Taylor Bryan Turner is the Assistant Regional Director for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) where she serves as part of SAMHSA’s leadership team and works to advance SAMHSA’s mission in the six New England States (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI & VT) and tribal nations. In this role, she develops, supports and leads collaborative initiatives and supports other federal agencies to assure behavioral health is a priority throughout the nation. She engages stakeholders through technical assistance, promoting program development, policy innovation, and system transformation. Most notably, she is recognized as the creator of the Diversity Inclusion Project Showcase, a forum designed to provide underserved community-based organizations an opportunity to present their purpose, populations served, and community impact to regional behavioral health leaders to increase partnerships and funding potential.
Prior to joining SAMHSA in March 2020, she spent over 20 years at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development promoting affordable housing and empowering vulnerable populations through policy design and implementation. Taylor has been recognized nationally for outstanding customer relations management and completed the Presidential Management Council Fellows program serving as the first-ever regional outreach strategist on opioids within HHS’s Intergovernmental and External Affairs Office. She studied Business Management at Johnson and Wales University and is currently a Manresa Scholar Leader at the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College.