Advocacy & Public Policy

Your MHA Staff Contacts

  Mary Giliberti, J.D. (For federal policy questions)
  Chief Public Policy Officer
  mgiliberti@mhanational.org or 797-2583

 Debbie Plotnick (For national advocacy, RPC, or any state questions)
  Executive Vice President of State and Federal Advocacy
  dplotnick@mhanational.org or 703-797-4316

 Caren Howard (For legislative outreach and technical assistance)
  Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy
  choward@mhanational.org or (703) 797-2585

Regional Policy Council

MHA’s Regional Policy Council (RPC) is a group of policy experts from the affiliate field who exhibit strategic leadership in state and federal advocacy and commit to mentoring other affiliates that wish to grow their policy impact. RPC Representatives hold regularly scheduled calls with affiliates to discuss issues and best practices to advance the B4Stage4 Philosophy and host meetings and webinars throughout the year that are open to all affiliate staff. MHA provides a yearly stipend to affiliates that choose to participate in at least one RPC meeting in person to offset the travel costs of attending. MHA established the RPC in 2009 to work with MHA's Public Policy and Advocacy Department to cultivate a constructive partnership with the affiliate field, state policy leaders, and other mental health stakeholders working together to initiate, advocate for, and implement federal and state policies that positively affect children, youth, and adults living with mental health and substance use conditions.

Affiliates with presence in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. are represented by:

Barbara Johnston
Director of Advocacy
MHA in New Jersey
bjohnston@mhanj.org
Phone: (973) 571-4100 ext 137

Affiliates with presence in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia are represented by:

Ben Harrington
CEO
MHA of East Tennessee
Email: ben@mhaet.com
Phone: (865) 604-0096

Affiliates with presence in Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are represented by:

Laura Evans
Vibrant Emotional Health

Affiliates with presence in Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin are represented by:

Shannah Mulvihill
Executive Director
Mental Health Minnesota
Email: shannahm@mentalhealthmn.org
Phone: (651) 493-6634

Upcoming events

• Summer 2021 RPC Meetings: From Diversion To Deflection To Prevention
  The Regional Policy Council (RPC) will hold a two-part virtual series for its summer meetings for affiliates, policymakers, and stakeholders.

  • Virtual RPC Meeting Coinciding With The American Legislative Exchange Council Summer Meeting: July 28, 2021

  • Virtual RPC Meeting Coinciding With The National Conference Of State Legislatures Legislative Summit: August 3, 2021

• In-Person RPC meeting coinciding with the Council of State Governments annual conference: December 1, 2021

Past events

• Virtual RPC meeting coinciding with the National Governor's Association winter meeting: February 12, 2021
• 2020 Virtual Summer RPC Meeting - August 12 about COVID-19, Inequities, Policing and Peers
• 2020 Policy Institute - September 1 about Youth, Disparities, Prevention, Workforce and Payment
• 2020 December RPC Meeting - Date/Topics TBA
• 2020 Virtual Hill Day - May 11 Kickoff, Toolkit, Social Media for Funding, School-based services, and 988

2020 Legislative Priorities

1. Financing, Training and Integration of the Peer Workforce
2. Prevention and Early Intervention for Children and Young Adults
3. Workplace Mental Health
4. Integration and Access to Care
5. Suicide Prevention and Crisis Stabilization

Helpful Resources

• MHA’s Position Statements: MHA’s Public Policy Committee draft these deeply-researched, rich position statements with input from affiliates on a broad range of topics.
• MHA’s Action Alerts: To promote collective advocacy, MHA creates campaigns for affiliates and the public to flag various issues for Congress and the Administration.
• MHA Policy Team Twitter: Follow MHA’s policy twitter to read and retweet reports and to share with your followers our action alerts.Congressional Management Foundation: A trusted organization that helps advocates connect effectively with members of Congress.
• Alliance for Justice: Bolder Advocacy: A helpful multi-faceted organization that among other things trains organizations on how to conduct effective advocacy.