Expert Insight Sessions

Aaron Williams, MA, has more than 20 years of experience providing training and technical assistance in behavioral health services, emphasizing substance use treatment, prevention, recovery, workforce development and the implementation of evidence-based practices in clinical settings. Williams has written and contributed to numerous articles and reports on commonly misused substances; primary care and substance use integration; screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment; mental health and primary care integration; behavioral health workforce development; recovery support; and the implementation of medications for the treatment of substance use disorders in clinical settings.

In recent years, Williams has managed several projects related to the adoption of substance use medication services in behavioral health and primary care settings and the development of recovery-oriented systems of care. These include Project ECHO-style learning collaboratives in which federally funded community health centers and other stakeholders from across the county participate in virtual learning sessions.

Additionally, Williams has developed tools and resources and provided subject matter expertise on substance use topics for varied stakeholders, including federal grantees, rural health providers and federal program staff.

Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College, a master’s degree in psychology from The Catholic University of America, and a certificate in strategic management from the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies.

Amelia (Ami) Roeschlein, DSW, is a licensed clinician and implementation scientist who has led behavioral health programs and trained behavioral health providers in academic medicine for the past 25 years. She is currently a sr. consultant at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, with a portfolio in Trauma-informed, Resilience-oriented Systems and Comprehensive Health Integration. She completed her doctorate at the University of Southern California with a focus on innovation and creating large-scale social change through transdisciplinary training of mental health practitioners, as well as a fellowship in leadership and community-informed practices.

Dr. Roeschlein has published research and has expertise in overdose prevention in reentry and incarcerated populations, interpersonal violence (including healing families and survivors of domestic violence), personality disorders and mentalization, Evidenced-Based practices and fidelity implementation, connection and belonging, co-occurring disorders, trauma-informed care, compassion cultivation, clinical supervision, adaptive leadership and integrated team-based health care.

Laura Leone, DSW, is a sr. consultant who has worked for the National Council for Mental Wellbeing since 2018 and in the behavioral health and integration field for over 25 years. She provides organizational leadership and direct services for children, adolescents, adults and older adults, in addition to presenting, publishing, training and consulting nationally. Dr. Leone has extensive subject matter expertise in bidirectional integration; evidence-based practices; mental health; organizational change and systems improvement; service delivery for a variety of different communities, settings and clinic types; substance use; suicide prevention, intervention and postvention; the crisis continuum; trauma-informed and resilience-oriented care and approaches; workforce development; and other health and wellness areas. She obtained her doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California, her master of science in social work from Columbia University, and her social work license from the state of New York.

Jeff Capobianco, PhD, has over 35 years of clinical, administrative and health care research experience. He has an extensive background in strategic planning to design and implement primary care, substance use disorder and mental health integration models for children and adults. With expertise in evidence-based practice implementation, Lean Six Sigma methodologies, Adaptive Leadership and learning community approaches to organizational change, he focuses on developing sustainable, efficient and effective approaches to health care services integration.

Dr. Capobianco has consulted with dozens of health care organizations, including state Medicaid departments, hospital systems and county health departments. Prior to joining the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, he held positions as a research investigator at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, where he continues to teach part time, and as the director of research and new program development for a behavioral health managed care organization. He holds a master’s in clinical psychology from Saint Michael’s College and a doctorate in program evaluation from Wayne State University.

Renee Boak, MPH, serves as a Sr. Advisor for the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. She specializes in implementing integrated behavioral health care models and continuous quality improvement efforts. Boak has extensive experience supporting organizations in achieving the CCBHC standard of care. She has also supported a variety of practice transformation efforts, including participating in the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration and implementation of a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) CCBHC-Expansion grant; participating in implementation of SAMHSA’s Medication Assisted Treatment Expansion grant; transitioning to an agency-wide, on-site pharmacy; and helping open five primary care clinics within a nonprofit behavioral health care organization, with two clinics eventually achieving Federally Qualified Health Center-lookalike status. Outside of her work at the National Council, Boak enjoys homesteading and is a beginner beekeeper.