Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC)

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) was established on March 15, 2017, in accordance with the 21st Century Cures Act (PL 114-255, Sec. 6031).

Committee’s Official Designation

Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee

Authority

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) is established in accordance with the provisions of Section 6031 of the 21st Century Cures Act (Pub. L. 114-255). The ISMICC is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. 10). In December 2022, the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 117-328) reauthorized the ISMICC and codified it into statute as Section 501C of the Public Health Service Act. It is governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.).

Objectives and Scope of Activities

The Secretary of HHS (Secretary) shall establish a committee to be known as the ISMICC. Not later than each of one (1) year and 5 years after the date of enactment of section 501C, of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, the ISMICC shall submit to Congress and any other relevant Federal department or agency, a report described in the section below.

Description of Duties

The reports to Congress and any other relevant Federal department or agency will include: (1) a summary of advances in serious mental illness (SMI) and serious emotional disturbance (SED) research related to the prevention of, diagnosis of, intervention in, and treatment and recovery of SMIs, SEDs, and advances in access to services and support for adults with a SMI or children with a SED; (2) an evaluation of the effect Federal programs related to serious mental illness have on public health, including outcomes such as (A) rates of suicide, suicide attempts, incidence and prevalence of SMIs, SEDs, and substance use disorders, overdose, overdose deaths, emergency hospitalizations, emergency department boarding, preventable emergency department visits, interaction with the criminal justice system, homelessness, and unemployment; (B) increased rates of employment and enrollment in educational and vocational programs; (C) quality of mental and substance use disorders treatment services; or (D) any other criteria as may be determined by the Secretary; and (3) specific recommendations for actions that agencies can take to better coordinate the administration of mental health services for adults with a SMI or children with a SED.

Agency or Official to Whom the Committee Reports

The ISMICC reports to the Secretary or its designee.

Support

Management and support services shall be provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Estimated Annual Operating Costs and Staff Years

The estimated annual cost for operating the ISMICC, including compensation and travel expenses for members but excluding staff support and expenses for federal staff, is $68,687. The estimated total annual cost for operating the ISMICC including 2 full-time equivalents is $142,349.

Designated Federal Officer

The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use shall designate a SAMHSA staff member to serve as the Designated Federal Official (DFO) of the ISMICC. The DFO will prepare and approve all meeting and subcommittee meeting agendas, attend all meetings and subcommittee meetings, adjourn any meeting when the DFO determines adjournment to be in the public interest, and chair meetings when directed to do so by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use.

Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings

The ISMICC shall meet not fewer than two times each year. The location of the meetings of the ISMICC shall be subject to the approval of the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use.

The ISMICC meetings shall be open to the public except as determined otherwise by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)) and the FACA. Notice of all meetings shall be given to the public. There will be opportunities for the public to comment prior to and during each meeting. In the event a portion of a meeting is closed to the public, a report shall be prepared which shall contain, at a minimum, a list of members, the ISMICC’s functions, dates, places of meetings, and a summary of ISMICC activities and recommendations made during the fiscal year.

Duration

The charter for the ISMICC will be renewed every two (2) years until the ISMICC terminates.

Termination

The ISMICC shall terminate on September 30, 2027.

Membership and Designation

The ISMICC will consist of federal members listed below, or their designees, and non-federal public members.

Federal Membership: The ISMICC shall be composed of the following Federal representatives, or the designees of such representatives, who will serve as Regular Government Employees:

• The Secretary of Health and Human Services;
• The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use;
• The Attorney General;
• The Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
• The Secretary of Defense;
• The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
• The Secretary of Education;
• The Secretary of Labor;
• The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services;
• The Administrator of the Administration for Community Living; and
• The Commissioner of Social Security.

The Secretary designates the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use as the Chair of the ISMICC.

Non-Federal Membership: The ISMICC shall also include not less than 14 non-Federal public members appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as Special Government Employees, of which:

• At least 2 members shall be an individual who has received treatment for a diagnosis of a serious mental illness;
• At least 1 member shall be a parent or legal guardian of an adult with a history of a SMI or a child with a history of a SED;
• At least 1 member shall be a representative of a leading research, advocacy, or service organization for adults with a SMI;
• At least two members shall be:
  • A licensed psychiatrist with experience treating SMI;
  • A licensed psychologist with experience in treating SMI or SEDs;
  • A licensed clinical social worker with experience treating SMIs or SEDs; or
  • A licensed psychiatric nurse, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant with experience in treating SMIs or SEDs.
• At least 1 member shall be a licensed mental health professional with a specialty in treating children and adolescents with a SED;
• At least 1 member shall be a mental health professional who has research or clinical mental health experience in working with minorities;
• At least 1 member shall be a mental health professional who has research or clinical mental health experience in working with medically underserved populations;
• At least 1 member shall be a State certified mental health peer support specialist;
• At least 1 member shall be a judge with experience in adjudicating cases related to criminal justice or SMI;
• At least 1 member shall be a law enforcement officer or corrections officer with extensive experience in interfacing with adults with a SMI, children with a SED, or individuals in a mental health crisis; and
• At least 1 member shall have experience providing services for homeless individuals and working with adults with a SMI, children with a SED, or individuals in a mental health crisis.

The term of office of a non-Federal member of the ISMICC shall be for three (3) years, and may be reappointed to serve for one or more additional three-year terms. If a vacancy occurs in the ISMICC among the members, the Secretary shall make an appointment to fill such vacancy within 90 days from the date the vacancy occurs. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall be appointed for the remainder of such term. A member may serve after the expiration of the member’s term until a successor has been appointed. Initial appointments shall be made in such a manner as to ensure that the terms of the members not all expire in the same year.

Subcommittees

In coordination with the DFO, the ISMICC may establish working groups. Working groups shall be composed of ISMICC members, or their designees, and may hold meetings as are necessary. Working groups may be established by the parent ISMICC in coordination with the DFO with the approval of the Secretary. Recommendations of a working group must be deliberated by the ISMICC. A working group may not provide advice or work products directly to HHS. The ISMICC will coordinate with the DFO the establishment of each working group, and will be provided information on its name, membership, function, and estimated frequency of meetings.

Recordkeeping

Meetings of the ISMICC and its working groups will be conducted according to the FACA, other applicable laws and HHS policies. The ISMICC and working group records will be handled in accordance with General Records Schedule, 6.2, Federal Advisory Committee Records or other approved disposition schedule. These records will be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

Filing Date

May 08, 2023

APPROVED

Xavier Becerra
Secretary Department of Health & Human Services

The Honorable Xavier Becerra
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC

Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D.
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Rockville, MD

Pamela Foote
Program Analyst
Center for Mental Health Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Rockville, MD

The Secretary of Health and Human Services
Designee
Joel Dubenitz, Ph.D., Social Science Analyst/Psychologist
Gavin Kennedy, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary ASPE
CAPT. Meena Vythilingam, Ph.D., Senior Advisor for Mental Health
HHS/ASPE/OASH
Washington, DC
Working Group: Data and Evaluation; Treatment and Recovery; Criminal Justice; and Financing

The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D.
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Rockville, MD

The Attorney General
Designee
Nicole Ndumele
Deputy Associate Attorney General
Mariel Lifshitz
Senior Advisor, Substance Use, Opioid, and Mental Health Policy
Department of Justice
Washington, DC
Working Group: Criminal Justice; and Financing

The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Designee
Sandra Resnick, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Washington, DC
Working Group: Data and Evaluation; Treatment and Recovery; and Criminal Justice

The Secretary of the Department of Defense
Designee
Susan Orsega
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Defense for Health Services Policy and Oversight

Richard Mooney, M.D.
Executive Director
Health Services Policy & Oversight (HSP&O),
Defense Health Headquarters (3M513)

CDR Elle Marie Schollnberger M.D., Ph.D.,
Director for Mental Health Policy & Oversight, Health Services Policy & Oversight (HSP&O)
Falls Church, VA

Working Group: Treatment and Recovery

The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Designee
Corey Minor Smith. J.D.
Senior Counsel, Office of General Counsel
Washington, DC 20410
Working Group: Treatment and Recovery

The Secretary of the Department of Education
Designee
Meghan Whittaker
Early Childhood Team, Office of Special Education Programs
Washington, DC 20202
Working Group: Access and Engagement; and Treatment and Recovery

The Secretary of the Department of Labor
Designee
Taryn Williams, M.S.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy
Washington, DC 20210
Working Group: Treatment and Recovery; and Financing

The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Designee
Kirsten Beronio, J.D.
Senior Policy Advisor on Behavioral Health Care
Acting Deputy Director, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services
Washington, DC 20201
Working Group: Criminal Justice; and Financing

The Administrator of the Administration for Community Living
Designee
Alison Barkoff, J.D.
Acting Administrator and Acting Assistant Secretary for Aging
Washington, DC
Working Group: Data and Evaluation; Financing

The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
Designee
Marion (Taffy) McCoy, Ph.D.
Social Science Analyst
Baltimore, MD
Working Group: Criminal Justice

Trinidad de Jesus Arguello, Ph.D., LCSW, PMHRN-BC, Director, Compostela Community and Family Cultural Institute, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico
Working Group: Criminal Justice

Dr. Arguello was born in Puerto Rico. She has 44 years of experience in mental health using an integrated approach combining her nursing and clinical social work skills, and knowledge to address health and mental health issues from a multi-cultural and linguistic approach. Dr. Arguello is currently the co-founder and Executive Director of Compostela Community and Family Cultural Institute, which provides behavioral health and substance abuse services in Taos County and adjacent rural communities. Dr. Arguello is an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Mexico-Taos and a field instructor for Social Work graduate students from New Mexico Highlands University. Dr. Arguello has served on the Commission on Disability, the State Health Coordinating Council, New Mexico Mental Health/Behavioral Health Planning Council, NAMI-New Mexico Board of Directors and past President. Dr. Arguello established a NAMI-Taos affiliate (2007-present) and is the President. She has also served on the Taos County Health Council, Holy Cross Medical Center Board of Directors, and is currently the Taos County Coordinator for the American Red Cross (ARC), as well as being a First Disaster Responder for the ARC nationwide. Dr. Arguello has held adjunct faculty positions in various colleges and universities and presented on cultural issues related to Hispanic families and mental health and domestic violence. She has been a Board member and reviewer for the Affilia Journal of Women and Social Work, the Council on Social Work Education, Status of Women in Social Work Education Council, and a member of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, Racial/Ethnic Minority Graduate Scholarship Committee/Community to Community Committee.

Arc Telos Saint Amour (Tay), (they/them), Executive Director, Youth MOVE National
Working Group: Access and Engagement

Arc Telos serves as the Executive Director of Youth MOVE National (YMN) and is responsible for overseeing and supervising the success of YMN programs, including Chapter services, communications, and training and technical assistance. Telos works to ensure organizational sustainability, growth, and strategic development. All responsibilities lead to the direct goal of creating a sustainable youth-led organization that helps continue to build the national youth movement. Telos’s core focuses are diversifying revenue streams through building organizational development and fee for service work, infusing justice practices throughout operational procedures, overseeing, and delivering on strategic plans and organizational growth, and ensuring staff as well as the organization, are happy, healthy, and mission aligned. Broadly, Telos has extensive experience in business operations management and development, entrepreneurism, marketing, communications, social media, program management, fee for service work, curriculum design, and progressive recruitment and retention techniques. They have expertise in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI), as well as in organizational climate, culture, and belonging work, and as an experienced consultant and facilitator. Additional knowledge areas include trauma informed care, conflict mediation, technology, graphic design and editing, board and association experience, and an intrinsic passion for people and the earth.  

Arc Telos is a demi-pansexual, queer and trans (non-binary, genderfluid), neurodivergent, victim/survivor, person of Mexican Indigenous descent. Arc Telos spent over ten years in the national for-profit industry as an upper-level manager/director and business developer working both with entrepreneurs developing and opening start-ups and with established companies looking to expand into new territories, always bringing a focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion while using justice-oriented frameworks.

Ron Bruno, Chief Executive Officer, Crisis Response Programs and Training, CRPT INC, Salt Lake City, Utah
Working Group: Criminal Justice

Mr. Bruno retired from the Salt Lake City Police Department in 2015 with over 20 years of experience working with members of the community with behavioral health issues. Not wanting to give up his ability to “work the streets” as a patrol officer, he immediately volunteered with the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake as a reserve officer and continues to be a first responder to calls for service regarding individuals with mental health issues, children with emotional disturbances, and individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. He dedicated his career to working with both adult and child populations dealing with serious mental illness and emotional disturbances.

In partnership with numerous organizations, he worked to develop effective crisis response systems and programs for the benefit of those individuals with mental health issues. Mr. Bruno was the law enforcement liaison to the first mental health court in the state of Utah and gained vast experience working with individuals with serious mental illness who were involved with the criminal justice system due to felony criminal acts. He has worked with various councils and committees in Utah for the enhancement of services for populations dealing with mental health issues and is currently on the Utah Behavioral Health Advisory Council that provides recommendations to the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. Mr. Bruno has partnered with numerous national organizations such as the Council of State Governments Justice Center on a report for the Bureau of Justice Assistance titled “Statewide Law Enforcement/Mental Health Efforts: Strategies to Support and Sustain Local Initiatives”, and partnered with the same organization which resulted in Salt Lake City Police Department’s designation as one of six Law Enforcement/Mental Health Learning Sites in the nation.

David Covington, LPC, M.B.A., CEO and President, RI International, (DBA for Recovery Innovations, Inc.), Phoenix, Arizona
Working Group: Access and Engagement; and Treatment and Recovery

Mr. Covington is an accomplished Senior Executive with experience in operations of large-scale public-sector behavioral health services (revenues exceeding $750 million annually), clinical leadership, and marketing. Mr. Covington is the CEO and President of RI International, one of the nation’s leading behavioral health and addiction treatment providers with more than 55 crisis and recovery programs in the U.S. and New Zealand. He is also the owner of Behavioral Health Link (BHL), which provides mental health and addiction crisis intervention, mobile crisis, and crisis call centers (24/7/365) across the state of Georgia. BHL’s programs are nationally recognized for setting a new standard of care, supported by emerging research in recent studies by experts. Mr. Covington is a key leader in the international initiatives “Crisis Now” and “Zero Suicide” and two-time winner of the Council of State Governments Innovations Award.

Mr. Covington is a results-oriented, decisive leader with proven success in developing internationally recognized programs for quality and innovation. He has a track record of improving business outcomes through cutting edge technologies, extensive business analytics and productivity, process and design enhancements, reaching more people and serving them more effectively. He has experience in dynamic demanding environments, while remaining pragmatic and focused, incorporating strategic, political, technical, and human resource frames.

Brian Hepburn, M.D., Executive Director, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), Alexandria, Virginia
Working Group: Access and Engagement; and Financing

Dr. Hepburn has been the Executive Director of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) since July 2015. He previously was the Director of the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA) from 2002 to 2014 and that position became the Director of the Behavioral Health Administration in July 2014. Dr. Hepburn was the Clinical Director for MHA from 1996 to 2002. He was also the Director of Psychiatric Education and Training for MHA from 1987 to 1997. Dr. Hepburn received his medical degree in 1979 from the University of Michigan, School of Medicine and received Residency Training in Psychiatry at the University of Maryland from 1979 to 1983. He was a full-time Faculty Member at the University of Maryland from 1983 to 1988 and has been on the Volunteer faculty at the University of Maryland since 1988. He maintained a private practice from 1983 until 2004.

Jennifer Higgins, Ph.D., CCRP, Director, Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, South Hampton, Massachusetts
Working Group: Data and Evaluation

Dr. Higgins graduated from the Gerontology Ph.D. Program at the University of Massachusetts. From 2016-2019, Dr. Higgins was the Director of Research and Policy at the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers (ADDP). ADDP is a trade association representing 135 developmental disabilities provider agencies across the Commonwealth. Dr. Higgins’ is responsible for reviewing research affecting persons with developmental disabilities and making policy recommendations for the agency.

At present, Dr. Higgins is serving a four-year term on the Food and Drug Administration’s Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee. In her role, she reviews medical research on opioid drug products and opioid abuse-deterrent drug products and votes for approval or disapproval of the products under review by the committee.

Dr. Higgins is the owner of CommonWealth GrantWorks and has spent more than 20 years providing consulting and grant-writing services for non-profit organizations across the Commonwealth.

Johanna Kandel, B.A., Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, West Palm Beach, Florida
Working Group: Treatment and Recovery

Ms. Kandel is the founder and CEO of the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness (the Alliance) and Author of Life Beyond Your Eating Disorder. Ms. Kandel founded the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness in October 2000, after a 10-year battle with various eating disorders and has brought information and awareness about eating disorders to more than 300,000 individuals nationally and internationally. In addition, she facilitates weekly support groups, mentors individuals with eating disorders and their families through their treatment and recovery, and helps thousands of people gain information and find the help they need. As a passionate advocate for mental health and eating disorders legislation, Ms. Kandel has spent a lot of time meeting with numerous members of Congress, and was part of the first-ever Eating Disorder Roundtable at the White House.

Ms. Kandel is a proud member of the Board of Directors for the Eating Disorders Coalition, member of the Academy for Eating Disorders Advisory Board, and a member of the Eating Disorders Leadership Summit. She has received many awards for her ongoing outreach and advocacy work, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service© and Harlequin Enterprises' More Than Words Award. Ms. Kandel has appeared on national television programs, including NBC Nightly News and The Today Show, and profiled in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Glamour Magazine.

Steven Leifman, J.D., Associate Administrative Judge, Miami-Dade County Court, Miami, Florida
Working Group: Criminal Justice

Judge Steve Leifman is the Associate Administrative Judge of the Miami-Dade County Court – Criminal Division. From 2007 – 2010, Judge Leifman served as Special Advisor on Criminal Justice and Mental Health for the Supreme Court of Florida. In this capacity, Judge Leifman was responsible for chairing the Court’s Mental Health Subcommittee, which authored the Transforming Florida’s Mental Health System Report. This report, which has received considerable state and national recognition, outlines recommendations with the goal of decreasing inappropriate and costly involvement of people with mental illnesses in the justice system.

From 2010 to 2018, Judge Leifman chaired the Florida Supreme Court’s Task Force on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues in the Court. Judge Leifman currently chairs the Steering Committee on Problem Solving Courts for the Supreme Court of Florida and the Mental Health Committee for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. In 2000, Judge Leifman established the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project, which aims to divert people with serious mental illnesses from the criminal justice system into treatment. Judge Leifman is the Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Mental Health Committee. He is also a Gubernatorial appointment to the Florida Statewide Task Force on Opioid Abuse and a member of the National Institute on Drug Addiction’s Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network. Judge Leifman is also a lifetime member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP).

Due to Judge Leifman’s expertise in the areas of criminal justice and mental health, he has been appointed to serve in a variety of capacities on local, state, and national bodies, including Co-Chair of the Council of State Governments/Technical Assistance and Policy Analysis Center for Jail Diversion Judges’, Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative, Co-Chair of the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force and the Board of Directors of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation. Judge Leifman is a member of the National Leadership Forum for Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Services, the American Bar Association Task Force on Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards, Board of Advisors of the Equitas Foundation, and a Voluntary Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami, School of Medicine. In addition, Judge Leifman served as Chair of the South Florida Behavioral Health Network and Florida Partners in Crisis, and currently serves as Finance Chair of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.

Judge Leifman has received numerous awards including the 2015 William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. One of the nation’s highest judicial honors presented by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the Rehnquist Award is presented annually to a state court judge who exemplifies judicial excellence, integrity, fairness, and professional ethics. Judge Leifman is also the first recipient of the Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Award for Judicial Excellence in 2015, presented by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

Judge Leifman has also been featured in many national and local television programs, radio programs and articles regarding mental health and the criminal justice system.

Adrienne Lightfoot, Certified Peer Specialist, Department of Behavioral Health, Washington, D.C

Ms. Lightfoot is a Certified Peer Specialist and Peer Program Coordinator, Consumer and Family Affairs Administration, DC Department of Behavioral Health. Ms. Lightfoot has expertise in building community relationships, navigating public behavioral health systems, and providing consumer-focused mental health/substance use trainings. For more than 6 years, Ms. Lightfoot has facilitated workshops for the DC Metropolitan Police Crisis Intervention Officers providing the perspective of behavioral health consumers. Ms. Lightfoot thrives in her recovery and supporting others in their journey to recovery. Ms. Lightfoot has worked in the District of Columbia for the last 17 years supporting the peer movement and working with a variety of government agencies to promote recovery and the inclusion of peers in the behavioral health system.

Amanda Lipp, B.S., Director and Filmmaker, Lipp Studios, Sacramento, California
Working Group: Access and Engagement; and Treatment and Recovery

Ms. Lipp is the Director and Filmmaker of Lipp Studios, Specialist, the Center for Applied Research Solutions, and Founder of The Giving Gallery.

Ms. Lipp has produced over 50 short documentaries about mental health. The main topics she explores include psychosis, schizophrenia, LGBTQ, recreation therapy, and the intersection of teens and technology. A passionate advocate, she has given over 150 speeches sharing her journey navigating the mental health system during college to becoming a social entrepreneur and filmmaker. Clients include Columbia Psychiatry's OnTrackNY program, Sutter Health, University of Wisconsin, and Princeton University.

Ms. Lipp serves on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and serves as a board advisor for Technology Adolescent Mental Wellness, a philanthropically funded research initiative hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Pediatrics.

Ms. Lipp graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a B.S. in Human Development.

Sue L. Smith, Ed.D., Chief Executive Officer, Georgia Parent Support Network, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Working Group: Access and Engagement

Dr. Smith received her Doctor in Education in 2000 and is a parent/professional with over 33 years’ experience in the field of services provided in Systems of Care, Family and Youth Involvement, Policies and Practices. She has managed a System of Care (ChAMPS) in Atlanta, GA, Therapeutic Foster and Respite Services, A Peer-to-Peer Transition Program for youth with mental illness and addictive diseases and a receiving center, Family Resource Center, for all of the youth removed from their homes by Georgia’s Department of Family and Youth Services in Fulton County, GA. Sue is well-known and respected in Georgia and at the national level for her expertise in children’s services, advocacy, education, and Systems of Care. Sue is currently focusing on two new demonstration projects. The first is “Street Outreach”, a program to locate and get to know homeless youth in Atlanta, GA, and the surrounding Metropolitan areas, to better understand their needs and develop a comprehensive program building on already existing services and gaps that are discovered to fully understand their needs. The staff for this project are Certified Parent and Youth Peer Specialists. The second demonstration project is placing Certified Peer Specialist-Parents in Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Emergency Rooms.

Dr. Smith is a founding member of the Georgia Parent Support Network, Georgia’s Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health. Sue has twice served as President of the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, Past President of the Mental Health Association of Georgia, Past Board Member of Mental Health Association and Current Member of and Past-Chair of the Behavioral Health Planning Council of Georgia. Sue is a member of the Georgia 988 Advisory Committee. In addition, Sue has consulted with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Macro International, Georgetown University, many states, as well as local regions in Georgia regarding issues surrounding children with severe emotional disturbances and the delivery of services to these families and children. Sue received her Doctor of Education Degree (Ed.D.), Master of Science Degree in Public Health Administration and completed the University of South Florida’s Systems of Care Children’s Mental Health Post Graduate Certificate Program.

Sue is the recipient of the prestigious Rosalyn Carter Caregiver Award, Tipper Gore Remember the Children Award, and the Karl Dennis Unconditional Care Award. She is the mother of one adopted and one foster daughter with severe emotional disturbances.

Winola Sprague, DNP, CNS-BC, Medical Director, Children’s Advantage, Ravenna, Ohio
Working Group: Access and Engagement

Dr. Sprague is the Medical Director of Children’s Advantage, a community mental health agency in Ravenna Ohio. Dr. Sprague has over 19 years of psychiatric nursing experience treating children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances in underserved populations. While obtaining her Doctorate of Nursing from Kent State University, Dr. Sprague researched, trained, and successfully implemented a parenting program for the Appalachian population, which resulted in improved parenting outcomes. Dr. Sprague has experience working in hospital, day, and outpatient treatment settings. In addition, Dr. Sprague is a licensed psychiatric nurse with the Ohio Board of Nursing and Board Certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with a certificate to prescribe medications.

Most recently, Dr. Sprague received her Medication Assisted Treatment waiver and certification and is working with individuals and families with substance use disorders. Dr. Sprague is a certified Trauma and Loss Specialist an Instructor in Basic Life Support, Workplace Violence, and Safe Sitter. She is a member of the North Eastern Ohio Nursing Initiative Preceptor and a Substance Abuse Counselor.

Rhathelia Stroud, J.D., Presiding Judge, DeKalb County Magistrate Court, Misdemeanor Mental Health Court, Decatur, Georgia
Working Group: Access and Engagement; Treatment and Recovery; Criminal Justice; and Financing

Judge Stroud is the Presiding Judge and Director of the Misdemeanor Mental Health Court, formerly the Diversion Treatment Court, which was the county's only adult mental health court until January 2016. She is also responsible for all administrative and operational policies and procedures for the court. She presides over temporary protective order cases as a superior court judge by designation, and other diversion court programs, as well as, misdemeanor and felony first appearance and preliminary matters, warrant application hearings and other civil action contract proceedings.

Judge Stroud has gained statewide certification for the court as a bona fide accountability court eligible for state funding. She has obtained approximately 2 million dollars of grant funding through various sources to include federal, state and county programs. She has also developed the court's policy and procedure manual and participant handbook. In addition, she presented and documented a needs analysis that resulted in approval of a county paid mental health court director, coordinator and clinical evaluator. She also activated and established a 14 member 501(3)(c) foundation board that also serves as an advisory council for the mental health court. Judge Stroud redeveloped and currently facilitates the Crisis Intervention Training (Legal Aspects and Civil Rights) Program community wide and specifically to local law enforcement to help educate on mental illness in an effort to safeguard against injury and death, but also to promote treatment and assistance instead for those suffering from serious mental illness.

Katherine Warburton, D.O., Medical Director and Deputy Director of Clinical Operations, California Department of State Hospitals, Sacramento, California
Working Group: Financing; and Criminal Justice

Dr. Warburton is the Medical Director and Deputy Director of Clinical Operations, for the California Department of State Hospitals, a 6,000-bed forensic hospital system. She received her medical degree from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency at Maine Medical Center. Dr. Warburton received additional training in Forensic Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis Division of Psychiatry and the Law. Dr. Warburton is board certified in adult and forensic psychiatry. She is an Associate Professor on the Clinical Faculty at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. Dr. Warburton has lectured and published on forensic topics related to violence and competence to stand trial. She is editor of the textbook Violence in Psychiatry.

Anitra M. Warrior, Ph.D., Psychologist/Owner, Morningstar Counseling and Consultation, Lincoln, NE
Working Group: Access and Engagement

Dr. Anitra Warrior is the owner of Morningstar Counseling and Consultation in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is from the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma. She earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology in 2015 and has operated her clinic since 2012. Since receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Warrior has established four additional clinics that are now located throughout eastern Nebraska. Morningstar offers counseling on two college campuses, as well as in schools, communities, and other integrated care locations with the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. Clinic sites are based on reservations and in rural and urban settings.  

Dr. Warrior specializes in treating trauma in children through the utilization of evidenced based practices that have been adapted to the American Indian population. Most recently, Morningstar has become a training site for doctoral candidates with the Munroe-Meyer Institute.

Sarah Y. Vinson, M.D., DFAPA, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics Morehouse School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Atlanta, GA
Working Group: Data and Evaluation

Dr. Sarah Y. Vinson is a triple-board certified Harvard and Emory trained physician who specializes in adult, child & adolescent, and forensic psychiatry. After graduating from the University of Florida College of Medicine with Research Honors and as an Inductee in the Chapman Humanism Honors Society, she completed her general psychiatry training at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. She then returned to the South to complete fellowships in both child & adolescent and forensic psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine.  

In addition to providing mental health care services such as psychotherapy, consultation, and psychopharmacology through her private practice, Dr. Vinson is an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine and Adjunct Faculty at Emory University School of Medicine. She has been elected to statewide office by her professional peers in both the Georgia Psychiatric Physician's Association and the Georgia Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and currently serves on the boards of both organizations.  

With her breadth and depth of training, Dr. Vinson is equipped to serve a variety of clients. She works with them on issues such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, oppositional behaviors, bipolar disorder, school disciplinary issues, post-traumatic stress disorder and autism spectrum disorders. Her approach centers on taking the time to know her clients and families well and individualizing treatment to best serve them.