John Palmieri, M.D., M.H.A., is a Senior Medical Advisor at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is currently serving as the Deputy Director of the 988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office within the Office of the Assistant Secretary. He provides subject matter expertise and policy leadership in areas that include crisis response, suicide prevention and interventions, care integration, telehealth implementation and criminal justice diversion programs.
Before joining SAMHSA, Dr. Palmieri was the Division Chief for Behavioral Healthcare at the Arlington County, VA, Department of Human Services. In that role, he led the implementation of the Zero Suicide framework, expanded programming to transform the crisis response system, enhanced primary care integration and wellness services, and oversaw the launch of a multi-stakeholder community response to the opioid crisis. Dr. Palmieri is a licensed physician in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is board-certified in adult psychiatry.
He graduated from Brown University Medical School and completed his adult psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.