The AHA’s Committee on Behavioral Health today announced its officers and new members for 2026. The officers are: Chair Mary Marran, chief administrative officer, Care New England, and president and COO, Butler Hospital; Past-chair Zelia Baugh, executive vice president, behavioral health, JPS Health Network; Chair-elect Tracey Lavallias, executive director, Behavioral Health Service Line, Lancaster General Health; and AHA Board Liaison Robert L. Trestman, M.D., professor and chair, department of psychiatry, Carilion Clinic.

The new members are: Chris Beamish, service line executive, mental health and addiction services, M Health Fairview; Brent Forester, M.D., chief and chair, department of psychiatry, Tufts Medical Center; Frank A. Ghinassi, Ph.D., president and CEO, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, and senior vice president, Behavioral Health and Addictions Service Line, RWJBarnabas Health; Brandy Hart, regional vice president, HCA Healthcare Behavioral Health Services; Rob Ryan, Ph.D., president and CEO, Bowen Health; Maurice W. Fried, Ph.D., program manager, Outpatient Behavioral Health Services Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Alameda Health System; Stephanie Greer, president, Avery Healthcare Market, UNC Health Appalachian; Shannah Martin, RN, CEO, Appling Healthcare; and Vicky Sabharwal, vice president and CEO, Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital, Jackson Health System.

The committee advises the AHA on policy and advocacy and provides a forum for strategic discussion of issues important to behavioral health providers and the field. See a complete list of board members and learn more about the AHA’s work on behavioral health.

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