Every three years at MHANYS, we have a changing of the guard in leadership of our Board of Directors.
After three years of service as our Board Chair, Bill Gettman, CEO of Northern Rivers, tenure has ended. Bill has used his expertise and knowledge around behavioral health and child welfare to help lead the charge for MHANYS around workforce. He has been an incredible leader of the board and a personal wonderful mentor to me (you can teach an old dog new tricks). The good news is that Bill is staying on the Board of Directors as Vice-Chair.
Taking over as MHANYS Board Chair is Karl Shallowhorn. Many of you already know Karl as a huge presence in Buffalo and around New York State. Karl is first and foremost a mental health advocate and educator. He has been in long-term recovery for many years and is a full-time CASAC. He has held many different positions at both the community, State, and Federal levels. Currently, he is a Special Advisor to the SAMHSA Regional Office. All you have to do is google his name to see what a force he is on social media and on the radio (don’t play trivial pursuit against him if the questions are related to music)
Karl brings with him intelligence, compassion, and a demonstrated expertise in working across communities to help those with mental health and addiction needs. We very much look forward to working with him.
Over the time, I have been at MHANYS, I have served under the chairpersonship of Rich Dowhy, Mark Gustin, Janine Dykeman, Sylvia Lask, Susan Wheeler, Jeff Rovitz, Ellen Pendergar, Bill Gettman and now Karl Shallowhorn. Each of them have served the organization with great leadership and dedication. Karl will continue this great tradition.
