Marvin Southard earned his MSW at UC Berkeley and his DSW at UCLA.  He served as Director of Clinical Services at El Centro Human Services Corporation in East LA for seven years and as Director of Mental Health in Kern County for five years, prior to being appointed Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health in 1998.  As Director, he faced the challenges of implementing the Mental Health Services Act, overseeing a multi-participant planning process and the transformation of the County-operated clinics.  Dr. Southard leads the largest public mental health system in the country, serving over 200,000 clients annually in one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the nation, with a budget of over $1 billion. Dr. Southard has been recognized for his dedication and leadership with the 2008 National Network for Social Work Managers Exemplar Award for outstanding achievement and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 2003 Award for Excellence in Community Mental Health Services, in recognition of ongoing efforts to building a comprehensive community care mental health system in Los Angeles County, among many other awards.

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