Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. recently announced the appointment of Commissioner Ken Berrick and the reappointments of Commissioner Bunch, Commissioner Danovitch, Chair Tamplen and Commissioner Wooton to the Mental Health Services and Accountability Commission. Please see the announcements below.
Ken Berrick, 63, of Oakland, has been appointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Berrick has been chief executive officer at Seneca Family of Agencies since 1985 and a trustee for Area 3 of the Alameda County Office of Education since 2008. He is a fellow of the Pahara Institute and a member of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, California Child Welfare Council, Alameda County Mental Health Services Act Planning Commission, California Alliance of Child and Family Services and Support, Opportunities and Rapport for Youth. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Berrick is a Democrat.
Keyondria D. Bunch, 41, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where she has served since 2017. Bunch has been a clinical psychologist for the Emergency Outreach and Triage Division at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health since 2016, where she has served in multiple positions since 2008, including clinical psychologist for the Specialized Foster Care Van Nuys Co-Located Program, clinical psychologist for Juvenile Justice Mental Health Quality Assurance and a clinical psychologist for the Valley Coordinated Children’s Services. She was an adjunct lecturer at Antioch University in 2015 and a guest lecturer at The HELP Group in 2007. Bunch was a staff psychologist at Children’s Institute Inc. from 2007 to 2008 and a behavioral therapist at the Beautiful Minds Center for Autism from 2005 to 2006. She held multiple positions at the University of Southern California from 2002 to 2006, including research assistant, guest lecturer, teaching assistant and disability counselor for Disability Services and Programs. Bunch was a research assistant at Harvard University from 2001 to 2002. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in counseling psychology from the University of Southern California and a Master of Education degree in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bunch is a Democrat.
Itai Danovitch, 43, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where he has served since 2016. Danovitch has been chairman for the Department of Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center since 2012, where he has held multiple positions since 2007, including director for the Addiction Psychiatry Clinical Services and as associate director for the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. He is past president of the California Society of Addiction Medicine, a distinguished fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Danovitch earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Management. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Danovitch is a Democrat.
Khatera Aslami Tamplen, 40, of Pleasant Hill, has been reappointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where she has served as chair since January, 2019 and as a member since 2013. Tamplen has been consumer empowerment manager at Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services since 2012. She was executive director at Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services from 2007 to 2012 and served in multiple positions at the Telecare Corporation Villa Fairmont Mental Health Rehabilitation Center from 2002 to 2007, including director of rehabilitation and rehabilitation therapist. She is a member of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, Center for Mental Health Services National Advisory Council and a founding member of the California Association of Mental Health Peer Run Organizations. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Tamplen is a Democrat.
Tina Wooton, 61, of Santa Barbara, has been reappointed to the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where she has served since 2010. Wooton has been consumer empowerment manager at the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness since 2009. She was consumer and family member liaison at the California Department of Mental Health from 2005 to 2009 and served on the Mental Health Services Act Statewide Implementation Team. Wooton was consumer liaison at the Mental Health Association of Sacramento and the Sacramento County Mental Health Department from 1997 to 2005. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Wooton is a Democrat.