MHA Staff

Paul Gionfriddo

President and CEO

Paul Gionfriddo, President and CEO of Mental Health America (MHA), has worked in a variety of health and mental-health related positions during a career…

Taylor Adams

Manager, Workplace Mental Health

Taylor is the Manager of Workplace Mental Health at Mental Health America. She previously served as Manager of Programs and Operations and as Board Liaison…

Whitney Ball

Marketing and Outreach Manager

Whitney is the Marketing and Outreach Manager at Mental Health America. She helps manage the organization’s associate membership program as well as…

Kristina Benoist

Manager of IDONTMIND Program

Kristina Benoist is the Manager of the IDONTMIND program. She creates and manages content for the IDONTMIND Journal, as well as assisting in event …

Jennifer Cheang

Director of Digital Marketing

Jennifer develops and implements online marketing strategies to promote Mental Health America's programs, web-based resources and website. She curates…

Nathaniel Counts

Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health Innovation

Nathaniel Counts, JD is the Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health Innovation for Mental Health America (MHA) and Clinical Assistant Professor in the…

Sydney Daniello

Program Associate

Sydney Daniello is a Program Associate at Mental Health America (MHA). She assists in research and communications across departments, supports and…

Kelly Davis

Director of Peer Advocacy, Support, and Services

Kelly’s lived experience with mental health diagnoses and trauma are at the center of her passion for transforming how we support individuals and change…

Sachin Doshi

Director of Finance and Operations

Sachin coordinates day-to-day financial operations and supports the implementation of various digital initiatives across MHA. He has been involved with MHA…

Danielle Fritze

Associate Vice President of Public Education and Design

Danielle Fritze serves as Director of Public Education and Visual Communications for Mental Health America.  In this capacity, Danielle oversees MHA’s…

Mary Giliberti, J.D.

Executive Vice President of Policy

Mary Giliberti is the Executive Vice President of Policy at Mental Health America.  Mary focuses on federal policy to promote prevention, early…

Mohamed Hassan

Senior Web Developer

Mohamed became Senior Web Developer of Mental Health America in April 2017. As the Web Developer, Mohamed has the responsibility for oversight of the…

Patrick Hendry

Vice President of Peer Advocacy, Supports, and Services

Patrick has worked as a mental health advocate for the past 29 years. His areas of expertise include peer provided services, self-directed care, recovery…

Caren Howard

Advocacy Manager

Caren Howard currently serves as the Advocacy Manager for Mental Health America under the Vice President of Mental Health Systems and Advocacy, and she has…

Jessica Kennedy

Chief of Staff

Jessica Kennedy is the Chief of Staff at Mental Health America, where she has worked for over a decade. An expert in nonprofit management, she began her…

Michael King

Vice President of Office Services and Human Resources, Executive Assistant to the CEO

Michael has worked with MHA for 24 years. He is responsible for the day-to-day business operations of MHA. Additionally, he works with MHA staff…

Theresa Nguyen

Chief Program Officer and Vice President of Research and Innovation

As MHA’s Chief Program Officer and Vice President of Research and Innovation, Theresa works to improve access to mental health care through data and…

America Paredes

Associate Vice President of Partnerships & Community Outreach

America oversees Mental Health America's outreach and partnership efforts. In this role, she works to educate the community about MHA…

Debbie Plotnick

Vice President of State and Federal Advocacy

Debbie F. Plotnick, MSS, MLSP is the Vice President for Mental Health and Systems Advocacy at Mental Health America (MHA). Previously, she was the Director…

Maddy Reinert

Manager of Population Health

Maddy Reinert joined Mental Health America (MHA) in 2018, and serves as Program Manager of Population Health. In her role at MHA, Maddy manages the MHA…

Victoria R. Renard, MPA

Vice President of Development

Victoria directs all aspects of development efforts at Mental Health America working with corporations, foundations, and individual partners and represents…

Catherine Reynolds

Program Marketing Manager

Catherine joined the Mental Health America team in 2017. She assists with the Annual Conference, marketing requests, social media, web content, and other…

Kevin Rushton

Program Manager of Digital Solutions

Kevin Rushton manages content for Mental Health America’s Screening 2 Supports platform. He writes and edits articles designed to help readers understand…

Edward Schmit

Director of the IDONTMIND program

Edward co-founded IDONTMIND in 2017, a mental health awareness campaign and lifestyle brand working to defeat stigma and inspire conversations about…

Emily Skehill

Program Manager of Public Education and Awareness

Emily Skehill is the Program Manager of Public Education and Awareness at Mental Health America (MHA). She develops digital content to support individuals…

Valerie H. Sterns

Vice President of Affiliate Services

Valerie works to further strengthen MHA’s relationship with its 200+ affiliated community-based organizations, providing strategic and technical assistance…

Erin Wallace

Vice President of Communications and Marketing and Chief Communications Officer

Erin directs the MHA’s internal and external communications and marketing efforts, including the organization’s overall messaging, branding, and public…

Joseph N. de Raismes III, JD

Pro Bono General Counsel

We lost our dear friend Joe on July 10, 2020, after his many years of service to MHA. We mourn that loss, and celebrate his many contributions to our field…

Ben Harrington

RPC Representative, MHA East Tennessee

Ben Harrington is the CEO of the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee and has held this position since 1994.   Mr. Harrington is actively…

Barbara Johnston

RPC Representative, MHA New Jersey

Barbara Johnston is the Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Mental Health Association in New Jersey (MHANJ).  Barb has worked in healthcare for…

Moe Keller

RPC Representative, MHA Colorado

Moe Keller is Vice President of Public Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Mental Health Colorado since 2010. Before her work with MHAC, Moe served…

Shannah Mulvihill

RPC Representative, Mental Health Minnesota

Shannah Mulvihill is the  Executive Director and CEO of Mental Health Minnesota, a position she has held since 2015. Shannah has worked in the non-…