Assistant  Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Elinore F. McCance-Katz, M.D., Ph.D., has announced  that Mary Fleming is SAMHSA's new Chief of Staff. As Chief of Staff, Ms.  Fleming will assist with managing the daily operations of SAMHSA and work with  the Centers and Offices to foster collaboration and promote a unified  implementation of SAMHSA's mission and goals. Ms. Fleming brings a wealth  of behavioral health expertise to this important role. 
Mary Fleming has been providing leadership on cross-cutting program and policy  issues since joining SAMHSA in 2013 as the Director of the Office of Policy, Planning, and  Innovation (OPPI). Ms. Fleming later served as the Branch Chief of the National  Liaison Branch within OPPI, which focused on special topics in behavioral  health such as veterans and emergency response. 
Prior to  joining SAMHSA, Ms. Fleming was the chief executive officer of Allegheny HealthChoices,  Inc., where she was responsible for fiscal, clinical, and quality oversight and  reporting for the Medicaid managed behavioral health care program. In previous  positions, she helped manage federal, state, and county resources and was  responsible for providing services for persons with mental illness and/or  substance use disorders. She served as vice president of  product development and network development at a managed health care company,  and as executive director at the Hamilton County, Ohio (Cincinnati) Mental  Health Board. She also served as executive vice president at the Franklin  County, Ohio (Columbus) Addictions and Mental Health Board. In addition, she has consulted with, and worked for, several states and counties across the nation. 
Ms. Fleming  possesses a master's degree in Program Evaluation and Research from Hahnemann  Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  
 |