John Palmieri, M.D., M.H.A., is currently serving as the Acting Director of the 988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office (BHCCO) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary. He served as Deputy Director of the BHCCO from 2023-2025 and prior to that was the Acting Director overseeing the transition to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in July of 2022.
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.