45th Legislative Breakfast on Mental Health
Welcome – Max Shafir, LCSW, Chair, Legislative Breakfast on Mental Health, and Senator Mike Woodard, Emcee
Special Guest Speaker – The State of Mental Health Services in NC with Kody H. Kinsley,
NC DHHS Secretary
Representative Paul Luebke Legislative Champion on Mental Health Award –
Presentation to Senator Mike Woodard by Senator Jim Burgin
Pillar I: Early Intervention and Prevention
Nora M. Dennis, MD, Adjunct Professor, Duke University Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences, Lead Medical Director, Behavioral Health, and Health Equity BCBS
J. Nathan Copeland, MD, MPH, Duke University Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Department
Lived Experience – Cindy Ehlers, LCMHC, Foster Mother, and Chief Operations Officer for
Trillium Health Resources
Senator Sydney Batch, MSW, JD, (D-District 17) Wake
Senator Graig Meyer, MSW, (D-District 23) Orange, Caswell, Person
Panel Q&A Moderated by Rose Hoban of NC Health News
Pillar II: Transitions and Continuity of Care
Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, Assad Meymandi Distinguished Professor and Chair,
UNC Department of Psychiatry, UNC School of Medicine
Austin Hall, MD, UNC Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Assertive Community
Treatment Team, Step Clinic
Lived Experience – Jonah Sharkey, CPSS, M.Ed., Recovery Educator II
Senator Jim Burgin, (R-District 12) Harnett, Lee, Sampson
Representative Carla Cunningham, RN, (D-District 106)
Mecklenburg
Representative Wayne Sasser, RPh, (R-District 67) Cabarrus, Rowan, Stanly
Panel Q&A Moderated by Rose Hoban of NC Health News
Closing Remarks
Senator Mike Woodard, (D-District 22) Durham, Granville, Person