforming mental  health care systems across seven Canadian provinces and territories. The not-for-profit company he  founded, Stepped Care Solutions, is the lead administrative partner on Wellness Together Canada, a  federal $65M/year mental health program for all peoples of Canada. He is the principal investigator for a  $1.14M CIHR transitions-in-care, four-year research grant aimed at digitizing and evaluating Stepped  Care 2.0 across three Canadian provinces/territories. Currently, he is collaborating with colleagues on a  four-book series on Stepped Care 2.0 published by Springer, with the first in the series available now,  and the second expected in December 2023.

Christina Mainelli is a senior healthcare executive with more than 20 years of experience in all facets of healthcare delivery from payer to patient, including physical health, mental health, and social care. She has direct experience growing and scaling high-growth businesses in healthcare services and technology, as well as leading multiple successful exits. Christina currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Quartet Health, a technology-enabled care delivery company focused on delivering speed to quality mental healthcare through its technology platform and medical group. Since she joined Quartet, the company has increased revenue 4x, raised almost $70mm of equity capital from leading payers and investors, completed a successful acquisition to drive value-based care delivery and built an experienced leadership team with a clear strategy and direction.

Prior to Quartet, Christina was the Chief Operating Officer at Unite Us, a healthcare technology company that connects patients to social care. In this role, she scaled operations while revenue and workforce doubled, and led the transition to an entirely remote delivery model. Christina also served as the EVP and Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Health Options, the nation’s largest managed behavioral health company. In this role, Christina ensured that Beacon’s long and short-term strategies resulted in client growth and retention. While at Beacon, Christina played a leadership role in the sale of Beacon (Carelon) to Anthem (Elevance), advancing Anthem’s strategy of delivering whole-person care. Prior to her role at Beacon, Christina held senior leadership roles at CareCentrix, where she served as the Senior Vice President of Post-Acute Care and the Chief Operating Officer for Sleep Management Solutions (SMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of CareCentrix. As COO, Christina had profit and loss ownership, led the company’s clinical and operational teams, and drove technology innovation. She led the organization through exponential growth and from a regional to national presence.

Christina serves on the board of directors of two privately held companies; Businessolver, a market-leading benefit administration technology company, as well as Eleanor Health, a company focused on substance use disorder and addiction. She also serves as an advisor to both Warburg Pincus and Lightyear Capital on their respective healthcare portfolios. Christina holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont and a Master of Business Administration from Yale University, where she also serves as a delegate on the Yale Alumni Association.

Dr. Cara Fuchs (she/her) is the Vice Chair, Chief of Psychology, Director of Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH), and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr. Fuchs received her BA from Tufts University, MPH from Boston University, and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Dr. Fuchs is committed to advancing behavioral health equity for minoritized populations by improving access to behavioral health services through integration into medical and other nontraditional setting. Her clinical expertise includes evidence-based behavioral interventions that reduce the psychological distress associated with chronic medical conditions, promote health behavior change, and increase self-efficacy. Dr. Fuchs is also dedicated to training medical providers and mental health professionals in culturally responsive and trauma-informed approaches to care. In the 6 years that she has worked at BMC, she has contributed to the expansion of IBH services into 15 ambulatory practices across the hospital system.

Olivia Davis leads the commercial side of Headway’s business, overseeing payer business development, partnership strategy, customer success, and marketing. She is a seasoned healthcare leader bringing 20 years of experience working directly with both payers and health systems. Prior to joining Headway, Olivia was Chief Growth Officer and General Manager at Get Well, the leading patient engagement provider for health systems. She also has served as Partner at the Advisory Board Company (acquired by Optum), where she led growth and customer success for the company’s SAAS, research and consulting business units.