2016 Association Executives
Biographical Profiles
Jim Dill
Executive Director
Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards, AL
Jim Dill has served as the Executive Director of the Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards since the summer of 1982. Prior, he was Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham for 9 years. His career in the human service field also includes serving as a juvenile probation officer and teacher.
His role with the Alabama Council for the past 32 years involves representing the member agencies of the Alabama Council to the Alabama Legislature and to the Alabama Department of Mental Health. The primary focus of the Council during this period of time has been on transitioning the mental health system in Alabama from an institutional dominated system to a system of community based services throughout all regions of the state.
Jim has served two terms on the National Council Board, served as Vice Chair of the Public Policy Committee for about ten years, and has served as Chair of the State Association Division. Jim lives just south of Birmingham with his wife Diane. Jim and Diane have two daughters and two grandchildren who are active in church and community affairs, as well as attending countless ball games, recitals, horse shows, etc., as might be expected.
Emily Jenkins
President and CEO
Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, AZ
Emily Jenkins has been the President/CEO of the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers since January 2008. She has worked in the health field for much of her professional life. An attorney, Ms. Jenkins has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctorate from Arizona State University.
Her first major professional position was as Executive Director of the Arizona Family Planning Council. She developed the organization into a statewide association of family planning agencies. For fourteen years she worked at Tucson Medical Center, where she developed and directed an international health partnership that included most of the hospitals in Tucson and equivalent partners in Almaty, Kazakhstan. That project included the development of model centers in women’s health, toxicology, and emergency medicine. Her work with the Almaty Nursing College advanced the development of professional nursing and a nursing college in Almaty was named for her. While at TMC she also served as the Director of Government and Community Relations and Director of Foundation Grants and Community Partnerships.
Her professional career includes being a partner in the law firm of Reed, Goldstein and Jenkins-Reed, where she specialized in health care law. During this time she served as chair of the board of directors of Community Legal Services and on the board of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest.
Her volunteer work includes serving as the chair of the regional behavioral health authority for Southern Arizona and of the Juvenile Services Coordinating Council in Tucson, a broad based collaboration of agencies that addressed issues of children impacted by family violence and parental incarceration. She currently serves on the Department of Child Safety Community Advisory Committee, the Board of Directors of St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Center, the Juvenile Delinquency Alternative Initiative Task Force, and the board of Arizona Collegiate High School, where she was named Healthcare Leader of the Year in Public Policy by the Arizona Capitol Times in 2014. For her work in maternal and child health, she was given the William J. Moore Award by the Arizona Family Health: Partnership in 2014. She was given The Leadership in Advocacy Award in 2016 by the Arizona State University College of Applied Behavioral Health Policy at its Summer Institute
Rusty Selix
Executive Director
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, CA
Rusty Selix was the original author and leader of the Proposition 63 Campaign - the November 2004 California ballot measure, which is transforming California’s public mental health system.
It was his idea back in 2001, when no one took him seriously, and it was his leadership which guided the three year effort-primarily as the Executive Director of the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies - a statewide association of non-profit publicly funded mental health providers which he has served since 1986.
He has also serves as the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in California (also known as Mental Health America of California) since 1993.
He has been a leading expert in mental health policy and finance for the past 25 years and state and local government policy and finance for 35 years. He began his career as a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Sacramento working primarily in land use, environment, housing and public works issues from 1975 to 1978. He then became a lobbyist at the State Capitol for the League of California Cities continuing to focus on land use, environmental, transportation and housing issues. During this time, he also was elected to be the chairman of the State Bar’s Committee on Environmental Law.
When he left the League of California Cities in 1984, and started his own business called Creative Problem Solving, he initially provided consultation, advocacy, mediation, and other services on behalf of dozens of organizations before mental health advocacy became his primary focus.
Thomas Renfree
Deputy Director of Substance Abuse Disorder
County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California, CA
Tom is the Deputy Director of Substance Use Disorder Services for the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California (CBHDA). As the statewide advocacy association representing the behavioral health directors from all of California's counties,CBHDA was formed from the recent merger of the California Mental Health Directors Association and the County Alcohol & Drug Program Administrators Association of California (CADPAAC).
Prior to his current position, for almost fourteen years Tom worked for and represented CADPAAC, first as a legislative advocate, and from 2006 – 2014 as Executive Director of the association. In this role Tom was active in statewide efforts to increase local government funding and support for both adult and adolescent alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment services.
Tom has prior legislative experience working with two other public policy associations, including the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in history and political science from the University of California. Among his leadership goals are a commitment to work toward better public understanding of substance use disorder issues, and a commitment to help advance public support for behavioral health programs, their clients, and the workforce that directly provide prevention and treatment services.
Doyle Forrestal
Chief Executive Officer
Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, CO
Doyle Forrestal is the Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council (CBHC). Before rejoining CBHC in 2015, she served as the Executive Officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Region VIII, Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs. In that capacity she helped implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act with state and tribal governments across the states of Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota.
Prior to working with HHS, she was the Director of Public Policy with CBHC and worked with the Colorado Legislature for nearly a decade. She has over 18 years of experience guiding, developing and implementing legislative strategy and policy at the federal, state and local levels.
She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado, and her law degree from Denver University.
Peggy Hill
Chief Operations Officer
Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, CO
Peggy is the Chief Operations Officer of the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council, which is the membership organization for all the Community Behavioral Health Centers Managed Service Organizations, and Behavioral Health Organizations in Colorado. She is responsible for internal administrative leadership and member relations, as well as operational management of CBHC’s policy work, statewide programs, and conference planning. She has over thirty years of experience in public health and human services with a focus on violence prevention and program development, community service systems change, and policy advocacy.
Peggy was originally trained as a professional mental health counselor working with adolescents and adults in community settings. She has spent most of her career dedicated to community service improvement and advancing effective prevention efforts as part of long-term solution to complex health and social problems.
Mark Levota
Executive Director
District of Columbia Behavioral Health Association, DC
Mark LeVota joined the DC Behavioral Health Association as its new executive director in May.Mark comes to DCBHA from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, where he worked for nearly eleven years, including as the Director ofInstitutionalGivingfor the past eight years. Mark's fundraising and program development experience have included supporting operating activities and capital costs for behavioral health, physical health and legal clinical services, housing and homeless services, education and employment services, food and hunger relief services, services for people with developmental disabilities, and services meeting emergency basic needs. Mark earned his Master of Business Administration from the University Of Virginia Darden School Of Business, where he was a member of the first cohort for the MBA for Global Executives (GEMBA) format, studying general management with a focus on diversity and cross-cultural communications. Mark and his wife Janet Baran, a marine geophysicist and management analyst in the federal government, share a love of US National Parks.
Mark Fontaine
Executive Director
Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, FL
Board Member: At-Large Director
Mark Fontaine serves as the Executive Director of the Florida Behavioral Health Association (formed in 2015) and the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (since 2006). He leads the development of public policy related to behavioral medicine, substance use disorder prevention and treatment, mental health, juvenile and adult corrections, and recovery. Mr. Fontaine is the voice for community providers who deliver behavioral health services across Florida.
Mr. Fontaine manages an Association with an annual budget of $7.5 million and a staff of 14 professionals. He is on the Board of Directors of the National Council for Behavioral Health and a Governor Scott appointee to the State of Florida Drug Policy Advisory Council.
Previously Mr. Fontaine served as Executive Director of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association and project manager for the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). He has been providing leadership in the behavioral health and justice fields for over 35 years.
Mr. Fontaine has a Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree from Florida State University, holds Certified Addiction Professional (CAP) and Certified Criminal Justice Addiction Professional (CCJAP) credentials, and is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with the American Society of Association Executives.
Michael P. Hansen
President & Chief Executive Officer
Florida Council for Community Mental Health, FL
Michael “Mike” Hansen has been the President/CEO of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health since February 2014. Before he joined the Council, he retired from Florida government after 37 years of service in a variety of positions with the executive and legislative branches.
Mike spent most of his career in legislative staff positions, dealing initially with health policy issues, and then with state budgeting. He also spent 7 years in the governor’s office of policy and budget under Governor Jeb Bush, and served as Governor Bush’s state budget director in the Governor’s final three years in office. Mike also served as the Appropriations committee staff director for both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. Governor Scott appointed Mike to the position of Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), the state agency which serves persons with developmental disabilities. Mike enjoys a reputation in Tallahassee and around the State for his hands-on approach to management, and for what is generally regarded as his mastery of the intricacies and politics of state budgeting and healthcare. Hansen is widely credited for having led the financial and programmatic turnaround of APD during his tenure as Secretary.
Malory Otteson Shaughnessy
Executive Director
Illinois Association for Behavioral Health, IL
Malory Otteson Shaughnessy has over 25 years of advocacy and public policy experience. Shaughnessy served as a Cumberland County Commissioner and was a founding member of the Cumberland Public Health District. Shaughnessy served on the Board of the National Association of Counties and was appointed by Governor Baldacci to Chair the State Sentencing and Correction Practices Council. She is currently the Executive Director of the newly merged Alliance for Addiction and Mental Health Services, Maine. Representing over 30 provider organizations, the merger created the largest member organization focused on creating and sustaining a comprehensive and coordinated approach to meeting the needs of individuals and families burdened by the challenge of living with substance use disorders and/or mental health diagnoses. Shaughnessy received her Master’s in Public Policy with a concentration in Health Policy from the Muskie School of Public Service, and her BA in political science and economics from the University of Missouri. She has four grown sons and resides with her husband in Westbrook.
Sara Howe
Chief Executive Officer
Illinois Association for Behavioral Health, IL
Board Member: At-Large Director and Public Policy Committee Vice Chair
Sara Moscato Howe, MS, CHES, is Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health (ILDBH). Her responsibilities include state and federal policy, legislative analysis, and advocacy efforts on behalf of the more than 50 community-based substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery support service providers that comprise ILDBH’s membership. Ms. Howe also oversees the planning and implementation of the Association’s substance abuse prevention programs: Operation Snowball (OS) and the Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute (CGTI). She is Vice-Chair of the Illinois Department of Human Services Social Services Advisory Council, is a member of Illinois’ Human Services Commission, a co-chair of the Commission’s One Health & Human Services Workgroup, and is an At-Large Director on the National Council for Behavioral Health’s Board of Directors.
Ms. Howe joined the Association in 2000 from the Denver Public Health Department where she served as the coordinator of the Denver Alliance on Tobacco and Health. She is lead author of the October 2001 publication in the American Journal of Health Behavior: Evaluating a Fear Appeal Message to Reduce Alcohol Use Among “Greeks.” She holds a Master’s degree in Health Promotion with a research emphasis in collegiate peer alcohol abuse prevention from Purdue University and a Bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion, also from Purdue.