CMHS STAFF NOTES

Office of the Director

In July 2000, Thomas Bornemann, Ed.D., Deputy Director, CMHS, was temporarily reassigned to the World Health Organization's World Bank Mental Health Reform Initiative in Geneva, Switzerland. In his absence, Anna Marsh, Ph.D., is serving as Acting Deputy Director. Dr. Marsh has worked for the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and its predecessor agency since 1985. She served as a program analyst at Saint Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., a public health analyst in the Office for Substance Abuse Prevention, and a social science analyst at the National Institute of Mental Health. She was Chief of the Quality Assurance and Evaluation Branch at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and Deputy Director of the Office of Applied Studies. Dr. Marsh received her Ph.D. in psychology from Yale University, where she served as a fellow at the Bush Center on Child Development and Social Policy.

Office of Policy, Planning, and Administration

The Office of Policy, Planning, and Administration has a new Presidential Management Intern. Alexandra Wittig, M.S.W., is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where her studies focused on children and families.

Division of Knowledge Development and Systems Change

The Homeless Programs Branch of the Division of Knowledge Development and Systems Change has two new staff members. Pam Fischer, Ph.D., is a Knowledge Development Specialist who will work on two multi-site initiatives, the Supported Housing Initiative and the Homeless Families Program. Before joining CMHS, Dr. Fischer was an associate professor in the School of Medicine and the School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. She has extensive experience in designing programs and conducting research on homelessness.

Phyllis Wolfe, M.A., M.S.W., brings to CMHS more than 30 years of experience in policy, program, practice, and advocacy with vulnerable populations. She will support the knowledge application and social marketing efforts of the Homeless Programs Branch. In the 1980s, Ms. Wolfe began one of the first publicly funded mental health programs for the homeless in Washington, D.C. She also chaired the D.C. Coalition for the Homeless and helped to develop and implement the Health Care for the Homeless Project.

Division of Program Development, Special Populations, and Projects

The Division of Program Development, Special Populations, and Projects has several important items to announce with regard to staff. The first of these concerns the promotion of Brian Flynn, Ed.D., Director of the Division, to Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, effective October 1, 2000.

The Division also has several new staff members. Maria Baldi joins the Division to assist in the development, management, and implementation of all aspects of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, with a special focus on activities related to children and adolescents. She comes to CMHS from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. For more than 2 years, she served as the Co-director for the Bureau's Emergency Medical Services for Children grant program, the only Federal program that focuses solely on improving the quality of emergency care for children. Ms. Baldi has 27 years of experience with public health service agencies, including spending 2 years with the USAID Child Survival Programs in Quito, Ecuador, and serving as manager of the National Advisory Eye Council at the National Institutes of Health National Eye Institute.

Susan Stromberg joins the Division's Emergency Services and Disaster Relief Branch to develop and enhance CMHS initiatives with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, focusing on mental health services for crime victims. Prior to joining CMHS, she was with the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston, where she provided Coast Guard families with assistance and support in educational, medical, social, and legal areas. Ms. Stromberg has experience in policy and regulatory activities related to special supplemental food programs with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she worked with State agencies to ensure compliance with regulations. She was also a caseworker in foster care and child protective services at the Department of Social Services in Suffolk County, New York.

Dr. Teresa Chapa joins the Division's Special Programs Development Branch to assist CMHS in reducing ethnic and cultural disparities in mental health care and in engaging communities to reduce school violence. She will provide guidance on defining and achieving cultural competence standards and will participate in the development, implementation, and coordination of major CMHS minority health initiatives. Dr. Chapa has more than 20 years of experience in mental health, social services, and community advocacy. She was the Chief Operating Officer at Chicanos Latinos Unidos en Servicio, a community-based nonprofit organization that provides mental and chemical health programs, education, employment development, and services for senior citizens to Hispanic populations. She also served as the chairperson for the State of Minnesota Chicano/Latino Affairs Council, an advisory group to the Governor and other State officials on Latino issues. Dr. Chapa holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. She has a master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she was a BUSH Foundation Scholar.

Michelle Bechard joins the Division's Special Programs Development Branch to work on the Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative. She has more than 22 years of experience in the administration, management, and evaluation of public and private mental health care programs. At the Devereux Foundation, she was the Director of Human Resources and Administrative Services for mental health treatment programs for children and adolescents who were referred by the juvenile justice and child abuse and neglect service systems.

Denise Middlebrook, Ph.D., also joins the Special Programs Development Branch to work on knowledge development and program evaluation for the Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative and the School Action Grant initiative. Before joining CMHS, she was with the National Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, Division of American Indian and Alaska Native Programs, at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Prior to joining the university center, she was a counselor for American Indian students on campus at the University of Colorado.

Pat Shea, M.S.W., M.A., joins the Special Programs Development Branch to work on projects related to youth violence prevention and promotion of resiliency in at-risk children and their families. Ms. Shea has administrative experience in accessing services for youth in State custody.

Division of State and Community Systems Development

Eugene Wolfe, Esq., joins CMHS as Chief of the State Planning and Systems Development Branch, Division of State and Community Systems Development. Throughout his 22-year career, Mr. Wolfe has held top Federal- and State-level posts, where he developed and administered advocacy and service programs for adults and children with mental, emotional, and substance abuse disorders. Mr. Wolfe has provided leadership and direction in the development and administration of programs that provide community-based alternatives to institutional treatment for adults and children. He also has extensive experience with formula and discretionary grant programs and is skilled at working with Federal and State lawmakers and the judiciary on a broad range of public health, mental health, and other human service delivery systems. The State Planning and Systems Development Branch also has two new staff members for its Mental Health Block Grant program. Jeanette Miller comes on board as a Public Health Advisor to the program. Brunilda Nunez also joins the Block Grant staff.

Go To Report

Page One: Year-end Report

Page Two: Legislative Update

Page Three: Program Activities and Initiatives

Page Four: Division of Knowledge Development and Systems Change

Page Five: Division of Program Development, Special Populations, and Projects

Page Six: Division of State and Community Systems Develpment

Page Seven: CMHS Staff Notes