The 2024 OPEN MINDS Children’s Services Executive Summit
What’s New? Emerging & Expanding Program Models For Children & Adolescents
Attend the only single day event dedicated to groundbreaking programs and cutting-edge service line opportunities for the under-18 population.
The current health care landscape emphasizes the critical importance of children’s and adolescents’ mental health, evident in the staggering 61% surge in emergency department visits and inpatient admissions between 2016 and 2022. This stark increase in demand calls for new, innovative models that can address the urgent mental health needs of children.
Join us for the 2024 OPEN MINDS Children’s Services Summit and discover how leading provider organizations are staying ahead of the competition with telepsychiatry, peer support programs, and services for transition age youth.
Attendees will dive into the intricacies of three innovative models and their successful approaches to identifying the right model, efficiently managing budgets, allocating time and costs, and establishing pivotal partnerships with managed care organizations.
* Indicates An OPEN MINDS Leadership & Management Course With Course Hours
2024 Summit Agenda
The Current Landscape Of Youth Mental Health In America
Join OPEN MINDS and Mental Health America for the 2024 OPEN MINDS Children’s Services Summit opening session and dive into the intricacies of today’s youth mental health landscape. Attendees will engage in a comprehensive examination of current insights and trends that defining the industry, while gaining valuable foresight into the future.
Kelly Davis
Kelly Davis is the Vice President of Peer and Youth Advocacy at Mental Health America, where she works on the expansion of peer support and young adult leadership. She is passionate about lived experience-driven programs, policies, organizations, and research. Kelly has been awarded the Disruptive Innovator Award by the National Association of Peer Supporters and the National Peer Leader of the Year Award by Peerpocalypse. She is a certified yoga teacher and holds a certificate in Applied Positive Psychology from The Flourishing Center.
Kelly and her work have appeared in the New York Times, Teen Vogue, NBC Nightly News, NPR, and the White House. She recently earned her master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania where she served as a research assistant in the Perelman School of Medicine studying lived experience perspectives of inpatient psychiatric units. She is currently pursuing a certificate of specialization in mental health leadership from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Kimberly Bond, MS, LMFT
Kimberly Bond, MS, LMFT, brings more than 30 years of experience providing behavioral health treatment in the public and community settings to the OPEN MINDS team. She currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Business Development. In this role, Ms. Bond focuses on growing the OPEN MINDS client portfolio across all nine verticals of OPEN MINDS business.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Bond served concurrently as a Program Coordinator III and Clinical Manager of Adult Services and a Program Coordinator II and Clinical Manager of Recovery Services for the Ozark Guidance Center. In these roles, Ms. Bond was responsible for the administrative and clinical oversight of the adult outpatient and adult intensive mental health services on the Springdale Campus as well as the adult recovery/co-occurring services, including domestic violence and anger management treatment.
Prior to joining the Ozark Guidance Center, Ms. Bond served as the Executive Vice President of Center Point, Inc, a large substance abuse provider agency in California. In this role, Ms. Bond was responsible for the clinical and administrative supervision of all community-based programs as well as the women and children residential programs. In addition, Ms. Bond also managed budgets, interacted with funding agencies, and built positive relationships with all stakeholders. Ms. Bond was also in charge of proposal and grant writing, staff management, and training, facilities’ licensing and certifications renewals. Additionally, she prepared and submitted monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports to various funders.
Previously, Ms. Bond served as the President and CEO of Mental Health Systems, Inc. Ms. Bond was very instrumental in growing the agency from $12 million in annual revenue to more than $100 million and becoming one of the largest providers of behavioral health services in California. In this role, Ms. Bond was responsible for the strategic, clinical, financial, and administrative health of the agency, including direct supervision of Senior Executive Staff. In addition, Bond ensured contract compliance of the agency’s 125 different contracts across federal and state agencies and eight counties.
Ms. Bond received her bachelor’s degree in psychology, with honors, and her master’s degree in counseling education from San Diego State University. She is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in both California and Arkansas.
Breaking Down Barriers — Revolutionizing Access To Care For Adolescent Psychiatry
There are now over 1,100 organizations offering direct-to-consumer services via telehealth; this trend is revolutionizing access to care and amplifying service delivery opportunities for provider organizations. In this session, learn from Array Behavioral Health, the nation’s largest telepsychiatry service provider, what it takes to provide high quality and accessible online psychiatric services, talk therapy, and medication management for the under-18 population.
This session will also share insights into how provider organizations offering digital services can leverage partnerships with hospitals and health systems, community healthcare organizations, and payers to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved youth and communities.
Key Takeaways:
- Explore the impact of digital services for traditionally underserved youth
- Discover how technology is transforming access to care and offering scalable service line opportunities for provider organizations
- Learn how to leverage partnerships with health plans, health systems, and community organizations in digital service delivery for youth
Marlene McDermott, LMFT, PhD
Marlene McDermott (she/her/hers) brings more than 20 years of clinical experience in the behavioral health industry to her role. Prior to joining Array, Marlene was the co-owner and therapist of Serenity Counseling LLC where she developed strong referral and consultative relationships with area psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health facilities, and hospitals to ensure each patient and family received proper continuity of care. She also served as the Director of Hampton Counseling Center. Marlene earned her Master’s degree from California State University and is currently earning her doctorate from Capella University; expected in Spring 2023.
Leroy Arenivar, M.D.
Leroy Arenivar, MD (he/him/his) is a double board-certified psychiatrist specializing in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. Dr. Arenivar received his medical degree from the McGovern School of Medicine in Houston, TX. He completed his residency at the Baylor College of Medicine (Menninger Department of Psychiatry) also in Houston, TX. During his residency, Dr. Arenivar served as Chief Resident of Psychiatry C/L Service at Ben Taub General Hospital and Psychiatry Emergency Center during his fourth year of training. From July 2011 to June 2013, Dr. Arenivar completed his child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of California San Diego where he participated in Community Psychiatry Track and served as Co-Chief Fellow in his second year. In July 2021, Dr. Arenivar was honored to be featured on the Texas Super Doctors Rising Stars list that is reserved for healthcare providers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
Sharon Hicks, MSW, MBA
Sharon Hicks has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive experience and wide range of expertise in health plan management, in clinical operations management, and technology.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system and within its health plan division. Ms. Hicks served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, a managed behavioral health organization. She was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. In addition Ms. Hicks managed the day-to-day operations of including human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.
Ms. Hicks also served as the Vice President, Internet Strategy, UPMC Insurance Services Division and, since 2002, as the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, Inc. since May of 2002. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth of the company, profitability of the company, and the direction of software development.
Ms. Hick started her impressive health care career as a psychiatric social worker before being promoted to Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her executive promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.
Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.
Empowering Youth & Communities Through Peer Support Programs & Policy
This session will dive into the intricacies of building full spectrum peer support programs for young people and explore how these unique programs can offer a more engaging approach to early intervention while ultimately reducing strain on the youth mental health system.
Join Mental Health America as they break down a proven three-tiered approach to creating and scaling peer support systems for youth. Participants will gain insights into how peer support program models can be tailored to align with specific community requirements. Additionally, attendees will discover how comprehensive community-wide initiatives can equip young individuals with tools and knowledge capable of reshaping culture, perspectives, and relationships, ultimately filling the gaps left by the scope of conventional services.
Key takeaways include:
- Understand the framework for setting up a youth peer support program
- Challenges and opportunities of building and scaling youth peer support programs
- New approaches to obtaining funding for youth peer support programs
Kelly Davis
Kelly Davis is the Vice President of Peer and Youth Advocacy at Mental Health America, where she works on the expansion of peer support and young adult leadership. She is passionate about lived experience-driven programs, policies, organizations, and research. Kelly has been awarded the Disruptive Innovator Award by the National Association of Peer Supporters and the National Peer Leader of the Year Award by Peerpocalypse. She is a certified yoga teacher and holds a certificate in Applied Positive Psychology from The Flourishing Center.
Kelly and her work have appeared in the New York Times, Teen Vogue, NBC Nightly News, NPR, and the White House. She recently earned her master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania where she served as a research assistant in the Perelman School of Medicine studying lived experience perspectives of inpatient psychiatric units. She is currently pursuing a certificate of specialization in mental health leadership from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Jackie Menjivar
Jackie Menjivar is the Manager of Peer and Youth Advocacy at Mental Health America. She oversees the day-to-day operations of MHA’s youth leadership initiatives and develops content to promote youth leaders, reflect youth perspectives, and report on the evolving field of youth mental health.
Before joining MHA, she served as Content and Creative Strategist at youth-powered non-profit DoSomething.org. Throughout her career, Jackie has sought to amplify the voices and needs of young people through education, advocacy, and storytelling.
While her work has spanned across several social justice issues, mental health remains a passion—informed largely by her identity as a survivor and person living with mental illness.
Sharon Hicks, MSW, MBA
Sharon Hicks has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive experience and wide range of expertise in health plan management, in clinical operations management, and technology.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system and within its health plan division. Ms. Hicks served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, a managed behavioral health organization. She was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. In addition Ms. Hicks managed the day-to-day operations of including human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.
Ms. Hicks also served as the Vice President, Internet Strategy, UPMC Insurance Services Division and, since 2002, as the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, Inc. since May of 2002. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth of the company, profitability of the company, and the direction of software development.
Ms. Hick started her impressive health care career as a psychiatric social worker before being promoted to Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her executive promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.
Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.
Post Lunch Pick Me Up
Join us for an after-lunch boost with a snack in the exhibit hall!
Guiding Youth Through Transition To Adulthood: An Integrated Approach To Care
Annually, thousands of young individuals exit foster care upon turning 18, often left without support or stable housing. In this session, we’ll delve into the ‘Transition to Adulthood’ program by Jewish Family & Children’s Services. This program is specifically designed to aid adolescents and teens in foster care, providing crucial assistance with behavioral health conditions, career planning, college enrollment, housing, daily living skills, and financial management.
The Maricopa County based program stands as one of the country’s largest and most successful initiatives. We’ll examine the challenges and opportunities inherent in this program model, explore its funding sources, and uncover the strategies essential for its sustained success.
Key takeaways include:
- Gain an understanding of support needs for adolescents exiting foster care, such as housing, education, and behavioral health
- Evaluate key factors contributing to the success of the program, such as its evidence-based approach, integration of services, and scalability factors
- Explore funding sources and strategies critical for sustaining and expanding similar programs aimed at assisting young adults exiting foster care
MaryJo Whitfield, MSW
Mary Jo Whitfield, MSW is the Vice President of Integrated Health for JFCS. Possessing 40 years of experience in the behavioral health field, Mary Jo has wide-ranging experience developing and implementing programs within Medicaid systems that provide services to children and families, persons with substance use disorders, and persons with serious mental illness. She has worked in direct service at the provider level and for the Regional Behavioral Health Authority. More recent achievements include: Established Integrated Healthcare Centers operating valley-wide, Child Crisis Hospital Team, Care Coordination Program, Youth in Transition Program, Zero to Five Project, and Case Management Programs for both children/youth and adults.
Sharon Hicks, MSW, MBA
Sharon Hicks has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive experience and wide range of expertise in health plan management, in clinical operations management, and technology.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system and within its health plan division. Ms. Hicks served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, a managed behavioral health organization. She was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. In addition Ms. Hicks managed the day-to-day operations of including human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.
Ms. Hicks also served as the Vice President, Internet Strategy, UPMC Insurance Services Division and, since 2002, as the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, Inc. since May of 2002. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth of the company, profitability of the company, and the direction of software development.
Ms. Hick started her impressive health care career as a psychiatric social worker before being promoted to Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her executive promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.
Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.
Innovation Through Times Of Crisis — Creative Strategies For Assessing & Adapting The Unexpected
Organizations invest significant time and energy in planning, strategizing, and preparing for a crisis, but what happens when the unexpected actually strikes? Join leaders from LifeSkills for an insightful exploration of innovative responses in the face of adversity. Attendees will examine the impact on access to care a community experienced when a tornado struck during the COVID-19 pandemic and get a firsthand look at how LifeSkills took a creative approach to assess and respond to the needs of local children and families through times of crisis.
Key takeaways include:
- Strategies for assessing and responding to the unexpected through innovation
- Practical solutions to developing community partnerships to support new programs
- Approaches to support and retain employees throughout times of crisis
Karen Garrity, LPCC-S, LCADCExecutive Vice President Of Behavioral Health Services, LifeSkills, Inc.
Karen Garrity, LPCC-S, LCADC
Karen Garrity is the Executive Vice President for Behavioral Health at LifeSkills. LifeSkills is a Community Mental Health Center that spans 18 counties in South Central Kentucky. As an Executive Vice President, she works with agency, community, and state leaders to ensure the availability of a quality behavioral health service array. Additionally, Karen oversees a CCBHC grant and an upcoming CCBHC certification process.
Karen has worked in Community Mental Health for 27 years. She began working in the field, providing therapy to individuals with substance and mental health concerns. As a Clinical Director for Addiction Services, she oversaw the development of a robust treatment system, including expanded residential and transitional housing programming for women and their children. As the Vice President for Behavioral Health, she oversaw day-to-day clinical operations of a 10-county service area.
Katie Scheuer Hopper, MA, LPCC-S
Katie Scheuer Hopper, LPCC-S, currently serves as the Clinical Director for Children’s Services at LifeSkills, Inc, a community mental health center located in South Central Kentucky. Katie received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Converse College and her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Western Kentucky University. After starting her career journey as a clinical intern, Katie moved into therapist positions serving children and adolescents in day treatment and later in outpatient clinics. In 2017, Katie was promoted to Center Manager of the children’s outpatient program in the largest of the service counties, ultimately leading to her promotion to her present position. She maintains oversight of outpatient programs, including therapy, targeted case management, high fidelity wraparound and peer support services across the 10 county region as well as the only therapeutic foster care program run by a community mental health center in Kentucky. In addition, Katie chairs the agency Zero Suicide Workgroup heading suicide prevention efforts and is an agency wide trainer for Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR). With experience in both rural communities and in more blended rural/urban areas in the region, and her lived experience growing up in a military family, she brings a unique perspective to the children’s behavioral health picture and the critical need for service availability and collaboration across multiple agencies.
Kimberly Bond, MS, LMFT
Kimberly Bond, MS, LMFT, brings more than 30 years of experience providing behavioral health treatment in the public and community settings to the OPEN MINDS team. She currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Business Development. In this role, Ms. Bond focuses on growing the OPEN MINDS client portfolio across all nine verticals of OPEN MINDS business.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Bond served concurrently as a Program Coordinator III and Clinical Manager of Adult Services and a Program Coordinator II and Clinical Manager of Recovery Services for the Ozark Guidance Center. In these roles, Ms. Bond was responsible for the administrative and clinical oversight of the adult outpatient and adult intensive mental health services on the Springdale Campus as well as the adult recovery/co-occurring services, including domestic violence and anger management treatment.
Prior to joining the Ozark Guidance Center, Ms. Bond served as the Executive Vice President of Center Point, Inc, a large substance abuse provider agency in California. In this role, Ms. Bond was responsible for the clinical and administrative supervision of all community-based programs as well as the women and children residential programs. In addition, Ms. Bond also managed budgets, interacted with funding agencies, and built positive relationships with all stakeholders. Ms. Bond was also in charge of proposal and grant writing, staff management, and training, facilities’ licensing and certifications renewals. Additionally, she prepared and submitted monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports to various funders.
Previously, Ms. Bond served as the President and CEO of Mental Health Systems, Inc. Ms. Bond was very instrumental in growing the agency from $12 million in annual revenue to more than $100 million and becoming one of the largest providers of behavioral health services in California. In this role, Ms. Bond was responsible for the strategic, clinical, financial, and administrative health of the agency, including direct supervision of Senior Executive Staff. In addition, Bond ensured contract compliance of the agency’s 125 different contracts across federal and state agencies and eight counties.
Ms. Bond received her bachelor’s degree in psychology, with honors, and her master’s degree in counseling education from San Diego State University. She is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in both California and Arkansas.