National Council for Behavioral Health

Rich Leclerc was President and CEO of Gateway Healthcare, a network of eleven nonprofit community behavioral health and human service organizations serving approximately 15,000 individuals annually and employing approximately 800 staff. He serves as chair of the Audit Committee for the National Council for Behavioral Health and is Vice Chair of the Public Policy Committee. Richard is a director and vice chair of the RI Council of Community Mental Health Organizations; member of the board of directors of the Pawtucket Credit Union, Pawtucket Foundation; and is a director and officer of the Rhode Island Quality Institute.

Robert N. Davison, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Montclair, NJ-based Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris, Inc., is an accomplished professional who has been serving the mental health needs of communities throughout New Jersey for more than 25 years.

In his role as Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris, Inc.’s CEO, Davison manages the overall operations of a comprehensive community mental health facility that each day serves the needs of more than 1000 individuals and their families who are confronted with mental illnesses or emotional disturbances. A staunch advocate for humane, compassionate, and ethical treatment of individuals who suffer from mental illness, Mr. Davison has helped to establish the Mental Health Association of Essex County as one of the state’s premiere service providers.

In addition to his professional service, Davison maintains his interest in community issues in a variety of other ways. He is a founding Board member of the Newark-based Partnership for Children of Essex County, a child-welfare agency, and is also is a founding member and past president of Advance Housing, a community-based organization whose mission is to provide independent, normalized living arrangements for individuals with mental illnesses. A former 3-term councilman in Caldwell, he also served as a legislative aide to Assemblyman John F. McKeon. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of The Bridge, Inc., a non-profit family service agency based in Caldwell.

In November, 2004, Mr. Davison’s commitment to public service was recognized and advanced when he was called upon to serve as Chairman of New Jersey Governor Richard J. Codey’s Task Force on Mental Health. Over a period of fourteen months, the Task Force addressed key issues such as housing, community-based services, insurance parity, and state and county psychiatric hospitals. Their work and the Task Force’s Final Report provided a blueprint for overhauling and comprehensively reforming New Jersey’s mental health system.

In 2006, Mr. Davison served on Governor Jon Corzine’s Transition Team for Human Services and on Governor Corzine’s Policy Advisory Council on Human Services Restructuring. In 2007 Mr. Davison was appointed to the Governor’s Campus Security Task Force. Mr. Davison served on the New Jersey Attorney General’s Less-lethal Advisory Committee. In Nov. 2008 Mr. Davison was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Police Suicide. In 2009, Davison was elected to the Board of Directors of Active Minds, Inc. a national organization focusing on College and University mental health, located in Washington, DC. In 2014 he was appointed by the Chief Justice of the New Jersey State Supreme Court to the Judiciary’s Mental Health Implementation Committee. Mr. Davison was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Council for Behavioral Health, beginning his term on July 1, 2015.

A 1984 graduate of Seton Hall University, Davison received his Master’s Degree in Counseling from Montclair State University in 1990. In addition to his academic credentials, Davison is a Licensed Professional Counselor (L.P.C.).

Cari is a licensed social worker who has been working in community mental health for over 20 years. She started her career working on the inpatient psychiatric unit at Montgomery General Hospital and then at Threshold Services residential rehabilitation program. She received her MSW from the University of Maryland in 1995 and worked for Johns Hopkins Bayview Mental Health Capitation Program Creative Alternatives in Baltimore for 3 years. She returned to Threshold Services in 1997 and served as a Residential Program Director, Rehabilitation Director and Clinic Director as well as the Chief Operating Officer. Ms. Cho has been actively involved in implementing evidence based practices, including Family Psychoeducation, Integrated Treatment for Co-occurring Disorders, Motivational Interviewing, Illness Management and Recovery, Supported Employment and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. She facilitates training and consulting on these topics in Maryland and DC. In 2012, Threshold Services merged with St. Luke’s House and became Cornerstone Montgomery. Ms. Cho is the President and CEO. Cornerstone is the largest provider of mental health services in Montgomery County serving over 2400 people. Cari is a member of Rotary and serves on the Board of Directors for Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland. She was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the National Council for Behavioral Health.

Dr. Steven Ronik is currently the Chief Executive Officer for Henderson Behavioral Health. Henderson is a nationally recognized behavioral health system, known for its innovative and leading evidence-based clinical services. Prior to his current role, Dr. Ronik held several leadership positions at Zucker/Hillside Hospital at Northwell Health, formerly known as the Northshore/LIJ Healthcare System in New York City.

Dr. Ronik has served as the Chairperson of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health—the leading trade association for behavioral healthcare organizations in Florida. He has been recognized for his leadership with numerous awards, including the Ultimate CEO Award from the South Florida Business Journal, the EPIC Award from the Mental Health Association of Southeast Florida, Advocate of the Year Award from Broward County, and the Time Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Dr. Ronik is a board member for the National Council for Behavioral Health and Mental Health Corporations of America.
Dr. Ronik currently serves as adjunct professor for Nova Southeastern University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree with highest honors, from the State University College of New York at Oneonta, an MSW from Adelphi University, and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Ronik also provides consultation services to many organizations relative to leadership, management, and organizational development.

Edward Woods was first appointed to the Board of Directors for LifeWays Community Mental Health in 1990. Mr. Woods has served on the boards of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, Jackson County Community Foundation, The Enterprise Group, Jackson Area Manufacturers Association, Jackson County Foster Care Review Board, National Association of Foster Care Reviewers, Allegiance Health Quality Council, and Catholic Charities. In 2010 Mr. Woods was elected to serve as president of the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards (MACMHB), is an active member of the MACMHB Executive committee, and is chairperson of the MACMHB Cultural Diversity Committee. On March 27, 2012, Ed was reappointed to the LifeWays Board by the Jackson County Commissioners for another 3-year term. During his tenure at LifeWays, he has held every board officer position and has chaired all board standing committees at least once.

Danette Castle serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Council of Community Centers. As an association, the Texas Council represents the thirty (39) Community Centers of Texas on public policy and legislative matters affecting the statewide public system of care for people with intellectual disabilities, serious mental illness and substance use disorders.
Beginning in 1978 as a direct care provider at a state school in Iowa, Ms. Castle embarked on a career that spans over thirty (30) years of service and leadership for people with disabilities. Prior to assuming the position at the Texas Council in January 2008 she served as the CEO of the Lubbock Regional MHMR Center.

Throughout her career, Ms. Castle has been recognized as a leader who makes things happen at the local, state and national level—someone who never lets go of the vision of an America that defines ‘opportunity for all’ as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every citizen—with and without disability. She has served at the local, state and national level on countless boards, committees and workgroups—all dedicated to improving access to quality services for people who face the challenges of intellectual disabilities, serious mental illness and substance use disorders.

Ms. Castle holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Master’s degree in Education from Texas Tech University.

Pat Coleman is President and CEO of Behavioral Health Response, Inc. (BHR). BHR is a professionally staffed and accredited clinical contact center that provides expert behavioral health and crisis response services through a variety of platforms 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to agencies and companies worldwide.

Pat’s professional career and educational achievements exemplify her belief that faith, family and community can shape and reshape the course of one’s life. She holds an MBA from Fontbonne University and a Bachelor of Science from St. Louis University. She’s been with BHR since 1997; has held various positions and in December 2012 was appointed to her current role.

Pat is adjunct faculty for Washington University Brown School of Social Work and teaches a class titled: (Managing People).

Pat serves as Advisory Board Chair for Fontbonne University Eckelcamp’s Business School, board member of Metropolitan Zoological Parks and Museum District, executive committee board member of the St. Louis Regional Chamber, and Director (Region 7) -National Council for Behavioral Health.

Driven by challenge, undaunted by obstacles, decisive and hands on, Pat Coleman integrates faith, family, and community by valuing innovation, remaining flexible to change and being committed to excellence through teamwork.

As Chief of Operations for Valle del Sol, Carmen Heredia oversees program operations of integrated behavioral health and primary care health centers. Valle del Sol is a federally qualified health center with eight locations in Maricopa County and nine locations in New Mexico. Having served the community for fifteen years at Valle del Sol in several management and direct-care positions, her focus has been promoting quality service delivery and organizational excellence. Carmen is currently transitioning to the role of Chief Executive Officer of Valle del Sol.

Carmen is a double-devil, having received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Arizona State University. She is Licensed Master Social Worker in Arizona and focused on planning and administration in her degree program.

She is currently serving as the Vice Chair of the Board of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Carmen and serves on the boards of the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, the Mesa Arts Center Foundation, and was recently elected to serve on the Board of the National Council of Behavioral Health representing Region VIII. She is an alum of the National Council’s Addressing Healthcare Disparities Leadership Program.

A leader in her community and organization, Carmen strives for equality and inclusion of underserved populations especially regarding access to quality healthcare and education. As a Mexican immigrant, she passionately volunteers in Latino engagement and voting efforts with her family. Carmen lives in Mesa, Arizona, with her husband and three children.

Dr. Vitka Eisen is the CEO of HealthRIGHT 360, a Federally Qualified Health Center and one of the largest providers of behavioral health services to homeless and low income individuals in California. With over 25 years of experience in the human services field, Dr. Eisen has dedicated her career to supporting people and communities struggling with addiction and incarceration through the provision of integrated, compassionate, and relevant care. Since being named CEO of HealthRIGHT 360 in 2010, Dr. Eisen has led the organization through seven mergers, growing the organization to serve over 40,000 individuals annually.

Dr. Eisen earned an M.S.W. from San Francisco State University, and a Doctorate in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a person in long term recovery from substance use disorder; having participated in treatment 30 years ago at the agency she now leads.