John Sheehe is the Co-Occurring Disorders System-wide Coordinator for LAC-DMH, part of the Office of the Medical Director. He earned his BA at San Francisco State and spent several years in the airline industry before returning to school to become certified as a Chemical Dependency Counselor and then to complete a Master’s in Social Work […]
Carol S. Hood earned her Bachelor’s degree at the University of California and her Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, before joining the California State Department of Mental Health’s Systems of Care Division in 1988. She managed the State’s effort to shift Medicaid mental health services to a managed care system in the 1990’s, […]
Russell “Rusty” Selix, J.D., was one of the most important advocates for increased funding and innovation in the California mental health system in recent years. He attended Northwestern University and earned his law degree at the University of California at Davis, before becoming a policy advocate. After working as the deputy city attorney for the […]
Lisa Wong originally planned to become a physician but became fascinated by psychology in medical school and instead chose a career in social work. During twenty-three years at Downtown Mental Health Center, she saw many change in the Skid Row area. At the time of the interview, she was Clinical Program Head for the Wellness, […]
Stacy Williams is a nurse with a Master’s in Health Administration. She finished her graduate degree just as the DMH clinics were beginning to transform under MHSA, which she saw as an exciting opportunity. After serving as head of Crisis Resolution at Downtown Mental Health Center, and later of the Wellness and CalWORKS programs there, […]
Suzane Wilbur received her master’s degree in nursing in 1983 and led mental health crisis units at Metropolitan State Hospital, at the Skid Row Mental Health Center (now Downtown Mental Health Center), and at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. In 1991, she worked with Dr. J.R. Elpers and the South Bay Chapter of NAMI to set up […]
Dan E. Weisburd is a distinguished writer, producer, director, story editor, publisher, and corporate executive who has worked for over 50 years in the motion picture, television, and educational media industries. In 1980, Dan’s eldest son David was diagnosed with schizophrenia while attending Harvard University. Frustrated by the difficulty of getting quality care for David, […]
Cathy Warner was named Deputy Director of the Adult System of Care for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) in 2008. Ms. Warner earned her Masters’ in Social Work from San Diego State and undertook diverse responsibilities during her career at DMH, running programs for adults with HIV and serving as the […]
The Rev. Richard Van Horn was Chief Executive Officer of Mental Health America in Los Angeles from 1980 through 2009. (From 1980 through 2006, the organization name was the Mental Health Association). He graduated from Harvard in 1961 and earned a Master in Divinity from the General Theological Seminary of New York in 1965. Ordained […]
Dion Tillman is a certified substance abuse counselor at LACDMH Palmdale Mental Health Center. Transcript