The NABH Board of Trustees represents the great diversity and power of the NABH membership.

Officers:

Board Chair:
Harsh K. Trivedi, M.D., M.B.A.
President & CEO
Sheppard Pratt
Baltimore, MD

Board Chair-Elect:
Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
President and CEO
Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care;
Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health and Addictions Service Line
RWJBarnabas Health
Piscataway, NJ

Immediate Past Board Chair:
Matt J. Peterson
Executive Vice President and President, Behavioral Health Division
Universal Health Services, Inc.
King of Prussia, PA

First Vice Chair:
Andrew Lynch
Chief Strategy Officer
Acadia Healthcare, Inc.
Franklin, TN

Second Vice Chair:
Deborah A. Weidner, M.D., M.B.A.
VP, Patient Safety and Quality, Behavioral Health Network
Hartford HealthCare
Hartford, CT

Third Vice Chair:
Dwight A. Lacy
Chief Operating Officer
Summit BHC
Franklin, TN

Treasurer:
Eric Kim
Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning
Signature Healthcare Services
Corona, CA

Secretary:
Eric H. Paul
President Behavioral Health Services
HCA, Inc.
Nashville, TN

Ex Officio:
Jameson K. Norton, M.B.A., F.A.C.H.E.
Chief Operating Officer
Newport Healthcare
Nashville, TN

Executive Vice Chairman:
Mark Covall
Washington, D.C.

At Large Seats:

Stuart Archer, F.A.C.H.E., M.B.A.
Chief Executive Officer
Oceans Healthcare
Plano, TX

Thomas Britton, M.D. 
Chief Executive Officer
American Addiction Centers
Brentwood, TN

Deborah Brodine, MHA, MBA
President UPMC, President of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) and Western Behavioral Health, and President of UPMC Senior Services
UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
Pittsburgh, PA

Pat Connell, R.N., M.B.A., F.A.C.H.E., C.B.H.E., C.H.C.
VP of Behavioral Health, Compliance & Government Relations
Boys Town Behavioral Health Division
Boys Town, NE

Tom Kenny
Chief Executive Officer
Vivant Behavioral Healthcare
Prescott Valley, AZ

Richard A. Kresch, M.D.
President and CEO
US Healthvest
New York, NY

Drew Martin
Vice President of Behavioral Health
Community Health Systems
Franklin, TN

Cindy Meyer
Interim Chief Executive Officer & COO
Rogers Behavioral Health
Oconomowoc, WI

Ryan Pardo
Chief Legal Officer
LifeStance Health, Inc.
Bellevue, WA

Ethan Permenter
Division Vice President
Universal Health Services, Inc.
Olive Branch, MS

Joe Pritchard
Chief Executive Officer
Pinnacle Treatment Centers, Inc
Mount Laurel, NJ

Scott L. Rauch, M.D.
President and Psychiatrist in Chief
McLean Hospital
Belmont, MA

Jim Shaheen
Chief Executive Officer & Board Member
New Season/Colonial Management Group, LP
Maitland, FL

Nick Stavros
Chief Executive Officer
Community Medical Services
Scottsdale, AZ

Brent Turner
Chief Executive Officer
Summit BHC
Franklin, TN

Sean Walsh
Chief Executive Officer
Meadows Behavioral Health
Phoenix, AZ

David White, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
BayMark Health Services
Lewisville, TX

Jeffrey Woods, M.S., M.P.H., M.S.N., D.N.P.
Operations Group President
Acadia Healthcare, Inc.
Franklin, TN

Susan L. Wright, M.B.A.
Director, Behavioral Health Operations
BayCare Behavioral Health
Clearwater, FL

Staff:

Shawn Coughlin

President and CEO

Shawn Coughlin is the President and CEO of NABH. In this role, he serves as the association’s principal lobbyist, oversees the association’s advocacy work on Capitol Hill, and helps to set and implement strategic policy goals that support high-quality, evidence-based behavioral healthcare for Americans living with mental and substance use disorders.

Shawn brings more than 30 years of advocacy experience to the association. Prior to joining NABH, Shawn served as the association’s advocacy consultant on behavioral health policy during his almost 16 years with Capitol Health Group as the firm’s principal and chief operating officer. He is a leading healthcare advocate and policy expert who works with patient and provider groups, regulators, public and private payers and trade associations. Shawn began his health policy career working on Capitol Hill, handling various healthcare policy needs for the House Ways and Means Committee. Shawn earned his bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. and a master’s degree in public management from the University of Maryland.

Rochelle Archuleta

Executive Vice President for Government Relations and Public Policy

Rochelle Archuleta brings to NABH 30 years of experience in the health policy, healthcare delivery system, and legislative arenas.

During her 20-year tenure as a policy director for the American Hospital Association (AHA), Rochelle led AHA’s post-acute care policy team. In this role, Rochelle partnered with providers, policymakers, and leading trade associations on issues pertaining to the home health, skilled nursing facility/nursing home, inpatient rehabilitation facility, and long-term care hospital sectors.

Rochelle’s advocacy efforts expanded to include issues of common concern to all post-acute care providers and their hospital partners, including issues pertaining to Medicare Advantage and commercial insurers, as well as the Medicare program’s effort to create a new, unified payment system to reimburse the aforementioned, post-acute care settings.

Rochelle is a research fellow in the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy and is a former David Winston Health Policy Fellow. She earned a master of science degree in health administration and a master of business administration degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions and a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Jessica Zigmond

Director of Communications

Jessica Zigmond is the director of communications at NABH. In this role, she leads efforts to communicate the vital role that behavioral health plays in helping Americans achieve overall health.

Jessica brings to the association her experiences as both a journalist and public relations executive. Before joining NABH, Jessica was the vice president, group manager at Ketchum, where she served as project manager for a federal government account overseeing communications about clinical quality standards and value-based incentives to the nation’s healthcare providers.

Previously, Jessica served as the Washington bureau chief for Modern Healthcare magazine, where she oversaw coverage of federal health legislation, regulatory changes, and healthcare industry trends. Earlier as the magazine’s public health reporter, Jessica reported on a range of public health issues, including rural suicide, national emergencies and the uninsured population.

Jessica’s previous experience includes positions with Hager Sharp, Reuters, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Jessica earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Sarah Wattenberg

Director of Quality and Addiction Services

Sarah A. Wattenberg is the director of quality and addiction services at NABH. In this role, she oversees the association’s interest, positions, and actions related to behavioral healthcare quality and addiction services.

Previously Sarah worked as senior policy advisor at the White House Office of National Drug Policy. In that role, she served on the president’s parity task force, where she provided scientific, technical, and policy consultation on improving implementation of substance use and mental health insurance parity, including guidance on medication assisted treatment.

Sarah spent nearly two decades working in the federal government, advising high-level executive branch officials about emerging issues, challenges, and policy opportunities related to opioids and other drugs; evidence-based practices; service-delivery arrangements; public and commercial financing and parity; privacy and treatment quality. She also brings with her clinical experience, as she spent 11 years working in community-based programs for the seriously mentally ill in Montgomery County, Md. Sarah has also opened a mental health clinic; served as a liaison to law enforcement, homeless shelters, and county and state agencies; and supported developing Maryland’s “crisis” regulations. Before she began her work with the federal government, she was the senior director for clinical policy development at one of the nation’s largest managed behavioral healthcare companies.

Sarah earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University and her master’s degree in social work from Catholic University of America.

Andrew (Andy) Dodson

Director of Congressional Affairs

Andy Dodson is director of congressional affairs at NABH, where he oversees all aspects of the association’s legislative and advocacy priorities, including the NABH Champions PAC.

Andy brings to NABH more than 20 years of legislative and regulatory advocacy experience in senior government affairs positions with several national trade associations and a multi-client government affairs consulting firm.

Andy began his political career working in the Texas legislature and on several statewide political campaigns before he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) and several Texas lawmakers.

He has advocated for companies and associations in the insurance, technology and telecommunications, real estate, and business aviation industries, and he is eager to represent behavioral healthcare providers.

Most recently Andy led the American Wood Council’s federal, state, and local advocacy efforts, where he developed and implemented successful political campaigns and government relations initiatives.

He also worked as a regional fundraising director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Clinton/Gore Re-Election Committee.

Andy earned a bachelor’s degree in Government and American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Maria Merlie

Director of Operations

Maria Merlie is the director of operations at NABH. In this role, she is responsible for all of the association’s member services and administrative activities.

Maria oversees the NABH Annual Meeting, which includes soliciting and managing the Annual Meeting’s exhibitor and sponsor opportunities, contracting with the hotel, and supervising all activities on site. Maria also serves as the staff liaison to the NABH Board of Trustees, where she coordinates all Board meetings and supervises the Board member election process.

Maria is a graduate of the Katharine Gibbs Business School.

Emily Wilkins

Associate Manager for Congressional Affairs

Emily Wilkins is NABH’s associate manager for congressional affairs. In this role, Emily is responsible for helping the director of congressional affairs develop strategies that increase the visibility of and action on NABH’s advocacy priorities and initiatives. Emily also works on the NABH Champions PAC by assisting with member correspondence, recordkeeping, and reporting.

Most recently Emily helped coordinate NABH daily operations as the association’s administrative coordinator, a position she held since late 2019. Before she came to NABH, Emily comanaged a range of administrative responsibilities as the office assistant for the Association of Global Automakers, a trade association that represents the U.S. subsidiaries of international automobile manufacturers.

Emily completed a year of service as an AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) for Higher Achievement, a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit organization committed to closing the achievement gap among middle school students in underserved communities.

Emily earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Longwood University in Farmville, Va.