68 new behavioral health leaders to know in 2023

Here are 68 behavioral health leadership appointments Becker's has reported on in 2023:

1. Jackson, Miss.-based Defining Wellness Centers appointed Heather Kent as its next executive director.
2. Mental health and substance use treatment provider Forge Health named Paul Martino as its next chair of the board of directors.
3. Cincinnati-based Central Clinic Behavioral Health announced Kimberly Mages, PhD, will be its next president and CEO.
4. Juno Beach, Fla.-based Beach House Behavioral Health appointed Candance Henderson as executive chairman.
5. Maine Behavioral Healthcare appointed Lee Wolfrum, DO, as medical director of Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook.
6. Los Angeles-based Path Mental Health appointed Jay Meyers as its next chief commercial officer.
7. Path Mental Health appointed David Katcher as its chief operating officer.
8. Tracey Straba was appointed Path Mental Health's first general counsel.
9. Chris Veal, MSN, RN, was appointed CEO for the Northwest Texas Healthcare System Behavioral Health Hospital in Amarillo.
10. Brett Hart, PhD, joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota as vice president of behavioral health and mental health parity.
11. Patrice Harris, MD, was appointed to Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia Healthcare's board of directors.
12. Nikole Benders-Hadi, MD, was appointed chief medical officer of online behavioral healthcare company Talkspace. 
13. Colby Newsome, PharmD, was named director of behavioral health pharmacy for Appalachian Regional Healthcare.
14. Magdalena Spariosu, MD, was named director of behavioral health for Englewood (N.J.) Health.
15. Springfield, Mo.-based Burrell Behavioral Health appointed Kristen Weaver as the executive director of the Burrell Foundation.
16. Centene promoted Wendy Welch, MD, to chief medical officer for its behavioral health business.
17. Donna Anthony, MD, PhD, was named director and team lead of the neuropsychiatric program at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn.
18. Charles Heitman transitioned into the new role of behavioral health and community relations specialist for Mountain Home, Ark.-based Baxter Health.
19. Jon Stout was appointed chief business officer of Motivo, a clinical supervision platform that connects therapists with virtual clinical supervisors to complete the therapist licensure process.
20. Rosemary McLaughlin was named the inaugural executive director of Nantucket, Mass.-based Community Solutions for Behavioral Health.
21. Carelon Behavioral Health, a subsidiary of Elevance Health, named Manuel Arisso as chief network officer.
22. Julia Bernstein was appointed chief operating officer of Brightside Health, a telehealth company offering mental healthcare to people with clinical depression, anxiety and other mood disorders.
23. Richard Hallworth was appointed president and CEO of Coral Gables, Fla.-based behavioral health provider Acorn Health.
24. James Butler, MD, PhD, was named the new chief medical officer of Oceans Healthcare, based in Plano, Texas.
25. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek appointed Juliana Wallace behavioral health initiative director in the governor's office.
26. Stacey Trooskin, MD, PhD, was named executive medical officer of the Mazzoni Center, a health and wellness center serving Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ community.
27. Rajendra Badgaiyan, MD, was appointed chair of the department of psychiatry for Cleveland-based MetroHealth System.
28. Mark Russ, MD, was named chief medical officer of Silver Hill Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, Conn.
29. Crawford County Mental Health Center in Pittsburg, Kan., appointed Jeffrey Burch, PsyD, its next director of behavioral justice services.
30. Melanie Hake was appointed executive director of Erie, Pa.-based Stairways Behavioral Health.
31. Guy Maytal, MD, was appointed chief of integrated care and head of psycho-oncology for value-based mental health and substance use care provider Forge Health.
32. James Wolak, MD, was named South Portland-based Maine Behavioral Healthcare's vice president of medical affairs, intensive services.
33. Jason Staats was appointed CEO of Erlanger-based SUN Behavioral Health Kentucky.
34. Barry Herman, MD, was named chief medical officer of ADHD Online — an organization offering HIPAA-secured ADHD assessments online from licensed psychologists — and its parent company, Mentavi Health.
35. Brent Forester, MD, joined Tufts Medicine as psychiatrist-in-chief and chair for the department of psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.
36. Christian Losch was named CEO of Casa Palmera, a residential and outpatient behavioral health treatment center in Del Mar, Calif.
37. Kevin Andrews was named the next COO of Palm Springs, Fla.-based Retreat Behavioral Health.
38. Collegiate Behavioral Health Associates named Steve Wigginton CEO. 
39. Ellie Mental Health tapped Melissa Amponsah as its first chief marketing officer. 
40. Ryan Wade, MD, was appointed medical director of the Freedom Institute, an addiction treatment center in New York City.

41. Brightline, a virtual behavioral health provider for children, selected Myra Altman, PhD, as its new chief clinical officer.
42. Coleman Matthews was named the new CEO of El Dorado, Ark.-based Newhaven Counseling and Health Services.
43. Nashville, Tenn.-based Centerstone has named Anne Tyree CEO for its Illinois region.
44. Tiffany Lacy Clark was named the new president and CEO of St. Louis-based Behavioral Health Response.
45. Gregory Bledsoe, MD, joined Kindly Human, a peer counseling platform for behavioral health support, as a strategic adviser.
46. Franklin, Tenn.-based mental health treatment provider Summit BHC named Paul Gilbert its chief legal officer. 
47. Irvine, Calif.-based Discovery Behavioral Health named Sharon Zimbler as regional vice president of its eating disorder division.
48. Telepsychiatry company Brightside Health appointed Chris Murray its CFO. 
49. Aware Recovery Care, an in-home mental health and substance use treatment provider, named Lauren Grawert, MD, its chief medical officer.
50. Landmark Recovery, a Nashville, Tenn.-based inpatient addiction treatment provider, named Matt Boyle as its CEO.
51. AJ Henry was appointed COO of Landmark Recovery.
52. Matthew DiGiacobbe was named CFO of Landmark Recovery.
53. Jason Kirby, DO, was appointed chief medical officer of Landmark Recovery.
54. Landmark Recovery selected Justin Hartman as chief revenue officer.
55. Katharine Woods, DO, was named chief medical officer of the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals and Eleanor Slater Hospital in Cranston. 
56. David McIntosh was appointed CEO of Indianapolis-based Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers, which has locations across 12 states.
57. St. Louis-based Ascension named Greg Sizemore CEO of its Nashville, Tenn.-based Saint Thomas Behavioral Health Hospital, a joint venture with Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia Healthcare.
58. Digital health and wellness platform Noom named Linda Anegawa, MD, its first medical director.
59. Mill Brown, MD, was named chief medical officer of Spring Health, the developer of a digital mental healthcare platform.
60. Centre Hall, Pa.-based Meadows Psychiatric Center named Rod Kornrumpf its new CEO and manager director.
61. Ryan Boxill, PhD, was named executive vice president and COO of East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.
62. Miriam Hamideh, PhD, was elected president of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association.
63. Mark Palmenter was named chief marketing officer of Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia Healthcare, one of the largest networks of behavioral health facilities in the U.S.
64. Michele Broadnax was appointed to the board of directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness' Greater Los Angeles County chapter. 
65. Kimiko Boyd was named chief operations officer of San Diego-based Concert Health, a national mental health medical group.
66. Katie McLaughlin, PhD, was appointed the first executive director of the new Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health at the University of Oregon in Portland.
67. The American Hospital Association's Committee on Behavioral Health selected Matthew Stanley, DO, as its 2023 chair.

Jill Howard, RN, was appointed the 2023 chair-elect for the AHA behavioral health committee.