CBHA's 40th Anniversary Celebration
Honoring 40 Behavioral Health Stars Who Lit The Path
Join us in celebrating 40 years of advocacy and partnership at CBHA's 40th Anniversary Event! Experience an unforgettable evening of inspiration and recognition as we honor 40 Behavioral Health Stars who have profoundly impacted our communities.
November 6, 2025 | 5:30 - 9:00pm
Arrival: 5:30 - 6:00
Awards: 6:00 - 7:15
Reception: 7:15 - 9:00
California Museum
1020 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Behavioral Health Hall of Fame
Behavioral Health Champion Award
Stephanie Welch
Deputy Secretary of Behavioral Health
California Health and Human Services Agency
Stephanie Welch
Stephanie Welch has been the Deputy Secretary of Behavioral Health for the California Health and Human Services (CalHHS) Agency since 2020. She serves as the senior advisor to the Secretary of CalHHS and other state departments on behavioral health policy and builds bridges across diverse government sectors and stakeholders. Previously, Stephanie was the Executive Officer of the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Stephanie has twenty-five years of experience in behavioral health policy, program administration, and advocacy at both the state and county level, working at organizations such as the California Mental Health Services Authority, the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, and the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies. Stephanie approaches systems improvement by examining the impact to individuals and communities, always striving for better-quality experiences and outcomes. Stephanie holds an MSW from the University of Southern California and a BA in Sociology, from the University of California, Davis.
Randall Hagar
Legislative Advocate
Psychiatric Physicians Alliance
Randall Yager
In 2022 Randall Hagar was recognized as a top advocate by Capitol Weekly which designated him as among the top 100 influencers at the state capitol – the only one with mental health credentials. A father of a son with schizophrenia, he started his career as a volunteer for the National Alliance for Mental Illness, California, where he helped to develop California’s Mental Health Insurance Parity Act and Laura’s Law. Soon thereafter he was hired as Government Affairs Director for the California Psychiatric Association. In that capacity Randall helped to develop over 20 successful pieces of legislation related to improving the lives and treatment of people with severe mental illness. Those bills improved access to care by removing barriers impeding access to medication; increasing the availability of psychiatric services by training primary care doctors in the elements of primary care psychiatry; increasing psychiatric bed capacity; and working to improve the quality of intensive outpatient care. One of his bills - on minors’ access to violent videos - was challenged in court and went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – which unfortunately ruled against it. Randall sits on the board of the Proxy Parent Foundation and is an officer of the Treatment Advocacy Center. Randall’s recognitions include the American Psychiatric Association’s Warren Williams Award; California Psychiatric Association Ed Rudin, MD award; multiple awards from the National Alliance for Mental Health, California; and a Torrey Advocacy Commendation.
Jim Beall
Director
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Jim Beall
Jim Beall began his tenure on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors in 2022. He represents District 4 which includes City of Campbell, portions of the Willow Glen and Cambrian communities, and North Almaden and Blossom Hill area of San Jose.
Jim’s roots in Santa Clara County run deep. Born in San Jose, he is a lifelong resident of the city. Jim graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory and then went on to earn his degree in Political Science from San Jose State University with a focus on Urban Planning and Public Finance.
At the age of 24, Jim served on the San Jose City Planning Commission and, at age 28, he became the youngest person ever elected to the San Jose City Council. In four decades of public service – first, as a San Jose City Councilman (1980-1994), then as a Santa Clara County Supervisor (1994-2006), and finally as a Legislator in the Assembly and Senate (2006-2020) –Beall has left his mark across the Silicon Valley and beyond.
As the San Jose Councilmember representing the West San Jose Cambrian Park area, Jim opened four new city parks and secured funding for the Camden Community Center. He also served as Chair of the Santa Clara County Traffic Authority and was the first in California to successfully pass a half-cent sales tax, which directly helped build Highways 85, 101, and 237 throughout the greater San Jose region.
In 1994, Jim was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. A staunch advocate for increasing access to healthcare and mental health services, he collaborated with his colleagues to pass the Children’s Health Initiative to ensure every child in the county had health insurance coverage. Jim was appointed to serve on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), where he was instrumental in delivering millions of dollars for local priority projects. He worked to prioritize the BART to San Jose project in the Regional Transportation Plan of 2030 paving the way for it to successfully qualify for and obtain billions in federal funding. As a member of the board, Jim also fought to preserve the County’s vital open space land by spearheading new regulations that would strike the balance between private property rights and mitigating environmental impacts to protect the valley hilltops and scenic vistas for future generations to enjoy.
In 2006, Jim was elected to the California State Assembly, representing City of San Jose and Santa Clara County. He got right to work in the Legislature and passed several landmark bills including AB 12 (2012) which extended foster youth benefits from 18 to 21 years old, and he authored AB 57 (2012) to ensure the cities of San Jose and Oakland had equal representation on the MTC compared to other large cities, bringing more transportation funds to the South Bay.
Elected in 2012 to the California State Senate, Jim passed SB 838 (2014), more widely known as Audrie’s Law, to help balance the justice system and empower survivors of sexual assault. In the same year, he championed SB 926, which raised the statutory age from 28 to 40 for victims seeking criminal charges.
Continuing his efforts on the issue of public safety, Jim authored SB 11 and SB 29 (2015) to reduce deadly encounters between police and people with a mental illness or intellectual disability.
In 2017, Jim passed SB 1, one of the largest infrastructure bills in the State’s history. SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act, increased road safety and repair funding in the State by $5.4B annually while creating over 150,000 new jobs. During the same session, Beall passed SB 595, which provided transportation funding for regional projects in the SF Bay Area. Together, SB 1 and SB 595 financed needed improvements, including: a comprehensive Bay Area traffic relief plan; new BART cars; additional HOV lanes; Caltrain’s electrification and extension; and over $2B for the BART to San Jose extension.
The following year, Jim made massive strides to expand the State’s capacity to finance the production of affordable housing by authoring SB 3. SB 3, or the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2018, authorized the issuance of $4 billion bonds for affordable housing programs and a veteran’s homeownership program.
When Jim manages to have a few spare moments to himself, he likes to read (generally non-fiction related to policy issues), hike, and hunt for stones that fuel his hobby, lapidary. He and his wife, Pat, have been married for more than 30 years, and he is the proud father of two stepsons and one grandchild.
Susan Eggman
Former Senator
State of California
Susan Eggman
A leader with decades of experience in public service and community-building, Dr. Susan Talamantes Eggman was elected to the State Senate in November of 2020, serving the 5th Senate District which is comprised of San Joaquin County, a significant portion of Stanislaus County and the Sacramento County community of Galt. Susan served in the State Assembly from December of 2012 through November of 2020.
Susan grew up on her family’s small almond orchard and apiary in Turlock. It was a farm-to-market family business, with Eggman’s father and brother tending the orchard and hives, her mother keeping the books, and later her partner, Renee Hall, bottling and selling the honey at farmers markets in San Francisco. Continuing through three generations of growing and beekeeping in California’s Central Valley, the operation ultimately grew to over 40 acres of almonds and 2000 beehives.
Susan joined the U.S. Army out of high school and served four years as a medic. After her service, she attended California State University, Stanislaus, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work. She worked as a mental health provider and medical social worker before completing a Ph.D. at Portland State University. Prior to joining the State Assembly, Susan was a Professor of Social Work at CSU, Sacramento. A lifelong learner, Susan passed the Licensed Clinical Social Worker examination shortly after assuming office.
A former member of the Stockton City Council – and the first Latina elected to that office – Susan is committed to policies that advance the good of her whole community, including improving access to health care and expanding educational opportunities. She has a proven record of working across partisan divides to find working solutions to real problems.
While in the Assembly, Susan successfully authored legislation to support the rights of undocumented residents who are victims of crimes; authored legislation to increase diversion programs as an alternative to incarceration for minor drug crimes; and authored the law that established the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing Program – which will invest up to $1 billion over ten years to install solar roofs and provide electricity bill savings to residents of multifamily housing in disadvantaged communities. Susan is also the author of the landmark End of Life Option Act and authored the legislation establishing the National Guard’s Discovery Challenge Academy in French Camp that is turning around the lives of hundreds of high school students each year. Susan is recognized as a leader in behavioral health care policy and – in the Senate – has helped secure billions of dollars to transform California’s behavioral health care system and successfully authored legislation to modernize the law regulating involuntary holds and conservatorships for the severely mentally ill.
Susan and Renee, her spouse and partner for more than 30 years, live in Stockton where they are raising their daughter, Eme.
Honorable Doris Matsui
United States Representative, Congresswoman
California District 7
Honorable Doris Matsui
Congresswoman Doris Matsui has represented the city of Sacramento and its surrounding areas since 2005. As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, she serves as the Ranking Member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and as a member of the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee. She is committed to strengthening Sacramento’s flood protection, ensuring quality, affordable health care for all, growing our clean energy economy, and promoting innovation and equity in technology.
Sitting at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, the Sacramento area has one of the highest flood risks in the country. Congresswoman Matsui has long led the charge to secure federal funding to address these risks—securing over $4 billion in investments for local flood prevention. She was at the forefront of the effort to build the Joint Federal Project at Folsom Dam, securing $1 billion for this critical project that became the model of cooperation and efficiency. She continues to secure funding to ensure the Folsom Dam Raise Project moves forward as planned. In addition, she has worked vigorously to federally authorize and fund the Natomas Levee Project, West Sacramento Project, widening of the Sacramento Weir, and bolstering of levees in South and East Sacramento. With climate change bringing more frequent, intense, and unpredictable weather patterns, her role in delivering funding for flood control and infrastructure projects is even more critical.
As Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Congresswoman Matsui is a national leader on technology and innovation policy. She authored the CHIPS for America Act, legislation that invested $52 billion to reassert American leadership in the strategically important semiconductor industry. She also serves as Co-Chair of the bipartisan High-Tech and Spectrum Caucuses, spearheading efforts to address the pressing tech issues of today and tomorrow while increasing the accessibility and affordability of communications services. She continues to focus on promoting the deployment of next-generation wireless technologies and maintaining a healthy spectrum pipeline. She is a leading voice for policies that support access to reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband for families and students, while ensuring that digital equity, and inclusion are top of mind. She authors the Digital Equity Foundation Act, which would channel public and private investments to help close the divide on digital equity, inclusion, and literacy. She leads the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act, which would ensure access to a free and open internet by prohibiting internet fast lanes from harming consumers, small businesses and innovators.
She has worked tirelessly to improve access to high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care and was instrumental in crafting the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She is a leader in Congress on expanding the use of telehealth and growing the digital health ecosystem to help bridge gaps in care. She is an advocate for robust mental and behavioral health services, authoring the Telemental Health Care Access Act, which would repeal the requirement that Medicare patients be seen in person before receiving virtual behavioral health care. She was also instrumental in launching a network of high-quality, evidence-based Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in communities across the country. Her Excellence in Mental Health Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2014 and made a $1.1 billion dollar investment in the initial demonstration. The CCBHC demonstration option was expanded to all 50 states as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Congresswoman Matsui is a Founder and Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Aging and Families, where she addresses the full spectrum of issues that affect seniors, from retirement security to long term care. Congresswoman Matsui also serves as Co-Chair of the Rare Disease Congressional Caucus, where she works on policies to advance the science of rare disease therapies and expand access to care.
As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), Congresswoman Matsui is one of the foremost leaders in Congress advancing bold policies to address the climate crisis. Under her leadership, SEEC has spearheaded numerous initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable infrastructure, providing tax incentives for clean energy, and reducing harmful emissions. She co-chairs the Nature and Oceans Task Force, which looks to harness the power of public lands and waters through natural climate solutions. She was a vocal leader in securing robust tax incentives and credits through the Inflation Reduction Act, and has worked in tandem with local leaders to ensure the regional community has the resources it needs to lead on the clean energy transition. She has been a long time champion of stronger vehicle emission standards at the national level, and a tireless advocate for California’s Clean Air Act waiver. Congresswoman Matsui authored the bipartisan Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2019, reauthorizing a popular program for reducing emissions from diesel vehicles. The Congresswoman also led the Healthier and Greener Schools Act, which funds sustainable retrofits at K-12 schools, and she co-led the POWER ON Act, which created a grant program to harden the electric grid against natural disasters and prevent wildfire ignition from power lines. Thanks in large part to her efforts, the Sacramento region has been transforming into a clean-tech capital, with over 200 companies in the region.
Congresswoman Matsui passionately works to improve and rebuild Sacramento’s infrastructure. She has secured large investments in regional public transportation and the Sacramento International Airport through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and is a strong proponent of robust investments in our transit hubs.
Because she has always felt the arts connect innovation with creativity and passion, Congresswoman Matsui has been a strong supporter of the arts not only in the Sacramento community, but nationwide. She currently serves as a Member of the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian. She is also on the Council of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Council of the National Museum of American History. She has previously served on the National Symphony Board and the Arena Stage Board.
Before coming to Congress, Doris Matsui served as Chairwoman on the Board for the KVIE public television station in Sacramento, and in leadership capacities for the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento Children's Home, and the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra.
After growing up on a farm in California’s Central Valley, Congresswoman Matsui graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She served as one of eight members of President Clinton’s transition board and later served as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public Liaison. Congresswoman Matsui succeeded her late husband Robert Matsui (who served in Congress from 1979-2005) in a special election in March 2005.
Congresswoman Matsui has a son Brian Matsui and a daughter-in-law Amy Matsui. She has two grandchildren, Anna and Robby. In the Spring of 2020, Congresswoman Matsui married Roger Sant, adding four children, their spouses, and six grandchildren to her family.
Honorable Scott Wiener
State of California Senator
District 11
Honorable Scott Wiener
First elected in 2016, Senator Scott Wiener represents District 11 in the California State Senate. District 11 includes San Francisco, Broadmoor, Colma, and Daly City, as well as portions of South San Francisco and San Bruno.
In the State Senate, Senator Wiener works day and night to make housing more abundant and affordable; strengthen and expand our public transportation systems; increase access to health care, including mental health and addiction treatment; ensure families have access to food, child care, paid family leave, and other critical supports; fight climate change and keep California in the lead on climate action; reform our broken criminal justice system; and safeguard and expand the rights of all communities, including immigrants and LGBTQ people.
Senator Wiener has authored 87 bills that have been signed into law (see Legislation tab for a full list). He has been recognized by respected community organizations for his work (see the Awards tab for a full list).
Senator Wiener serves as Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and Chair of the Senate Legislative Ethics Committee. He previously served as Chair of the Senate Housing Committee and the Senate Human Services Committee. He serves as Co-Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus and Chair of the Senate Mental Health Caucus. He previously served as Chair of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. Senator Wiener is a member of the Public Safety Committee, Judiciary Committee, Local Government Committee, and Health Committee. He also serves on the Governor's Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education.
Before his election to the Senate, Senator Wiener served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing the district previously represented by Supervisor Harvey Milk. During his time on the Board of Supervisors, Senator Wiener authored a number of first-in-the-nation laws, including mandating fully paid parental leave for all working parents and requiring water recycling and solar power in new developments. He focused extensively on housing and public transportation, authoring laws to expedite approval of affordable housing, legalize new in-law units, and tie public transportation funding to population growth.
Before his election to the Board of Supervisors, Senator Wiener spent fifteen years practicing law: as a Deputy City Attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, in private practice at Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, and as a law clerk for Justice Alan Handler on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Senator Wiener co-chaired the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, BALIF (the Bay Area’s LGBTQ bar association), and the San Francisco LGBTQ Community Center, and served on the national board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.
Senator Wiener grew up in New Jersey, the son of a small business owner and a teacher, and flipped burgers at Burger King while attending public school. He received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. He spent a year in Chile on a Fulbright Scholarship doing historical research. He has lived in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood since 1997.
Anthony Portantino
Former Senator
State of California
Anthony Portantino
Anthony Portantino is the proud father of two terrific daughters, Sofia and Isabella. He is an approachable, community focused public official with an impressive record of legislative and budget related accomplishments. He represented California’s great 25th State Senate District for the past eight years and served six years in the State Assembly before that.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Anthony came to California to work in film and TV production. As a Senator, he was a leading advocate for the Entertainment Tax Credit to keep and expand film and TV production in California. He personally negotiated the current five-year extension of the tax credit with the Newsom administration and he created the $150 million incentive to build more studios in California.
During his time in office, public education, mental health, and sensible gun control were his legislative priorities. He worked collaboratively with CBHA to expand mental health education in California and on suicide prevention efforts. Additionally, he championed increased funding for special education and public education overall. He created California’s umbilical cord blood collection program, pushed back school start time for middle and high school students, banned the open carry of handguns on Main Street, raised the purchase age of firearms to 21, and placed the suicide hotline number on student identification cards. In addition, his efforts created a science fellowship in the State Capitol and established a unique partnership between the University of California and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Foster youth, LGBTQ+ students, dyslexic children and students suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome have benefited from the Senator’s effective leadership. HIV testing became easier and more efficient in California while thousands of deserving college students have had their Cal Grants increased because of the Senator’s public service and commitment to our youth.
Anthony is an avid and daily bike rider. He has championed active transportation and personally negotiated the end of the 710-freeway tunnel expansion paving the way for Pasadena to develop the long-dormant freeway stub.
From monitoring micro plastics in drinking water, establishing the plan to clean up our oceans and helping to retrofit school kitchens with efficient and environmentally friendly dishwashers, Senator Portantino has worked collaboratively with local environmental activists on strong sustainability projects and delivered results.
He proudly represented the Rose Bowl, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Griffith Park Observatory, the LA Zoo, Warner Brothers, Disney, Caltech and the Claremont Colleges. Anthony can often be seen attending live performances in many of the 25th Senate District’s numerous nonprofit theaters. A published poet and author of three novels, he is a staunch supporter of the arts and worked closely with Actor’s Equity and theatre companies to establish a state program to support live performing arts venues.
In the Senate, he Chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee and a Select Committee to foster trade between California, Armenia and Artsakh. A close and trusted friend of the Armenian American community, he has been honored to have visited Armenia numerous times where he established the California trade desk in the capital city of Yerevan. He is the only US Legislator to have taken an emotionally powerful tour of Artsakh post 44-Day War.
Senator Portantino is a product of public education, a proud PTA member, Girl Scout dad and 20-year AYSO soccer referee. He graduated from Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania where he met his wife Ellen on the school’s library steps and the rest, as they say, is history.
Darrell Steinberg
Founder
Steinberg Institute
Darrell Steinberg
Darrell Steinberg is California’s strongest public advocate for better mental health care. He is known within the mental health community as a long-time champion.
Darrell became passionate about mental health during his time on the Sacramento City Council. In 1997, the City of Sacramento engaged in a lawsuit against Loaves and Fishes, a private charity providing food to the homeless. The free lunches began to draw thousands of homeless people who were seen as a nuisance to local businesses near the shelter in North Sacramento. Former Mayor Joe Serna and then Councilmember Steinberg were the only two members to vote against the lawsuit. Upon further investigation into the rapidly increasing homeless population, Steinberg learned that an overwhelming portion of homeless suffered from mental illness and did not have access to proper mental health care. From this point onward, Darrell has worked to bring awareness and solutions for what he calls “the under-attended issue in our time and in our society.”
AB 34 Pilot Projects
During his first year in the State Assembly, Steinberg authored AB 34, which began three pilot projects that provided integrated services to the homeless in Stanislaus, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties. The pilot was so successful in lowering hospitalization, incarceration and homeless episodes the program was expanded to more than 30 counties in late 2000. The success continued for 5,000 people per year.
Mental Health Services Act
In 2004, Steinberg authored Proposition 63, the California Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), approved by California voters on the November 2004 statewide ballot. He worked with advocate, Sherman Russell Selix, Jr. to co-author the proposition. The act imposes a 1% tax for mental health funding on incomes over $1,000,000.
The Mental Health Services Act created a “whatever-it-takes” approach to support and service those with severe mental illness. Services can include providing a safe place to live, a job, help in school, physical health care, clothing, food, or treatment when a mental illness and a substances abuse disorder are combined. The Act also requires that twenty percent of the annual dollars be invested in Prevention and Early Intervention services (PEI). The philosophy of the MHSA is to engage individuals before they develop serious mental illness or serious emotional disturbance and to alleviate the need for additional or extended mental health treatment.
The Mental Health Services Act has proven to be a cost effective way to address mental health care. The Act was the first of its kind in the United States and has directly helped thousands of Californians.
SB 82 – The Investment in Mental Health Wellness Act of 2013
Darrell also authored the Investment in Mental Health Wellness Act of 2013 (SB 82), which allocated $142 million in state General Funds for a grant program to expand the number of community-based mental health crisis services. This bill aims to significantly improve access to mental health crisis services by funding a major statewide expansion of crisis residential and stabilization beds and mobile crisis capacity. It pays particular attention to reducing recidivism by prioritizing mental health help to those in crisis.
The Steinberg Institute - Advancing Mental and Behavioral Health Leadership
In 2014, Darrell established The Steinberg Institute for Advancing Mental Health Policy. The Steinberg Institute will focus on building public leadership for focused improvements in California's systems of mental and behavioral health. There is much work to do and many places to start. Once started with notice and impact, the Institute will expand its mission wherever its work can be most effective.
The Institute’s first goal is to organize a robust 2015 legislative agenda for mental health in California and engage more members, from both parties, to carry the agenda. The Institute will organize the disparate advocates, develop and cull the best legislative ideas, recruit the Legislators as authors, announce the agenda, and develop the strategies to pass and enact as many important bills as possible.
The agenda will be organized around 5 categories; mental health and criminal justice; housing and homelessness; the plight of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other war related emotional problems; children, specifically the impact of untreated mental illness on behavior and academic performance; and health care itself, specifically the need to invest in timely identification and treatment of mental health conditions. The Institute will seek to address the disparities in access to necessary care that disproportionately impact people from racial and ethnic communities and to make sure that its resources highlight best practices and ensure meaningful comparative outcome reporting.
Health Equity Champion Award
Catherine Teare, MPP
Associate Director
California Health Care Foundation
Catherine Teare, MPP
Catherine Teare is associate director of CHCF’s People-Centered Care team, which works to ensure that Californians — particularly those enrolled in Medi-Cal — receive responsive, comprehensive, and coordinated care that supports their health and well-being. She leads the foundation’s work on behavioral health care, including behavioral health integration in primary care and behavioral health interventions for high-cost populations. She also manages projects related to the county role in health care delivery and oral health care.
Catherine has worked at CHCF since 2011 and previously led the organization’s efforts on enrollment in public programs, with a particular focus on consumer experience. Before joining the foundation, she worked as a consultant for safety-net health care providers, foundations, and local government, providing research and policy analysis in the areas of health care financing and delivery, public and private health insurance programs for children, adolescent health, reproductive health, HIV, and youth development. She also worked as director of policy for Children Now and as a health policy analyst for the National Center for Youth Law. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from Yale College and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mack Jenkins, MS
Chief Probation Officer
Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health
Mac Jenkins
Chief Mack Jenkins’ career in the justice system has spanned more than 45 years. He retired as the chief probation officer for San Diego County. Over the course of his career, Mr. Jenkins developed expertise in evidence-based practices for community supervision and has worked with treatment programs for 30 years. He has served on a number of national boards, including two terms on the AllRise board when it was known as NADCP, and the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center. He is a former chair of the Orange County Drug Court Oversight Committee and also served on the California Judicial Council’s Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee. Mr. Jenkins is a past president of the Chief Probation Officers of California Association and former vice president of the American Probation and Parole Association. He has worked as a faculty training consultant, for the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI), and also as an independent consultant, providing technical assistance and training to treatment court programs throughout the United States and internationally. Chief Jenkins is gubernatorial appointee to the California Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health (CCJBH) and the California Prison Industry Authority. He served in the past as a senior policy advisor for the CSG Justice Center and is currently an adjunct instructor in criminal justice. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of California, Irvine, and a master's degree in criminal justice from California State University, Long Beach.
Ahmad Bahrami, MBA
Division Manager of Public Behavioral Health
Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health
Ahmad Bahrami
Ahmad has worked in county behavioral health systems for over 16 years. Ahmad has been a Division Manger and the Equity Services Manager (ESM) for Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) for over six years. Prior to that Ahmad worked as part of the leadership team in a small County Behavioral Health Department for over nine and a half years. Ahmad has previously lifted up a division where he and his team oversaw the department’s administration of the MHSA, health equity efforts, media and public engagement, prevention (including suicide and substance misuse), marketing, outreach and education among other duties. He is currently developing the Planning and Quality Management, which leads the implementation of BHSA, health equity, communications, and quality improvement (internal and external). Ahmad has served and serves on a number of local and statewide workgroups and committees, including Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) Evaluation Workgroup, CYBHI’s Collaborative Leadership Work Group, CYBHI’s Equity Task Force, the California Department of Education’s (CDE) Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup (SMHPW), CDE’s State School Attendance Review Board, California Pan Ethnic, Health Network (CPEHN)’s Community-Defined Evidence Practice Integration Advisory Group, California Reducing Disparities Project Phase 3 Planning and Design Task Force, and other efforts. He was selected as a 2019 Mental Health Champion by the Steinberg Institute. Ahmad’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Criminology, a Master’s in Business Administration, and completion of doctoral work in Organizational Development.
Veronica Kelley, DSW
Behavioral Health Director
Orange County Health Care Agency
Veronica Kelley, DSW
Prior to becoming Director, Dr. Kelley served as the Chief of the HCA’s Behavioral Health Services (BHS) division since December of 2021. She holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in social work. Since joining the HCA, she successfully reorganized BHS to help prepare Orange County for the myriad of behavioral health changes on the horizon. This includes preparation and advocacy for significant changes to Medi-Cal via CalAIM which allows for more services to be delivered to those in need. She collaborated with local law enforcement partners to divert mental health and homeless calls from 911 and successfully launched a new mobile crisis response. She led the early implementation of the State’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act initiative in Orange County, a civil process seeking to serve individuals with untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.
Additionally, Dr. Kelley has championed multiple efforts in the battle against opioid misuse, launching ongoing educational public town halls, initiating strategic marketing campaigns to reach diverse families and communities, expanding the distribution of life-saving overdose reversal treatments to bring the latest, more potent reversal treatment, Kloxxado.
Dr. Kelley has more than 33 years’ experience in the field of behavioral health and has been a licensed clinical social worker for nearly 25 years. Dr. Kelley began her career with the HCA in 1999, where she started the Office of Cultural Competency & Multiethnic Services and then transitioned to San Bernardino County, where she spent 13 years with the Department of Behavioral Health and was appointed the Behavioral Health Director for six years. During her tenure, she led the county’s crisis response and recovery efforts to the 2015 Terrorist Attack.
Dr. Kelley remains active at the state level, addressing behavioral health issues as a Board Member of NAMI California and as a Past President of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association. She sits on the California Department of Health Care Services Stakeholder Advisory Committee as well as numerous positions on other statewide committees, including an appointment to the Governor’s No Place Like Home Advisory Board.
In addition to her leadership roles, Dr. Kelley is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Loma Linda School of Social Work and Social Ecology and a part time lecturer at California State University Fullerton in the Social Work Department.
Percy Howard, LCSW
President and Chief Executive Officer
California Institute For Behavioral Health Solutions
Percy Howard, LCSW
Percy Howard, LCSW has 35 years of expertise in private practice, county behavioral health, child welfare systems, nonprofit organizations, and juvenile justice settings. He catalyzed CIBHS’ ability to implement recovery-oriented and family-directed evidence-based practices, change management and evaluation supports throughout California.
Jei Africa, PsyD
Director, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services
San Mateo County Health
Jei Africa, PsyD
Dr. Jei Africa, PsyD, MSCP, CATC-V, FACHE, Director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) at the County of San Mateo is an innovative thought-leader, strategist and clinician who is passionate about integrating effective culturally responsive practices into the core functioning of County health and human services.
Recently, Dr. Africa served as the Assistant Director of Human Services Agency at the County of San Mateo. He was also the Director of BHRS in Marin County for more than four years. During his tenure, he expanded behavioral health services for justice-involved populations as well launched the first-ever countywide suicide prevention strategic plan. For over a decade, Dr. Africa served as the Director of the Office of Diversity and Equity with the San Mateo County Health System where he led agency-wide efforts addressing health equity that received State recognition. He spearheaded the development of the first-ever multi-disciplinary behavioral health LGBTQ community center, led the health system’s change efforts to enable the collection of SOGI data for all patients, and was instrumental in the opening of a transgender health clinic. Other prior positions include: Clinical Director at Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse and Manager of Youth Treatment Services at Asian American Recovery Services.
In addition to his professional work, Dr. Africa was appointed to serve as a founding member of the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission (2014-2017), and currently volunteers with Alliance for Community Empowerment (ALLICE), an all-Filipino organization offering free education on healthy relationships (2007-present). He also serves as volunteer clinical preceptor at the Mabuhay Health Clinic, a UCSF student-run free community health clinic targeting underserved residents in the San Francisco SOMA district.
Jei Africa holds a Post-doctoral M.S. degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology, a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology, and an M.A. degree in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University/California School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Africa received an undergraduate degree from the University of the Philippines in Behavioral Science.
Dr. Africa is a licensed clinical psychologist and holds certification in both substance use and trauma, a certified executive coach and a credentialed county senior executive. He also maintains a consulting and private psychotherapy practice in the Bay Area.
He was the first openly transgender county behavioral health director in the state and in the US.
Devika Bhushan, MD
Senior Health Equity Advisor
California Behavioral Health Association
Devika Bhushan, MD
Devika Bhushan, MD, is a pediatrician, public health leader, author, and keynote speaker on a mission to drive health innovation, resilience, and equity. Her expertise spans trauma-informed systems, stress and resilience, mental health, and gender and health equity — with insights featured in The Lancet, Pediatrics, JAMA, NBC, NPR, Slate, and The Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Bhushan serves on Stanford’s adjunct faculty, as Chief Medical Officer at Daybreak Health, which brings personalized mental health support directly to youth and families, and as a senior strategic advisor to entities that aim to advance health, innovation, and equity, ranging from non-profits to a venture capital firm. She serves on the national Board of Directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s leading mental health advocacy organization, and the California Partners Project, co-founded by California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom to focus on child well-being and gender equity.
Previously, as California’s Acting Surgeon General (2022) and its inaugural Chief Health Officer (2019-2022), Dr. Bhushan was a key public health spokesperson and advisor to California’s Governor. In these roles, she led policy and practice innovation at a statewide level by co-leading the launch and implementation of the $500 million ACEs Aware initiative, focused on healing from childhood trauma.
Dr. Bhushan is also an award-winning mental health spokesperson, known for publicly sharing her journey with bipolar disorder while serving as California’s Acting Surgeon General to destigmatize mental illness and spread hope. She leads a vibrant newsletter community and YouTube channel/podcast to share evidence-based insights for well-being, and stars in the documentary BrainStorm (2025).
Dr. Bhushan trained at Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins. She is a parent, an immigrant, and a first-generation Indian American.
Stacie Hiramoto, MSW
Director
Racial and Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition
Stacie Hiramoto, MSW
Stacie Hiramoto, MSW, has been a mental health advocate and proud social worker for many years. She is one of the founders and presently Director of the Racial and Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition (REMHDCO), a statewide mental health policy and advocacy organization representing BIPOC communities. REMHDCO has been an integral part of the highly acclaimed California Reducing Disparities Project for over a decade. Stacie served as staff under the former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, as well serving as Director of Legislative Affairs and Government Relations for the California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. She is also honored to have worked for the late Rusty Selix for over a decade.
Consumer Advocate Award
Sally Zinman
Former Executive Director
California Association of Mental Health Peer-Run Organizations - Posthumously
Sally Zinman
Sally Zinman has forged strength from a place of pain, emerging as a bright and unwavering beacon for the mental health consumer movement.
Over more than three decades of activism, Sally has been a humble but eloquent voice for self-empowerment and self-determination for people living with a brain illness. She has helped elevate and upend the concept of recovery; and planted the seeds for the peer-run programs now flourishing nationwide.
Sally helped launch the country’s first statewide consumer-run organization in the 1970’s; and today, as executive director of the California Association of Mental Health Peer Run Organizations, remains a potent force, working to shatter stigma, promote a community-based, holistic approach to mental wellness, and upholding the civil rights of people living with mental illness. Thank you, Sally, for your wisdom, your endurance and for lighting the way.
Rexanne Irizarry, CMPSS
Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist
Sacramento County
Rexanne Irizarry
Rexanne Irizarry, CMPSS (she/her) is a compassionate leader and Certified Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist (MPSS-QKCNJV) whose work is steeped in purpose and powered by lived experience. Holding additional certifications in Wellness Recovery Action Planning and Mind Matters Facilitation, Rexanne stands as a guiding light for individuals and families navigating the challenges of mental health and substance use—offering not only her knowledge, but her heart.
With courage born from personal lived experience as a client, family member, parent, and caregiver, she brings a level of empathy that transforms systems from within. Leading with the firm belief that everyone deserves to be met with dignity, kindness, and the unwavering support to thrive.
Her professional path began in the heart of the community, where she served as a Crisis Intervention Specialist at the North Sacramento Family Resource Center, operated by Sacramento Children's Home. There, she walked alongside families in moments of need—connecting them with critical resources and helping restore stability and hope. Today, she continues as a Behavioral Health Peer Specialist Program Manager with Sacramento County’s Behavioral Health Services (BHS), where she trains, mentors, and uplifts peer specialists to shape more inclusive, healing-centered care across the region.
A proud Sacramento native, devoted wife of 26 years, loving mom of five, and joyful grandmother, Rexanne’s advocacy is as personal as it is powerful. She is breaking generational cycles of trauma and helping create a future where healing is possible, voices are heard, and no one walks their journey alone.
Leslie Napper
Peer Advocate
Disability Rights California
Leslie Napper
Leslie Napper, proud native of Sacramento, CA, is a Peer Advocate for Disability Rights California (DRC), and a former Patients’ Rights Advocate in Sacramento, Yolo, Napa, and San Joaquin Counties. Leslie has served as Chair on the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Advisory Council, Disability Rights California’s Board of Directors, CalMHSA Advisory Council, and served on Sacramento County’s Mental Health Board. She currently serves on Sacramento County’s MHSA Steering Committee representing Adult Mental Health Consumers. As a consultant to California Institute for Behavioral Health Solution (CIBHS) Leslie developed and lead a statewide African American Mental Health Consumer Leadership training, as well as facilitated and assisted in the development of trainings providing technical advice to California’s Local Mental Health Boards/Commissions. Lead plaintiff in Napper vs County of Sacramento, she worked closely with DRC’s legal team in litigation and settlement of the case. She is passionate about empowering others to advocate for themselves and others to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness and effect change. Leslie identifies as a person living with a Mental Health disability and has been a respected Mental Health Advocate for more than 15 years.
Maria Lemus
Executive Director
Vison y Compromiso
Maria Lemus
Maria Lemus is the founding Executive Director of Visión y Compromiso. Established in 2000, Visión y Compromiso and its Network of Promotoras and Community Health Workers is committed to community well-being by supporting promotoras, community health workers and other grassroots community leaders. Today, Visión y Compromiso
is the largest promotora-led organization in the country dedicated to providing promotoras, community health workers and our community-based partners with comprehensive and ongoing leadership development, capacity building, training, workforce development, and advocacy throughout California and across the nation. Hacia una vida digna y sana reflects Visión y Compromiso’s vision of a life with health and dignity for all.
A member of numerous advisory committees and national boards, Ms. Lemus is also a founding board member of the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW). Dedicated to advancing the Community Transformation Model, she provides consultation to community-based organizations and promotoras across the United States, Mexico and Central America lifting up the Promotora Model for
community wellness and promoting community leaders as key partners in health.
Ms. Lemus was recognized by the California State Assembly receiving a Recognition Resolution for her work with Visión y Compromiso. She is an alumna of two outstanding leadership programs, the National Hispana Leadership Institute and the California Women’s Policy Institute of The Women’s Foundation. She has received numerous awards including the Community Latina Award (California Latinas for Reproductive Justice), the Champions of Health Award (California Center for Public Health), the Siempre Award (Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center), and recognition by the Contra Costa County Women's Hall of Fame (Women Improving Healthcare). Ms. Lemus has served as a Board member of the Koshland Committee at The San Francisco Foundation and was a Purpose Prize Fellow, a Fellow of the Mexican American Solidarity Foundation, a Faculty Advisor for the Women's Health Leadership program mentoring emerging women leaders, past President of the California Chicano Correctional Workers Association, and, most importantly, Outstanding PTA President of Mira Vista Elementary School.
Ms. Lemus has 21 years of management experience in state and county health departments and began her public service career with the California Department of Corrections. Before founding Visión y Compromiso, she was an active consultant to community-based organizations. Born in San Bernardino, California to Mexican
parents who immigrated to the United States in hopes of a better life for their children, Ms. Lemus received her B.A. degree from the University of California at Riverside. She has been married for 39 years and is the proud mother of two adult children.
Richard Van Horn
Former President and CEO
Mental Health America Los Angeles - Posthumously
Richard Van Horn
Richard was first appointed to the Commission in 2009, representing California’s then-State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. He served as the Commission’s vice-chair in 2010-11, Chair in 2013-14 and Evaluation Committee Chair in 2015-16.
Richard brought to the Commission a lifetime of knowledge, experience, and passion for helping people improve their mental well-being.
Richard led the development of recovery-focused services and programs run by and for people with unmet mental health needs. As an advocate, Richard played a major role in the development and passage of Proposition 63. Richard was a true mental health champion and embraced a wellness, recovery, and resilience approach to care for individuals with unmet mental health challenges. Through his leadership, Richard created opportunities in the community to transform California’s public mental health system into an integrated model of recovery and wellness-oriented services.
As for more than 30 years president and chief executive officer of Mental Health America, Los Angeles (MHALA), Richard dedicated his life to creating equitable opportunities for individuals and the community. He was instrumental in the success of Project Return as a self-advocacy program and in the Village, a novel, collaborative, integrated service approach that led to the incorporation of Full Service Partnerships in the MHSA model. He was a member of the board of the Mental Health Association of California, the California Institute for Mental Health (now the California Institute for Behavioral Health), the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies, and the National Council for Community Behavioral Health. Richard was also a past member of the National Board of Directors of Mental Health America. On behalf of Mental Health America, he testified before the Congress of the United States regarding issues affecting people with mental illnesses.
A graduate of Harvard University, Richard also held a Masters of Divinity in Theology and was an ordained Episcopal priest, a role which led him to his calling in what was called a “social ministry,” and in turn to a lifetime of social and mental health advocacy.
Kate Richards Geller, MA
Executive Director
Urban Voices Project
Kate Richards Geller, MA
Kate Richards Geller is a music therapist and vocal improviser who is well-known for keen listening, creating safety in a group, facilitating freedom within structure, and supporting personal expression. Kate earned a master’s degree in Music Therapy from NYU in 1997 and then combined her singer/songwriter skills and 'joie de vivre’ with clinical improvisation to enhance “quality of life” in medical settings, community centers, and therapeutic pre-schools. The core of her work engages people in interactive singing as a bridge to self-expression, communication, and community-building.
Leeav Sofer
Co-Founder & Artistic Director
Urban Voices Project
LeeAv Sofer
LeeAv Sofer is a Los Angeles-based community-driven artist exploring the intersection of music and societal healing, focusing both in homelessness, social and emotional connection as well as Jewish cultural heritage.
Sofer is the co-founder and director of The Urban Voices Project, a program that provides music workshops for the homeless and disenfranchised individuals on Skid Row and around Los Angeles County. Clients use arts to navigate their respective journeys off the streets and back into society. These programs have recognition on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, on NPR’s All Things Considered, and NBC’s Today Show and allowed him to share the stage with various celebrities such as Dick Van Dyke, John Legend, and Joan Baez as well as local politicians and even television appearances
Recognized as Jewish Journal’s esteemed “30 under 30”, leads the band Mostly Kosher, dedicated to preserving and progressing cultural folk music of Judaic heritage. In 2016, Mostly Kosher had the honor of being the first Jewish music ensemble at the Disney parks and was met with critical acclaim, including a special on PBS. The ensemble continues each year as both a touring ensemble at performing arts centers as well as its regular return to their residency at the Disney Parks.
Sofer is on faculty at the Colburn School in Los Angeles where he conducts community engagement programs leading Sofer to become one of Los Angeles County Department of Education’s lead teaching artists and lecturer on how music intersects with social and emotional learning.
Gina Warren, PharmD
CEO and Founder
Neighborhood Wellness Foundation
Gina Warren, PharmD
Gina Warren is the Co-founder and CEO of Neighborhood Wellness Foundation (NW), a non-profit organization dedicated to navigating and disrupting intergenerational trauma and poverty in North Sacramento’s Del Paso Heights and nearby communities. Dr. Warren leads an innovative, multigenerational team combining academic, clinical, and business expertise with significant lived experience, including over 125 combined years of incarceration on paid staff. NW focuses on addressing disparities linked to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), toxic stress, and neighborhood trauma. Under Dr. Warren’s leadership, NW drives a cross-sector, community-led collaborative ecosystem that strategically partners with various agencies to tackle issues at the intersection of intergenerational trauma and poverty. These issues include poor mental and physical health, violence, substance use disorders including fentanyl crisis, illiteracies, homelessness, incarceration, and socioeconomic paralysis. Notable Achievements Under Dr. Warren’s Leadership include: Hosted the first COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Del Paso Heights. School-Based Health Center: NW lead the collaborative effort in opening and coordinating the first school-based health center in Del Paso Heights at Grant Union High School. Reducing recidivism and improving violence mitigation by employing former gang-involved and incarcerated individuals as neighborhood navigators and community health workers. NW Instrumental in reducing Fentanyl-related deaths in Sacramento County by providing Opioid Awareness and Narcan education & distribution to both housed and unhoused individuals, churches, students, faculty and other community-based organizations. Received recognition and a recommendation in California’s Racial Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) final report for NW’s training expertise to California Law Enforcement aligned with RIPA’s goals to reduce racial profiling of black and brown neighbors. Dr. Warren holds a doctorate in Clinical Pharmacy from UCSF and has been a licensed clinical pharmacist for 28 years and is Phase I certified in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics® with Dr. Bruce Perry. Dr. Warren’s leadership and NW’s holistic approach significantly contribute to the well-being and empowerment of the Del Paso Heights community and surrounding areas. She is determined to continue raising awareness at local, state and national levels about the impact of intergenerational trauma and poverty, promoting strategies to disrupt their transfer of adversity.
Recent Leadership and NW Honors: 2024: NW Consumer Advocate Award (CBHA), Community Impact Award (Alpha Kappa Alpha), All-Star Community Impact Award (Sacramento Kings, SMUD); 2023: NAACP Unsung Hero Award, Social Venture Philanthropy: Kandris Community Leader Award, Citizen of the Year (Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.), 2022:Community Activist Award (California Black Chamber of Commerce), Peacemaker Award (CSU Sacramento), Black History Legacy Award, 2020: Exceptional Woman of Color (EWOC), Community Activist Award
Marilyn Woods
Chief Financial Officer
Neighborhood Wellness Foundation
Marilyn Woods
Marilyn is a Co-Founder and manages the corporate development of Neighborhood Wellness. She serves on the board and assist with executive management and strategic development. She is the retired CEO/CFO of the Institute for Fiduciary Education, a company she worked at, co-owned and managed for 28 years. As an entrepreneur of a multimillion-dollar business she oversaw daily operations, developed strategic opportunities, created program content, directed marketing, initiated program development, and managed fiscal operations. The Institute for Fiduciary Education developed educational seminars for large public and private pension funds, endowments and foundations on investment diversification strategies and portfolio management including real estate, international investing, equity and fixed income investing, derivates, etc.
Anh Thu Bui, MD
Project Director, 988-Crisis Care Continuum
California Health and Human Services Agency
Anh Thu Bui, M.D.
Dr. Bui has worked as a community psychiatrist in California for over twenty years, serving individuals of all ages in several county specialty mental health programs and community health centers. She earned her Medical Degree from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in 1995 and holds board certifications in Psychiatry, Community and Public Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine. She is a proud alumna of the California Health Care Foundation Health Care Leadership Program, administered by Healthforce Center at UCSF.
Much of her work in advocating for individuals with serious mental illness and substance use disorders has been informed by experiencing and witnessing trauma in her family and community as a refugee from Vietnam, and 35 years later, seeing the positive expansion of essential health services via the Affordable Care Act. She worked at the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) for two years as a Medical Consultant in Behavioral Health, including serving as Project Director for the SAMHSA 988 Cooperative Agreement to DHCS to support implementation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
She is honored to have joined the California Health and Human Services Agency since October 2023 to work on 988 implementation and integration into the crisis care continuum and improve behavioral health services for all Californians.