SAMHSA National Advisory Council

Committee’s Official Designation

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Advisory Council

Authority

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Advisory Council (NAC or Council) is required by 42 U.S.C. 290aa-1, section 502 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. The SAMHSA NAC is governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 10).

Objectives and Scope of Activities

The SAMHSA NAC will advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use (Assistant Secretary), SAMHSA, to improve the provision of treatment and related services to individuals with respect to substance use and mental illness and to improve prevention services, promote mental health and protect legal rights of individuals with mental disorders and individuals with substance use disorders.

Description of Duties

The SAMHSA NAC may, on the basis of material provided, advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary, with respect to activities conducted by SAMHSA; and may review any grant or cooperative agreement proposed to be made or entered into by the organization. The SAMHSA NAC may collect, by correspondence or by personal investigation, information as to studies and services that are being carried on in the United States or any other country as to diseases, disorders or other aspects of human health with respect to the mission of SAMHSA, and, with the approval of the Assistant Secretary, make such information available through appropriate publications for the benefit of public and private health entities and health professions personnel and for the information of the general public. The SAMHSA NAC may appoint subcommittees and convene workshops and conferences with the approval of the Assistant Secretary.

Agency or Official to Whom the Committee Reports

The SAMHSA NAC shall advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the Secretary, HHS and the Assistant Secretary, concerning activities carried out by and through SAMHSA and the policies with respect to such activities.

Support

Management and support services shall be provided by the National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Lab (NMHSUPL), SAMHSA.

Estimated Annual Operating Costs and Staff Years

The estimated annual operating costs for the SAMHSA NAC, to include travel, meetings, federal staff support, and contracting support, is approximately $208,674.00 and 0.75 fulltime equivalents.

Designated Federal Officer

The Assistant Secretary shall designate a SAMHSA staff member to serve as the Designated Federal Official (DFO) of the SAMHSA NAC. The DFO will prepare and approve all meeting agendas, attend all council 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 official to whom the advisory council reports.

Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings

The SAMHSA NAC, with the approval of the DFO, shall meet at the call of the chairperson or upon the request of the Assistant Secretary, but in no event less than two (2) times during each fiscal year. The location of the meetings of the Council shall be subject to the approval of the Assistant Secretary.

SAMHSA NAC meetings shall be open to the public except as determined otherwise by the Secretary of HHS (or the designee), in accordance with the Government in Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Notice of all meetings shall be given to the public. In the event a portion of a meeting is closed to the public, a report will be prepared which shall contain, at a minimum, a list of members and their business addresses, the SAMHSA NAC’s functions, dates and places of meetings, and a summary of Council activities and recommendations made during the fiscal year.

Duration

Continuing.

Termination

Unless renewed by appropriate action prior to its expiration, the charter for the SAMHSA NAC will expire two years from the date the charter is filed.

Membership and Designation

The SAMHSA NAC shall consist of the following nonvoting ex officio members: the Secretary of HHS; the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, SAMHSA; the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (or the designates of such officers); the Chief Medical Officer of the Administration; the Directors of the National Institutes of Mental Health; the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and such additional officers or employees of the United States as the Secretary determines necessary for the SAMHSA NAC to effectively carry out its functions; and not more than twelve (12) members to be appointed by the Secretary. Of the twelve (12) appointed members, nine (9) members shall be from among the leading representatives of the health disciplines (including public health and behavioral and social sciences) relevant to the activities of SAMHSA; and three (3) members shall be from the general public and shall include leaders in the fields of public policy, public relations, law, health policy economics, or management. All non-federal members shall serve as Special Government Employees (SGE).

A quorum for the conduct of business by the Council will consist of a majority (one more than one half) of currently appointed voting members.

The Secretary, HHS, may select an individual from among the appointed members, or may select the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, SAMHSA, to serve as chair of the SAMHSA NAC. The term of the chair shall be two years.

The term of an appointed member of the SAMHSA NAC shall be four years, except a member may serve after the expiration of the member’s term until a successor has been appointed. If a vacancy occurs in the advisory council among the members, the Secretary shall make an appointment to fill such vacancy within ninety (90) days from the date the vacancy occurs. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall serve for the remainder of such term. Initial appointments shall be made in such a manner as to ensure that the terms of the members do not all expire in the same year. A member who has been appointed for a term of four (4) years may not be reappointed to an advisory council before two (2) years from the date of expiration of such term.

The Assistant Secretary shall also provide orientation and training for new members of the SAMHSA NAC and shall provide them with such information and training as may be appropriate for their effective participation in the functions of the Council.

Subcommittee

Subcommittees may be established by the parent committee with the approval of the Assistant Secretary. The advice/recommendations of a subcommittee must be deliberated by the parent committee. A subcommittee may not provide advice or work products directly to the agency. The Department Committee Management Officer will be notified upon establishment of each subcommittee and will be provided information on its name, membership, function, and estimated frequency of meetings.

Recordkeeping

Meetings of the SAMHSA NAC and its subcommittees will be conducted according to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, other applicable laws and Departmental policies. Committee and subcommittee records will be handled in accordance with General Records Schedule 6.2 of the Federal Advisory Committee Records or other approved agency records disposition schedule. These records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

Filing Date

June 15, 2024

APPROVED:

Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D.
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 20857

CAPT Carlos Castillo
Designated Federal Official
Office of Intergovernmental and Public Affairs
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Rockville, MD 20857

Tracy Neal-Walden, Ph.D., Director & Senior Vice President, Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Easter Seals Serving, Silver Spring, Maryland
Dr. Neal-Walden is a licensed clinical psychologist and a retired Air Force colonel with more than 25 years of experience in mental health leadership, evaluation and treatment, program management and policy. She currently serves as a senior leader and clinic director with Easterseals and a national network of mental health clinics, providing quality care and building strategic partnerships with community, federal, and state resources/agencies to enhance the well-being of veterans and military families. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Drexel University-Hahnemann Medical Campus in Philadelphia, PA, and completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in clinical health psychology at the Wilford Hall Medical and Surgical Center in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Neal-Walden’s specialization is cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety, suicide assessment and intervention, and treatment of behavioral health clients with co-existing medical disorders.

Laura Howard, J.D., Secretary, Kansas Department of Children and Family Services, Lawrence, Kansas
Secretary Howard’s experience includes more than 30 years of government and human service work. She previously worked as a special assistant, deputy secretary and chief of staff for the former Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. She also served as regional director for Region VII of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Most recently she served as the Director of the KU Public Management Center. Secretary Howard holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Miami University and a law degree from the University of Kansas.

Francisco Rodriguez-Fraticelli, Executive President, Coalición de Coaliciones, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Mr. Rodriguez-Fraticelli is the Executive President and Project Manager of Coalición de Coaliciones of Puerto Rico. (Coalition of Coalitions of Puerto Rico). He is fervent advocate for the needs of the homeless and the disadvantaged. He is a Licensed Professional Planner and has many years of experience in the development of community based non-profit organizations supporting services for people in need.

Administrative responsibilities of a community-based non-profit providing supportive services to a variety of underserved population, including persons with substance abuse conditions, persons living with HIV/AIDS, homeless persons, street workers, inmates, and many neglected persons.

Responsibilities includes the oversight of federal and local government proposal grants directed to provide housing facilities, medical, and supportive services to identified population in Southern Puerto Rico.

Project Management responsibilities of federal grants directed to implement a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) in Southern, Western and Eastern Puerto Rico. Program design, identification and implementation of potential areas of project development and strategic alliances opportunities to increase their effectiveness in service provision specially directed to provide, housing, substance abuse and mental health treatment, employment, education, training, enterprise-small business-income producing development activities, and social support to underserved population.

He has been project manager for multiple community-based organizations that specifically target access for homeless health, access to Buprenorphine, mental health and work reintegration programs, and managing grants to implement a homeless management information system, and others.

He has also provided technical assistance to multiple organizations on funding sources and community resources to complement fund requirements. He has been instrumental in identifying potential areas of project development and forming strategic alliances to increase effectiveness in service provision.

He has also worked for the National Puerto Rican Coalition in Washington, DC and San Juan, PR in several capacities: as consultant, program coordinator, training coordinator, regional director and liaison. He developed and implemented a thorough Technical Assistance Program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist community-based non-profit organizations and local governments in communities with high concentration of Hispanic communities in the US Midwest and the East Coast; directed to increase participation and access in HUD’s funding opportunities and community development programs to underserved communities and populations. Assistant to NPRC’s President in assessing potential, emerging and existing CHDOs in Puerto Rico.

Barbara E. Warren, Psy.D., Director, LGBT Program and Policies, Mount Sinai Health System, New York City, New York
Barbara E. Warren Psy.D., LMHC, is Director for LGBT Programs and Policies in the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Mount Sinai Health System, where she leads Mount Sinai’s implementation of LGBT culturally and clinically competent health care. She holds an appointment as Assistant Professor of Medical Education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and is teaching and developing curricula to address best practices in serving diverse patient populations. Dr. Warren previously served as Distinguished Lecturer and Director for the Center for LGBT Social Science and Public Policy at Hunter College, City University of New York. For 21 years, she was senior management at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of New York City, led the Center’s behavioral health programs, where she co-founded the Center’s then ground-breaking Gender Identity Project and was responsible for the Center’s health policy and government relations initiatives. Dr. Warren has served as an advisor to local, state and national government and policy organizations including chairing the Multi-Cultural Advisory Council to the NYS Commissioner of Mental Health, on the LGBT Task Force at Health Care for All New Yorkers, as a Board Member of the National Coalition for LGBT Health and is currently on the Board of the National LGBT Cancer Network. She is a longtime member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health where she is faculty in WPATH’s Global Education Initiative and has served on its membership and ethics committees. She holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and has 40 years of experience in the development and delivery of substance use, mental health and public health programs and services in healthcare and community settings.

Cristina Rabadán-Diehl, Pharm.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Rockville, Maryland
Dr. Cristina Rabadán-Diehl is a multidisciplinary independent technical advisor, knowledge broker and advocate for substance use disorders (SUD). She works with multisectoral stakeholders on finding solutions that help individuals, families and communities address the current SUD crisis. She collaborates with the Addiction Policy Forum, a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating addiction as a major health problem, and Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the United States. She is a member of S.O.U.L. (Surviving Our Ultimate Loss), an organization aiming to help parents cope with the loss of a child to Drug Overdose. Dr. Rabadán-Diehl is a person with lived experience having lost her 28-year-old son to an opioid overdose in June 2019.

Dr. Rabadán-Diehl is passionate about health equity issues. She has been involved in Latino Health for over three decades and has developed programs addressing the health needs of the Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. and in the countries of the Americas. She is a member the American Public Health Association Latino Caucus and mentors young Latino health professionals. She is a guest Lecturer on substance use disorders to the “Latino Health” class offered at Johns Hopkins University.

As a scientist and leader, she spent 25 years in different capacities at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Secretary. During her tenure at the NIH, she managed a $150M portfolio of research and training programs, and directed the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Office of Global Health. She was also the Hispanic spokesperson for several campaigns and prevention programs and worked with Offices of Communications on outreach efforts to Hispanic communities and organizations. As the former Director of the Office of the Americas at HHS, she worked closely with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and served as the HHS Secretary's Representative to the US-Mexico Border Health Commission. Dr. Rabadán-Diehl played key roles in advancing U.S. government health priorities around the world by levering her technical and policy knowledge and interacting with many stakeholders including scientists and Ministers of Health. In that role, she was the Technical Advisor to the former HHS’ Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan during his participation at the World Health Organization’s High Level Non-Communicable Disease Commission.

Dr. Rabadán-Diehl is a Visiting Professor at the National School of Public Health, Health Institute Carlos III in Spain and a former Adjunct Professor at George Washington University. Dr. Rabadán-Diehl holds a Pharmacy degree from the School of Pharmacy at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid, Spain), a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the University of Miami (Miami, FL), and a Master of Public Health and a Certificate in Health Communications from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Heath (Baltimore, MD).

Rahn Kennedy Bailey, M.D., Los Angeles, California
On July 1, 2019, Dr. Rahn Kennedy Bailey, M.D. was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Kedren Community Health Systems Inc. Additionally, Dr. Bailey has been appointed to Assistant Dean of Clinical Education at Charles R. Drew University. He has years of experience serving communities in need. By delivering outstanding clinical care and excellence in education, he seeks to advance his mission of lessening healthcare disparities.

Dr. Bailey has held a multitude of leadership roles academically and professionally and is the current Chairman of the NMA Cobb Institute Research Foundation and the 2019 M/UR Trustee Elect of the American Psychiatry Association.

Up until 2018, he was chair and professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC. He is a forensic psychiatrist and has written extensively on violence prevention, sexual violence, and gun violence. He wrote a book on gun violence.

Tina Atherall, M.S.W., D.S.W., Cardiff, California
Dr. Tina Atherall is the Chief Executive Officer of Psych Armor Institute, San Diego, California, which offers critical resources to Americans so they can effectively engage with and support military service members, veterans, and their families.

She is a military/veteran spouse, and a mental health advocate. She is an adjunct professor at Columbia School of Social Work, and field liaison and academic advisor for MSW students. Tina was the National Director for Community Solutions, Blue Star Families in 2018-19. She has extensive experience in social work academia.

Dr. Atherall brings to Psych Armor her vast experience and leadership in the military non-profit community and academia. In 2006, she co-founded Hope for The Warriors, an organization dedicated to serving combat wounded service members and their families. Scaling a grass-roots effort to a national platform, she worked extensively with various levels of military leadership, agencies, corporations, and communities educating and advocating for critical support for those who have served and their families. She has embedded her career in the field of social work innovation and leadership and obtained her Doctor of Social Work from the University of Southern California. Her recent work focuses on the 12 Grand Challenges for Social Work to eradicate social isolation specifically the challenges of military family social isolation. As an adjunct faculty, her love for Psych Armor began while utilizing the PAI educational videos to enhance teaching social work practice with military and their families to Masters of Social Work students in New York City.

As Psych Armor’s new CEO, Dr. Atherall will continue the mission of bridging the military-civilian divide. She has fresh ideas to strengthen Psych Armor’s pivotal role as the “go to” place for employers, healthcare providers, educators, volunteers, municipalities, service providers, government workers, caregivers, and communities, to learn about how to better serve our military Veterans.

JoAnne G. Keatley, M.S.W., Oakland, California
JoAnne Keatley is a transgender woman who is internationally renowned for her work in service to transgender women that focuses on substance use, mental health, and co-occurring disorders.

She is Director Emeritus, Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, University of California, San Francisco. She directed and oversaw all aspects of the CoE’s scope of work, including leadership, sustainability, website implementation, funding, quality control and outreach to multiple organizations.

Ms. Keatley has extensive knowledge on issues of improving quality healthcare for inmate patients in the custody of the California Department of Corrections. During 1999-2005 she was the project director for the Health Studies for People of Color, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California in San Francisco.

Ms. Keatley was the Project Director for the Transgender Life Care (TLC), where she started a three- year mental health intervention project targeting transgender men and women. She developed a community team including Castro Mission mental health team, UCSF Psychiatrist, and a Psychotherapist to provide culturally competent mental health services to this underserved population.

Until 2017, she was the Director and Co-Principal Investigator, Transgender Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center, directing and overseeing a Special Project of National Significance: Enhancing Engagement and Retention in Quality HIV Care for Transgender Women of Color–Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Andre Johnson, B.A., M.A., Psy.D., Detroit, Michigan
Dr. Andre L. Johnson, a native Detroiter, is currently the Founder/President/CEO of the Detroit Recovery Project Incorporated (DRP). DRP is a trailblazing multi-service non-profit agency that provides a wide spectrum of prevention, treatment, and recovery support services to the city’s recovery community. DRP is the first recovery community organization in the state of Michigan designated as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic providing both behavioral and physical health services throughout metro Detroit.

Dr. Johnson has consulted on behalf of the United States President Emergency Plan Against Aids abroad to the Department of Ministry of Health, in Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Dr. Johnson was appointed by Kathleen Sebelius former U.S. Secretary of Health Human Services to serve a three-year term (2015-2018) as a National Advisory Council member for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment/Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration. Dr. Johnson taught Addiction Studies and Mental Health classes at Wayne County Community College. He is a pass member of the Third Judicial Circuit Court Family Division Drug Court Team. Dr. Johnson is a board member of the Wayne Center an agency that provides services for the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled. The United States President Barack Obama recognized Dr. Johnson as the “2016 Champion of Change for Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery” at the White House. Dr. Johnson completed his clinical internship at an approved American Psychological Association site at Tarzana Treatment Center treating 12–18-year-olds with substance use and mental health disorders in Tarzana, California. In 2023, Dr. Johnson was appointed by U.S. Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon to serve as a member of SAMHSA National Advisory Council.

Dr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Morehouse College, a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix, and a Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology, from Michigan School of Psychology.

Cynthia S. Yue, B.A.
Cynthia Yue is an internationally-recognized activist who has reached millions of young people to address mental health issues at the nexus of climate action, social justice, and human rights. On the SAMHSA National Advisory Council, she highlights the perspectives of Generation Z and Generation Alpha, bringing insights on intersectional youth-facing issues such as eco-anxiety and equitable access to mental health. In 2022, she joined MTV as one of thirty fellows at the White House Mental Health Youth Action Forum, where her team created a strategy to reach American youth for self-care and collaborated in an event with the First Lady, the U.S. Surgeon General, and Selena Gomez to raise awareness for mental health. In her previous role as the 10th Youth Observer to the United Nations, she represented U.S. youth at the UN and led global initiatives for the UN Sustainable Development Goals; she founded an international Social Justice Series with the UNA-USA that galvanized youth from five continents to share stories of social justice advocacy and its impacts on their mental health. In response to the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, she partnered with the Asian Mental Health Project to create a social media series to bring attention to AAPI mental health resources and advocacy. Moreover, as a UNICEF Youth Ambassador at the 74th UN General Assembly, she helped reinforce the European Union's commitment to child welfare through launching a youth social media advocacy campaign that amassed over 450 million engagements across 50 countries. Born to immigrant parents and raised in a rural state, Cynthia seeks to bring attention to policy interventions to uplift historically underserved populations including BIPOCs and rural youth. She graduated summa cum laude from the George Washington University is and currently a Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard University.

Sophie Szew
Sophie Szew is a Jewish Latina three-time intern at the U.S. House of Representatives and youth leader at MTV’s Mental Health Youth Action Forum at the White House. Sophie is an internationally recognized poet and journalist, a Mental Health America Young Mental Health Leader, California Mental Health Consortium Member, the founder of the Youth Latinx Leadership Conference, and a former teacher to unaccompanied and undocumented child immigrants. She is also a Youth Advisory Board member for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation and a first-year student at Stanford University, where she hopes to double-major in American Studies with a concentration in mental healthcare justice and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, with two minors in Human Rights and Creative Writing. As an eating disorder survivor, Sophie combines their own experiences with injustice brought about by mental healthcare inequity with her passion for writing, advocacy, and leadership to uplift the voices of minority communities and fight for the systemic de-stigmatization of marginalized bodies.

Xavier Becerra
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC 20201

George F. Koob, Ph.D.
Director, NIAAA
Rockville, MD 20852

Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, NIMH
Bethesda, MD 20892

Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
Director, NIDA
Bethesda, MD 20892-9851

Marsden H. McGuire, M.D., M.B.A. (SES-EQV)
Director, Continuum of Care and General Mental Health Services
Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (10NC5)
VA Central Office
Washington, DC 20420

Rick Mooney, M.D, M.P.H.
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Health Services Policy and Oversight
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) Defense Health Headquarters
Falls Church, VA 22042

Neeraj Gandotra, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)