NNews-July-2023

11 July 2023 NJAMHAA Honors Members, Behavioral Health Supporters and IT Heroes NJAMHAA sends congratulations again to everyone who was honored at the Spring Conference, Transcending Today, Transforming Tomorrow ; the Information Technology (IT) Project’s Conference, Innovative Trends and Technology Impacting the Future of Behavioral Health ; and Annual Membership Meeting, Breaking Barriers in Behavioral Health . We are pleased to highlight these inspiring and impactful individuals and organizations again below. Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and CEO of NJAMHAA, was gratified to recognize the following stellar honorees. SPRING CONFERENCE: TRANSCENDING TODAY, TRANSFORMING TOMORROW Inspiring NewOpportunities Award Governor James McGreevey, Chairman of the Board, New Jersey Reentry Corporation “Governor James McGreevey is the epitome of breaking barriers, specifically by enabling former inmates to transcend obstacles that are common upon release from incarceration. Thanks to his compassion, determination, leadership and initiative to apply his expansive skills and knowledge to create the New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC), less than 20 percent of individuals are rearrested and the rate of NJRC participants returning to criminal behavior following their release from jail or prison is one-third of the national rate,” Dr. Wentz said. “Governor McGreevey and his teammake these successes possible through a wraparoundmodel that includes education, employment skills training, legal services and health care, including substance use treatment, tomaximize their opportunities for success when they reenter society.” State Leader of the Year Award Valerie Mielke, MSW, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services “NJAMHAA has been extremely fortunate to have had a meaningful, rewarding and effective partnership with Valerie for many years. She is extremely impactful, as she has succeeded in balancing the various components of mental health and substance use disorder treatment and other services to address social determinants of health. She has a deep understanding of policy and service delivery, and she keeps individuals who receive services as the top priority,” Dr. Wentz said. “Val has been a strong internal government advocate for increasing remunerations for the workforce, which are needed to increase access to care that enables people to recover and lead healthy, successful lives.” Truth inMedia Award Valerie Canady, Publishing Editor, MentalHealthWeekly “Every week, not only do I look forward to reading Mental HealthWeekly, I wait for it impatiently! I do not know of any other trade publication with the depth, breadth and engaging, readable style that Mental HealthWeekly provides,” Dr. Wentz shared. “Valerie truly stands out in the field. She has been writing for Mental HealthWeekly since 2002 and is the publication manager for Alcoholism&Drug Abuse Weekly . Her commitment to the field is obvious, particularly through the initiative she takes to inform Mental HealthWeekly’s expansive readership of challenges, solutions, trends and initiatives that impact the behavioral healthcare system and the individuals who depend on it.”