What can the behavioral health field learn from AT&T, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies?
How to rethink a business model, for one thing.

James M. Epperson, Jr.
AT&T Senior Vice President of Strategic and Employee Communications

AT&T has had to adapt to many different political and economic forces over the last four decades. In 1984, the company made the transition from being a monopoly to having to compete for customers. Since then, AT&T has continued to grow and improve, restructuring and reorganizing more than once.

Jim Epperson, AT&T Senior Vice President of Strategic and Employee Communications, shares lessons that emerged from the many actions AT&T has taken over the years to succeed in the rapidly changing telecommunications environment.

Jim joined Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1979 as a public relations manager. His responsibilities grew as Southwestern Bell expanded through acquisitions from being the smallest of the "Baby Bells" to AT&T, a top Fortune 10 company recognized as a worldwide leader of wireless and entertainment technology and services.

Today, Jim oversees AT&T's corporate message development, internal communications, and regional news operations. He has global responsibility for developing and executing the strategy to build the AT&T Brand. He is also responsible for new emerging communications programs and platforms to engage employees and retirees.

Health Reform 2014 and Beyond:
An update on SAMHSA activities including workforce issues in the new health environment

Pam Hyde, J.D. (Invited)
Administrator, SAMHSA

Administrator Hyde and her team have been focused on provider needs including the potential effects on staffing requirements for the behavioral health field, pending full implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014.

David Mineta
Deputy Director of Demand Reduction

David K. Mineta was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on June 22, 2010 to be the deputy director of Demand Reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. In this position, Mr. Mineta oversees ONDCP Office of Demand Reduction, which focuses on promoting drug prevention and drug treatment programs, as well as the agency's newly created focus on programs for people in recovery from addiction.

Mr. Mineta's focus on drug prevention and treatment services has been longstanding. Since 1996, Mr. Mineta has worked with Asian American Recovery Services (AARS) throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. He started as a manager of a youth prevention program, but rose quickly to associate director and, since 2007, deputy director. As deputy director, he oversaw all agency grant writing and institutional technology departments, and assisted in strategic planning, community consortiums, and other necessary functions. Before joining AARS, Mr. Mineta was a counselor in the San Jose Unified School District and later in Santa Clara's Alcohol and Drug Department.

From November of 2000 through July 2010, Mr. Mineta served as a trustee with the Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City. In May 2009, he was appointed to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention National Advisory Council.

Mr. Mineta studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley and earned his masters of social work from California State University, San Jose, in 1990.

Your Customer Holds the Secret to Your Agency's Future:
Involving your patients and their families like never before

David Gustafson, Ph.D
Director, NIATx - University of Wisconsin

While taking a hard look at the systems of addiction treatment, Dr. Gustafson talked with patients and families around the country and discovered some game-changers for the field.

David Gustafson is Research Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, director of the National Cancer Institute-designated Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications (www.chess.wisc.edu) and director of NIATx, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and a variety of public and private organizations.

Dr. Gustafson's research focuses on the use of systems engineering methods and models in individual and organizational change. His research on organizational change aims at developing and evaluating strategies for promoting and sustaining improvement in behavioral healthcare and involves nearly 3,000 treatment agencies in all 50 states. His individual change research centers on developing and evaluating eHealth systems, using as the test vehicle CHESS (the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System), a computer system to help people facing serious health problems, with a particular focus on cancer. His randomized trials of CHESS help understand acceptance, use, and impact of eHealth on quality of life, behavior change, and health services utilization. Dave is a Fellow of the Association for Health Services Research and of the American Medical Informatics Association, a Fellow and past Vice–Chair of the Board of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He also chaired the Federal Science Panel on Interactive Communications in Health, is Chair of the eHealth Institute, and is a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Redesigning Health Insurance.

Ed Kopetsky
Chief Information Officer, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Ed Kopetsky is Chief Information Officer at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. He is responsible for the strategic direction for information technology and biomedical systems. In addition, Mr. Kopetsky is an executive sponsor for, and led the organization-wide launch of the Packard Quality Management System based on Lean principles.

Mr. Kopetsky has an extensive background in integrated delivery systems, information technology planning and integration, operations process and cost improvement, and consulting. Prior to joining Packard Children's in 2009, he was a Partner at IBM Global Business Services, and was Executive Vice President with Healthlink, a consulting firm specialized in healthcare IT and process improvement. (Healthlink was acquired by IBM in 2005). Prior joining Healthlink, Mr. Kopetsky was Senior Vice President and CIO at Centura Health from 1996-1999, and Sharp Healthcare from 1986-1996.

Mr. Kopetsky has contributed nationally in numerous professional organizations, including serving as Board Chair for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the Microsoft Healthcare Users Group. He is currently on the Advisory Board for the Industrial and Systems Engineering Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he graduated with a master's degree in Industrial Engineering – Health Systems. Mr. Kopetsky currently serves on the Healthcare Advisory Boards of Hewlett Packard and Dell.

Building and Sustaining Winning Teams:
Leadership lessons from a truly inspiring leader

Herman Boone

In 1971, Coach Boone faced a challenge of a lifetime. The Disney film Remember the Titans captured his inspiring story.

After beating out local favorite and successful coach Bill Yoast of the formerly all-white Hammond High to become head coach of the Titans, Herman Boone faced the challenge of a lifetime. Although honored by his appointment, he had to endure racial intolerance and the disapproval of Yoast's supporters. However, after putting their prejudices aside, the two coaches worked together to unify the team - a team whose former rivalry was only exacerbated by the strain between the black and white players. The team came together to form a bond with a common vision – to win football games.

"Remember the Titans isn't about football, it's about incredible young men who, by talking to one another, learned to trust one another" says Boone, who challenged these young men to overcome prejudice, and taught them the value of teamwork.

Boone believes the key to building a successful team is fostering unity, respect and communication. "Dialogue leads to trust," Boone says. "Trust is the emotional glue that binds a team together. We have to talk to each other, and we have to listen to one another if we're ever going to understand one another. Only then can we all work together towards a common goal."