Ron Manderscheid, Ph.D., has a life-long commitment to social-justice, particularly racial, gender, and health equity. This is reflected through a career that spans national work with the Congress and Administration, federal agencies, NGOs, and university teaching.

He serves currently as Principal at Capstone Solutions Consulting Group and as Adjunct Professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, and the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California. Until recently, he was President/CEO, National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors and National Association for Rural Mental Health. Both organizations represent county and local authorities in the DC community.

Concurrently, Dr. Manderscheid has served on the boards of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, the National Grand Challenge for Social Work Initiative, the Danya Institute, and the NASMHPD Research Institute. He also served until recently as the Co-Chair of the National Coalition for Whole Health.

Past appointments include Director of Mental Health and Substance Use Programs at the Global Health Sector of SRA International and several federal leadership roles at the National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of HHS. Throughout his career, he has emphasized and promoted the concerns of peers with behavioral health conditions and their family members.   

Dr. Manderscheid was a Member of the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Healthy People 2020; the Clinton Healthcare Reform Task Force; President of the Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association (FEIAA) and Foundation; Chair of the APHA Mental Health Section and Governing Council, and a member of the post-9/11 Work Group; Chairperson of the Sociological Practice Section of the American Sociological Association; President of the Washington Academy of Sciences and the District of Columbia Sociological Society; and President of  The College for Behavioral Health Leadership.

He edited eight editions of Mental Health, United States, co-edited Outcome Measurement in the Human Services, and contributed to Public Mental Health, First and Second Editions. He also published more than 550 papers on services to persons with mental illness and substance use conditions. He serves on several editorial boards and prepares a periodic blog for Behavioral Healthcare Executive (www.behavioral.net). His email address is rwmanderscheid@gmail.com.

Deb advocates for state and federal policies to expand access to comprehensive and equitable substance use disorder and mental health care. She works on LAC's Parity for All campaign, where she helps eliminate discriminatory barriers to treatment in Medicaid and private insurance and assists states in improving their enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Deb also co-leads the Medicare Addiction Parity Project, an initiative to expand Medicare's coverage of substance use disorder treatment and apply the Parity Act to Medicare. In this role, she drafts legislation and regulatory comments, facilitates coalitions, and educates the community at national and local presentations.

Prior to joining LAC, Deb was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Health Law Advocates, where she developed and implemented a project to challenge legal barriers to mental health care for low-income residents of Massachusetts through direct client representation and state-based advocacy. She also worked in the Office of Patient Protection at the Health Policy Commission in Massachusetts, where she realized her passion for mental health parity. Outside of LAC, Deb serves as the Public Policy Chair on the Board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - National Capital Area Chapter and the Co-President of the Vassar Club of Washington, DC. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Psychology and earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where she participated in the Health Justice Alliance clinic and received exceptional recognition for her pro bono work and community service.