Alfredo Aquirre, MSW, is the Director of Behavioral Health Services for San Diego County.  He received his Master’s Degree in Social Welfare in 1978 from UC Berkeley and was Director of the Children’s System of Care for Mental Health in San Mateo County, before becoming Assistant Director for Children’s Mental Health in San Diego in 1999.  He combined this position with that of Acting Assistant Director for Adult/Older Adult Mental Health for a number of years, during which he led the MHSA transformation of services in the County.  He became Director of Mental Health in 2007 and assumed his current position in 2012.

He has a special interest in cultural competency development and has worked to increase capacity to serve individuals with co-occurring disorders, to reduce disparities for ethnic communities in seeking care, and to establish primary care based mental health services.

Mr. Aguirre also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Network of Social Work Managers, is a member of the California Mental Health Director Association and the organization’s Co-Chair of the Ethnic Services Committee, and is a member of SAMHSA’s Child, Adolescent and Family Branch Council on Collaboration and Coordination.

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