Proposition 63, approved by California voters in 2004, created the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to drive transformational change across the state’s mental health system.
The Commission oversees the implementation of the far-reaching initiative, which imposed a 1 percent income tax on wealthy residents to pay for mental health services and established a framework for continuous improvement of mental healthcare in the state.
Partnering with public and private mental health agencies at all levels, the Commission works to ensure that people get the care they need in a timely, comprehensive, effective, and culturally competent manner. In everything, it vigorously promotes community collaboration.
A hallmark of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) is its directive that the Commission empower stakeholders and put them at the center of its decision-making process. Accordingly, the law reserves seats on the Commission for representatives of consumers and their families, service providers, law enforcement, educators, and employers, among others. The Commission also includes representatives of the Attorney General, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Senate, and the State Assembly.
Our Role
The Commission’s primary function is to oversee the implementation of the Mental Health Services Act. The Commission distributes grants, collects and shares spending and efficacy data on local programs, spreads best practices, conducts research into critical subject areas like criminal justice involvement of people with mental health needs, and engages experts to develop policy proposals and other pathbreaking solutions.
Data collection is an increasingly important focus for the Commission; its Transparency Suite is an online tool that provides high-level spending and outcome metrics for programs by county.
The Act charges the Commission with reviewing county spending of Mental Health Services Act money for prevention and early intervention programs. The Commission also distributes money raised through the Act for local innovation projects that pioneer new approaches to administration and treatment, like youth drop-in centers.
Another of the Commission’s continuing endeavors is to develop ways to overcome the stigma that often faces people living with mental health challenges.
The Commission advises the Governor and Legislature on mental health policy. In addition, lawmakers have periodically given the Commission new responsibilities, including distributing grants to expand mental health services in schools, helping develop voluntary standards to support mental health in the workplace, and helping to build a statewide suicide prevention plan.
What Guides Our Work
The principles of wellness and recovery guide the Commission, which prioritizes prevention and early intervention to minimize the harmful effects that can result from unaddressed mental health needs, particularly the seven negative outcomes identified by Prop. 63: suicide, incarceration, school failure, unemployment, prolonged suffering, homelessness, and the removal of children from their homes.
The Commission works through partnerships to catalyze transformational changes across service systems so that everyone who needs mental health care has access to and receives effective and culturally competent care.
Racial Equity Plan
The California mental health system has not been designed with an equity lens. Bias, discrimination, a lack of cultural competency and wide disparities exist within the mental health system.
To address these challenges effectively, mental health programs and practices must be informed by these challenges.
In partnership with the Capitol Collaborative on Race and Equity, Race Forward, as well as the work of Vice Chair Mayra E Alvarez and a dedicated team of Commission staff, the Commission created this plan for intentionally building racial equity strategies into Commission operations and priorities.
Commissioners
Mayra E Alvarez
Mayra E Alvarez is the President of the Children’s Partnership, a nonprofit children’s advocacy organization.
She also serves as a Covered California Commissioner, appointed by Governor Newsom. Previously, she served in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), most recently as Director of the State Exchange Group for the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
She also served as the Associate Director for the HHS Office of Minority Health and was Director of Public Health Policy in the Office of Health Reform at HHS. Alvarez received her graduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her undergraduate degree from University of California, Berkeley.
Commissioner Alvarez fills the seat of the Attorney General/designee.
Al Rowlett
Al Rowlett was named Turning Point Community Programs’ Chief Executive Officer in 2014. Commissioner Rowlett has been with the agency since 1981 and today provides leadership and guidance to over 40 programs in several Northern and Central California counties. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ottawa University, a Master’s in Business Administration in Health Services Management from Golden Gate University and in Social Work from California State University, Sacramento. He is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Rowlett was appointed as a trustee to the Elk Grove Unified School District in 2009 serving through 2012. He is currently a Volunteer Clinical Professor at the University of California, Davis Department of Psychiatry co-directing the Community Psychiatry seminar for residents and formerly served as an adjunct professor for the CSUS Mental Health Services Act cohort. In 2020, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon re-appointed Al to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Board.
Commissioner Rowlett fills the seat of a mental health professional.
Pamela Baer
Pamela Baer is a Lifetime Director of the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, and Founder and Board Chairman of the Transform Mental and Behavioral Health Fund at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
Baer is also a Board member of the Giants Community Fund, an Advisory Board Member of Family House Inc. and Nest, a Founders Circle member of Every Mother Counts, and a member of The Kennedy Forum and Bay Area Regional Council of Dignity Moves.
In addition, Baer was President and Owner of Markitlink, a brand strategy Direct Mail Agency from 1988 to 2000. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin.
Baer fills the Commission seat designated for a person with knowledge and experience in community-defined evidence practices and reducing behavioral health disparities.
Michael Bernick
Michael S. Bernick is Counsel with the international law firm of Duane Morris LLP, a Fellow with the Milken Institute and Burning Glass Institute, and the longtime Research Director of the California Workforce Association. He has been active in California government for more than forty years, including as Director of the California Employment Development Department, 1999-2004, and Director of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, 1988-1996.
Bernick is part of several major initiatives related to employment, housing and inclusion of adults with autism and other developmental differences. He is a Board member of the Golden Gate Regional Center, Board member at the California Policy Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Job Club leader at the adult autism group, AASCEND. He writes regularly on autism employment, and is completing a trilogy of books on autism inclusion: The Autism Job Club (2015), The Autism Full Employment Act (2021), and The Autism City (scheduled 2027).
Bernick earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Harvard University, a Bachelor of Philosophy graduate degree from Oxford University (Balliol College) and a Juris Doctor degree from UC Berkeley School of Law. The California State Library maintains a collection of his papers and writings on employment programs and policies in California dating back to the early 1980s.
Bernick fills the Commission seat designated for a representative of an aging or disability organization.
Mark Bontrager
Mark Bontrager has been Behavioral Health Administrator for the Partnership HealthPlan of California since 2021. He was Director of Regulatory Affairs and Program Development for the Partnership HealthPlan of California from 2018 to 2021 and Executive Director of Aldea Children and Family Services from 2007 to 2018, where he was Deputy Director from 2005 to 2007. Commissioner Bontrager was an attorney in private practice from 2002 to 2006 and held multiple positions at the Villages of Indiana Inc. from 1996 to 2003, including Program Manager, Therapist and Social Worker. Commissioner Bontrager is vice chair of the Napa County Workforce Investment Board. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Indiana University School of Law and a Master of Social Work degree from the Indiana University School of Social Work.
Commissioner Mark Bontrager fills the seat of representative of a health care service plan or insurer.
Sheriff Bill Brown
Bill Brown was first elected as sheriff and coroner for Santa Barbara County in 2006, and reelected in 2010, 2014 and 2018. He had previously served as chief of police for the city of Lompoc from 1995-2007, and chief of police for the city of Moscow, Idaho from 1992-1995. He was a police officer, supervisor and manager for the city of Inglewood Police Department from 1980-1992, and a police officer for the city of Pacifica from 1977-1980.
Prior to his law enforcement career, Sheriff Brown served as a paramedic and emergency medical technician in the Los Angeles area from 1974-1977. Sheriff Brown holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the Delinquency Control Institute, the Northwest Command College and the FBI National Executive Institute. Commissioner Brown fills the seat of a county sheriff.
Keyondria Bunch
Keyondria Bunch, Ph.D., is Supervising Psychologist for Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Dr. Bunch has been with Los Angeles County since 2008 and has worked in several positions including clinical psychologist and supervisor for the Emergency Outreach Bureau, clinical psychologist for the Specialized Foster Care Program, clinical psychologist for juvenile justice mental health quality assurance, and a clinical psychologist for Valley Coordinated Children’s Services.
She has been an adjunct lecturer at Antioch University as well as worked within the mental health court system around issues of competency. Dr. Bunch is currently a supervising psychologist at West Valley Mental Health outpatient program. Commissioner Bunch fills the seat of a labor representative.
Robert Callan, Jr.
Robert Callan, Jr. has been a Realtor in San Francisco for 20 years and is currently with Sotheby’s International. He is a member of both the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors, as well as the San Francisco Association of Realtors.
Callan has spent decades volunteering his time helping people living with substance use disorders and mental health challenges in places like San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (formerly San Quentin State Prison), the California Pacific Medical Center’s Psychiatric Unit in San Francisco, and The Salvation Army.
In alignment with this passion, he also served on the Executive Board of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center/Safe and Sound. Callan was also an early ambassador for EARN (The Earned Assets Resource Network), with the goal of breaking the chain of poverty by helping low-income people increase their financial resilience through saving money.
In addition, Callan is a member of The Olympic Club, the Screen Actors Guild, and The Dolphin Club. Callan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Boston College.
Callan fills the Commission seat designated for a family member who has had a substance use disorder.
Steve Carnevale
Steve Carnevale is the executive chairman of Sawgrass, a developer of digital industrial inkjet technologies and cloud-based mass customization software. He runs a family-owned wine business in the Napa Valley called Blue Oak and is the founder and chair of the advisory board for the UCSF Dyslexia Center which is translating cutting edge neuroscience to enable precision learning. In addition to other education non-profit board service, Carnevale is a founder and co-chairs Breaking-Barriers-by-8, where he works with other non-profits, schools, corporations, and foundations toward achieving 100 percent literacy for all by age 8. He is also an advisor to ESO Ventures, a social venture fund in Oakland for community workforce development of unrepresented populations and is the former President and Emeritus Chair of The Olympic Club Foundation, whose mission is to support disadvantaged youth sports programs that develop future community leaders. Commissioner Carnevale represents an employer with fewer than 500 employees.
Rayshell Chambers
Rayshell Chambers has been Co-Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer at Painted Brain since 2016. She was Program Analyst III at Special Service for Groups from 2011 to 2018. Chambers held several positions at the City of Los Angeles Human Services Department and Commission on the Status of Women from 2006 to 2010, including Legislative Coordinator and Community Outreach Coordinator. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree in public policy and administration from California State University, Long Beach.
Commissioner Chambers represents clients and consumers.
Shuo (Shuonan) Chen
Shuo (Shuonan) Chen is General Partner at IOVC, an early-stage venture capital fund based in Silicon Valley focused on enterprise and SaaS, where she has invested in dozens of startups now unicorns or acquired by Fortune 50 companies. She is a Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, and Faculty at Singularity University, where she teaches entrepreneurship and emerging technologies. Chen is a co-author to one of the leading books on financial regulations published by Cambridge University Press. In addition to her investing and teaching roles, Chen is the CEO of Shinect, a Silicon Valley-based non-profit community of 5,000+ engineers passionate about entrepreneurship. She is also a Board Member of Decode, the largest tech and entrepreneurship community co-hosted with UC Berkeley and Stanford student organizations, alumni networks and entrepreneurship centers, as well as an Advisory Board Member of Yale School of Medicine's Center for Digital Health and Innovation. Commissioner Chen fills the seat of a family member.
Chris Contreras
Chris Contreras is the Chief Operating Officer at Brilliant Corners, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding supportive housing opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness and institutionalization. Since joining the organization in 2014, Contreras has been instrumental in the development and implementation of innovative housing programs across California.
Contreras is known for his work in developing and implementing the Los Angeles Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool (FHSP), a widely recognized model for addressing homelessness, that has facilitated permanent supportive housing placements for over 12,500 formerly unhoused Angelenos.
As COO, Contreras drives operational efficiency and strategic growth, working closely with stakeholders to improve organizational systems and enhance service delivery statewide. His expertise lies in creating scalable solutions that remove systemic barriers and address the complex housing needs of vulnerable populations.
In 2025, Contreras was selected as a Durfee Foundation Stanton Fellow, where he is focused on exploring how belonging can be a catalyst to ending homelessness in Los Angeles County. He also received the 2023 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award and participated in the Social Justice Partners LA Racial Equity Fellowship.
Contreras earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Contreras fills the Commission seat designated for a professional with expertise in housing and homelessness.
Senator Dave Cortese
California Senator Dave Cortese represents District 15 in the California State Senate which encompasses much of Santa Clara County in the heart of Silicon Valley. Along with his accomplished career as an attorney and business owner, the Senator previously served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, the San Jose City Council, and the East Side Union High School District Board. Senator Cortese was a major architect of School Linked Services, a program that connects students and families to behavioral health services and counseling in Santa Clara County. Commissioner Cortese fills the seat of a member of the Senate selected by the President pro Tempore of the Senate.
Makenzie Cross
Makenzie Cross has been a Youth Leader at KAI Partners since 2024. She was a Service Coordinator for Early Intervention at Alta California Regional Center in 2024.
In addition, Cross was a Behavioral Specialist at the Center for Social Dynamics from 2022 to 2023.
Cross is also a member of Impact 100 Greater Sacramento.
Cross earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Merced.
Cross lives with major depressive disorder as well as anxiety. She fills the Commission seat designated for a person who is 25 years of age or younger and has or has had a mental health disorder, substance use disorder or cooccurring disorder.
David Gordon
David W. Gordon is the Superintendent of the Sacramento (CA) County Office of Education. He holds a B.A. from Brandeis University and an Ed.M. and Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from Harvard University.
David has dedicated his career to education with a focus on Special Education. He has served on the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education, the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Education Excellence, and a visiting scholar at Stanford University. Commissioner Gordon fills the seat of a superintendent of a school district.
Assemblymember John Harabedian
California State Assemblymember John Harabedian was born and raised in Sierra Madre, located in the 41st assembly district that he represents and includes his current hometown Pasadena, along with other cities like Bradbury, Claremont, Monrovia, San Dimas and portions of Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga.
He started his public service as a Sierra Madre City Councilmember in 2012, winning re-election once and later becoming mayor twice. Harabedian took the lead on the city’s solar energy initiative and co-founded the Clean Power Alliance to promote renewable energy across the region.
He brings extensive legal and policy experience to the 41st State Assembly District with time as a prosecutor for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, as well as experience working with leading institutions like Latham and Watkins, Stanford’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic and the Equality Pro Bono Project.
Harabedian earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s degree in comparative social policy from Oxford University and a law degree from Stanford University.
Harabedian fills the Commission seat designated for a member of the Assembly selected by the Speaker of the Assembly.
Karen Larsen
Karen Larsen is the Chief Executive Officer of the Steinberg Institute and as the organization’s first CEO, brings a rich history of public service and proven leadership to the role. Through her own life experience, her academic training, and over thirty years of recovery, she possesses an unwavering passion and ability to improve the lives of California’s most vulnerable communities.
Previously, Commissioner Larsen served as the Director of Yolo County’s Health and Human Services Agency, an integrated agency providing social services, public health, mental health, and substance abuse services. In addition, she spent 20 years caring for uninsured, undocumented, and underserved people in community clinics and non-profit agencies. Her commitment to integrating care has ensured people receive the care they need and improved outcomes for those who have both a behavioral health challenge and other comorbid physical health conditions. Her leadership has inspired others to build bridges across systems as a mechanism for improving outcomes between health systems, the criminal justice community, school districts, cities, and other groups and organizations.
Larsen is the mother of three children and a rescue dog. She has a long-term partner, is a member of the LGBTQ community, and is a long-time resident of Sacramento. Her self-care strategies include daily walks, a gallon of water a day, and gardening.
Larsen fills one of the two Commission seats designated for a person who has or has had a substance use disorder.
Mara Madrigal-Weiss
Mara Madrigal-Weiss is the Executive Director of Student Wellness and School Culture, Student Services and Programs Division, San Diego County Office of Education.
Her experience includes working with school communities as a Family Case Manager, Protective Services Worker and Family Resource Center Director.
Madrigal-Weiss received her M.A. in Human Behavior from National University, a M.Ed in School Counseling, and a M.Ed in Educational Leadership from Point Loma Nazarene University. Madrigal-Weiss has been dedicated to promoting student mental health and wellness for over 19 years.She is a past president of the International Bullying Prevention Association (IBPA) the only international association dedicated to eradicating bullying worldwide.
Madrigal-Weiss is a member of the California Department of Education’s Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup. Commissioner Madrigal-Weiss serves as the designee of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction as a Commissioner on the Commission.
Gladys Mitchell
Gladys Mitchell served as a staff services manager at the California Department of Health Care Services from 2013-2014 and at the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs from 2010-2013 and from 2007-2009.
She was a health program specialist at California Correctional Health Care Services from 2009-2010 and a staff mental health specialist at the California Department of Mental Health from 2006-2007. She was interim executive officer at the California Board of Occupational Therapy in 2005 and an enforcement coordinator at the California Board of Registered Nursing from 1996-1998 and at the Board of Behavioral Science Examiners from 1989-1993.She is a member of the St. Hope Public School Board of Directors. Mitchell earned a Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Sacramento. Commissioner Mitchell fills the seat of a family member of a child who has or has had a severe mental illness.
James L. (Jay) Robinson III, PsyD, MBA
James L. (Jay) Robinson III, PsyD, MBA is the hospital administrator for Kaiser Permanente (KP) hospital Sunnyside and Westside Medical Centers and leads operations for the three ambulatory surgery centers for Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
In 2018, Jay was recognized as one of the 100 great leaders in health care by Becker’s Healthcare. He holds bachelor and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology and has MBA from Concordia University Chicago. Jay has served as a Baldrige examiner for the State of Tennessee and is trained in Lean Six Sigma. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in the school of Preventative Medicine and lecturer for the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine.
Jay brings 27 years of experience as a leader in hospital administration and clinical operations. Trained as a clinical psychologist, Jay focuses on employee engagement — teamwork and collaboration — to build community, drive quality, improve the patient care experience, and achieve high employee satisfaction. Jay’s background includes serving as president of AMITA Saint Joseph Hospital, a 321-bed teaching hospital in Chicago; serving as CEO of Methodist South Hospital, a 145-bed community hospital in Memphis; and 20 years working within the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he worked at 5 different medical centers in roles of progressive complexity.
In his spare time, Jay enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, hiking and biking. He is on the boards of Metro Portland Habitat for Humanity and Unity Behavioral Health(Chair).
Marvin Southard
Marvin Southard was the Director of Mental Health for Kern County from 1993 to 1998 and went on to hold the same position for Los Angeles County from 1998 to 2019 where he was a leader of systems and community engagement and helped mold change to create client centered systems including a children’s system of care. He was appointed as a Professor of Practice at the University of Southern California from 2015 to 2019 to create and direct their professional Doctor of Social Work (DSW) degree program.
In addition, Commissioner Southard was appointed by Governor Newsom as a Board Member of the California Institute of Regenerative (Stem Cell) Medicine and was also a member of the California Institute of Behavioral Health Sciences and the Network for Social Work Management. He is a principal at Capstone Solutions Consulting Group and volunteers for numerous community organizations including Mental Health America California, CIBHS, Proxy Parent Foundation, and the California Men’s Colony.
Southard earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Social Work from University of California, Los Angeles, a Master of Social Work degree in Community Organizing and Social Planning from University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from St. John’s College and Theologate.
Southard fills the Commission seat designated for a current or former county behavioral health director.
Gary Tsai, MD
Dr. Gary Tsai is the Director of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, a bureau of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In this role, he oversees a full spectrum of substance use prevention, harm reduction, and treatment services for the residents of Los Angeles County. Tsai is physician board-certified in both general psychiatry and addiction medicine.
Tsai serves on the Board of Directors of NAMI California, and the California Health and Human Services Agency’s Behavioral Health Task Force. Tsai completed his medical training at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and his residency training at the San Mateo County Psychiatry Residency Training Program.
Commissioner Tsai fills the seat of a physician specializing in substance use disorder treatment, including the provision of medications for addiction treatment.
In Memoriam
Tina Wooton
Tina Wooton worked in the mental health system for 23 years, advocating for the employment of consumers and family members at the local, state and federal levels. From 2009 to 2021 she served as the Consumer Empowerment Manager for the Santa Barbara County Department of Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Services.
From 2005 through 2009 she worked as the Consumer and Family member liaison for the California State Department of Mental Health and was staff to the state Mental Health Services Act Implementation Team. Between 1997 and 2005 she served as Consumer Liaison for the Mental Health Association / County Mental Health of Sacramento and as service coordinator for Human Resources Consultants from 1994 through 1997.
Wooton was Vice President of AMP (Arts Mentorship Program) for Santa Barbara Dance Arts and a Santa Barbara Elks member. Commissioner Wooton represented clients and consumers.
Click to read more about Commissioner Wooton in a remembrance.
To request a copy of a specific contract, send an email to: bhsoac@bhsoac.ca.gov
CBH Workforce and Succession Plan
View the Commission’s Workforce and Succession Plan 2018 – 2023: Click here.
CBH Rules of Procedure
View the Commission’s rules of procedure: Click here.