• Excellence in Mental Health and Addictions Education
• Excellence in Innovation
• Excellence in Community Collaboration
• Excellence in Consumer and Family Advocacy
• Excellence in Grassroots Advocacy
• Excellence in Public Service
• Lifetime Achievement

Excellence in Mental Health and Addictions Education

The Excellence in Mental Health and Addictions Education Award honors a celebrity or public figure for his/her commitment to educating the public about mental health and addiction issues.

Judy Collins
Singer, Songwriter, and Grammy Award Winner

Judy Collins has experienced one of life's ultimate tragedies: the loss of a child to suicide. Like so many families who have experienced this devastating event, Ms. Collins found solace in connecting with others. Since then, she has extended her own hand – and heart – to comfort those whose lives have been affected by similar tragedy. She speaks to parents, suicide survivor groups, the media and all who will listen about recognizing mental health and addiction problems, finding help and recovering from loss. Through song and book, Ms. Collins has used her public platform to share her story, to educate others and to provide some comfort to those who have lost loved ones. Ms. Collins hopes that her book, Sanity and Grace, and her song, "Wings of Angels," written about the loss of her son, will "shed more light upon the dark taboo of suicide." Her message, like her music, speaks of hope, of healing and of promise.

Excellence in Innovation

The Excellence in Innovation Award recognizes provider organizations that are operating innovative and effective programs and services to meet the mental health and addictions treatment needs of the communities they serve.

Pathways to Housing, Inc.
New York, New York

Pathways to Housing serves those who are the most vulnerable: individuals with chronic mental illnesses who have lived on the streets or in shelters, jails or psychiatric institutions for extended periods of time. Pathways was the first agency to develop the Housing First model, a consumer-driven approach to housing and treatment services that ends chronic homelessness. The premise is simple: give people with mental illnesses and addiction disorders a chance to recover while living in a safe home. While the program reversed the traditional delivery of services and support, its true innovation is that consumer choice is at the center of every program intervention. The results underscore the approach. After four years,70% of individuals receiving Housing First services were living in stable housing compared to only 27% of those who received traditional services. But the real proof goes beyond the numbers: people who were abandoned to streets, hospitals or jails are now engaged in recovery and in their community.

Excellence in Community Collaboration

The Excellence in Community Collaboration Award recognizes an organization, or group of organizations, that has demonstrated effective and innovative partnerships to promote community collaboration and integration on mental health and addictions treatment issues.

Comtrea Community Mental Health Center
Jefferson County, Missouri

Too often, collaboration projects serve only a small area or small group of people. Comtrea Community Mental Health Center, however, successfully expanded their initial School Liaison Project to a comprehensive healthy kids program supported with a new county sales tax. Following the two-year success of the School Liaison Project, which connected education and support programs with counseling and crisis intervention services, a group of community leaders from education, juvenile justice and family services teamed with elected officials to expand the program. With the help of more than 150 volunteers, the group passed Proposition Healthy Kids, creating a countywide school mental health network supported by a 1/18 cent sales tax. The program now serves every public school in Jefferson County as well as three private schools and the local community college. Comtrea and its partner agencies provide curriculum development, case management, triage and aftercare services, crisis intervention and educational outreach, which integrates students, parents, and the community into a true system of care.

Excellence in Consumer and Family Advocacy

The Excellence in Consumer and Family Advocacy Award honors those who have used their own experiences with mental illness and/or addictions to educate the public and to help others along their journeys to recovery.

Jonathan C. Dupre
Consumer Instructor, The Providence Center
Providence, Rhode Island

Jonathan Dupre is more than just a mental health advocate; he's a crusader. After overcoming incredible odds in his personal journey to recovery, Mr. Dupre now invests his time in working tirelessly to ensure that consumers and their families are treated with respect and dignity. A true role model, he has used his own experiences to help educate and advocate for others with mental illness. Mr. Dupre fights for the rights of the consumer in the mental health system. At The Providence Center, he educates consumers about their ability to recover through the study of self-esteem and motivation. He has testified at the Rhode Island State House on several mental health bills, organized consumer rallies, moderated the Governor's Forum on Mental Illness and shared his personal stories with both local and national media. "I'm giving back," says Mr. Dupre. "I'm part of the process... I want to lead the cause, and lead by example."

Excellence in Grassroots Advocacy

The Excellence in Grassroots Advocacy Award recognizes provider organizations, individuals, and state associations that promote constructive engagement between behavioral healthcare proponents and government leaders to ensure high quality mental health and addictions treatment services for those most in need.

Pennsylvania Community Providers Association
Legislative Affairs Committee and Government Relations Institute Alumni Network
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Community Providers Association (PCPA) has developed an incredible force on the legislative front - fighting for issues affecting community behavioral healthcare and mental retardation services. Through strategic collaboration of PCPA's Legislative Affairs Committee (LAC) and Government Relations Institute Alumni Network (GRI© Network), issues surrounding adequate funding for mental health, mental retardation, and drug and alcohol services now appear significantly on the "radar screens" of legislators and administration officials alike. The LAC/GRI© Network has formed a strong, member-based grassroots advocacy network for PCPA and its member organizations. Together, they have co-sponsored association lobby days, developed state budget position recommendations for the PCPA Board of Directors, and engaged legislators and key staffers in multiple meetings around behavioral health and mental retardation issues. The LAC/GRI© Network partnership was instrumental in passing recent legislation regarding the institution of an inflationary index for mental health and mental retardation. Additionally, they had a tremendous impact at the state level relative to the need for long-term, secure system funding. The commitment of the PCPA keeps growing stronger as does the leadership provided through its LAC and GRI© Network. Together, they form thoughtful, intelligent and convincing arguments on key policy issues and mobilize grassroots across the state.

Excellence in Public Service

The Excellence in Public Service Award honors an individual at the federal level who has dedicated his or her career to public service and championing mental health and addictions treatment issues.

A. Kathryn Power, M.Ed.
Director, Center for Mental Health Services
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration

A. Kathryn Power is a force for change - and a voice for recovery through consumer-centered services. Throughout her career, Ms. Power has looked for ways to better serve children, adults and families who need help. Starting her career as a teacher and a counselor, Ms. Power now leads CMHS and the Federal Mental Health Transformation Team, for which she was honored with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service. The Transformation Team is the unprecedented interdepartmental coalition that produced the first ever Federal Action Agenda for Mental Health Transformation. During her tenure as director of the Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals, the Department gained a national reputation for leadership and innovation that produced real and often dramatic improvements in the quality of life for the people it served. A former president of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, she led the organization to embrace principles of recovery and trauma-informed care as linchpins of the public mental health system. She has been recognized locally and nationally for her leadership and advocacy and has served on the Boards of Directors of more than 100 nonprofit agencies, commissions and task forces in both the public and private sector. True to her passion for improving and protecting America, Ms. Power is also a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Lifetime Achievement

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual whose staff or volunteer career in the behavioral healthcare field exemplifies the values and ideals embraced by the National Council.

David Dangerfield, D.S.W.
President and CEO, Valley Mental Health
Salt Lake City, Utah

The vision, energy, advocacy, leadership and bold action of Dr. David Dangerfield have made an immeasurable imprint on public mental health. As President/CEO of Valley Mental Health, Dr. Dangerfield built a system of care that serves more than 20,000 people annually in more than 40 locations across three counties. He's developed and led many new services to enable people with mental illness to live productive lives in their communities through subsidized housing, skills development, educational opportunities and employment. His approach is always innovative: from leading the use of tax credits to finance safe, affordable housing for people with mental illness to leveraging privatization to stabilize funding. He chaired Utah's Futures Committee, producing the Utah Recovery Model for Mental Health and Substance Abuse and was the guiding force behind the creation of the Utah Behavioral Healthcare Network, unifying providers of both public mental health and substance abuse services. Dr. Dangerfield's impact has reached beyond the communities he serves and the state of Utah. He was a founder of the Mental Health Risk Retention Group, a group established to assure predictable insurance premiums and coverage nationwide for behavioral health providers. He's been a Board member of the Mental Health Corporations of America and has published numerous articles and books for national distribution. Dr. Dangerfield has spent his entire career as an advocate, advisor and visionary. His work has influenced and inspired providers in Utah and across the nation.

David P. Wiebe, M.S.W.
Executive Director, Johnson County Mental Health Center
Mission, Kansas

David Wiebe is a distinctive leader who excels at building consensus, cultivating partnerships and advocating systemic change in the mental health field. Throughout his 21 years at Johnson County Mental Health Center, he has motivated clients, staff and Board leadership with his knowledge, commitment and deep respect for those the Center serves. He has led tremendous programmatic growth and created new facilities to serve adolescents, provide community support and house detoxification and crisis recovery programs. Mr. Wiebe has also contributed significantly to policy deliberations at local, state, regional and national levels relevant to mental health reform and funding. His leadership has been invaluable in chairing the critically important Medicaid Committee of the National Association of County Behavioral Health Directors. He is a former president of NACBHD and the County Behavioral Health Institute, a Board member of the National Association of Counties and a Board member of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. In Kansas, he served on the Governor's Task Force on Mental Health Reform and was president of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas. His lifetime dedication to improving the services and operation of the behavioral health industry has transformed the lives of many. Those who have worked with him call him a dear friend, an inspiring mentor and a remarkable leader.

David L. Williams, Ph.D.
President and CEO, Ozark Guidance Center
Springdale, Arkansas

Dr. David Williams is described as "an individual of great humility who has produced heroic results." Throughout his more than thirty-year career, Dr. Williams has worked tirelessly to ensure that access to a full spectrum of consumer-centered treatment and rehabilitation is readily available to children, adults and families. Throughout his tenure at Ozark Guidance Center, Dr. Williams has built a system of care for children and adults that balances effectiveness, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Under his leadership, the Center has achieved full accreditation from the Joint Commission and has grown tenfold, now employing 500 people who provide treatment and support services to more than 15,000 individuals. In addition to establishing an impressive care delivery system within the four-county catchment area of Ozark Guidance, Dr. Williams works to influence local, state and national policy. From lobbying at the State House for appropriate funding to meeting one-on-one with U.S. Senators, Dr. Williams advocates for appropriate funding and to ensure that individuals with mental illnesses and addictions are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. A truly altruistic individual and leader, Dr. Williams' legacy is one of passionate service and advocacy for others.