Featured Speakers

Dan Abreu

Dan Abreu, MS, CRC, LMHC, is an Associate Director of the National GAINS Center and administers the Technical Assistance and Policy Analysis (TAPA) Jail Diversion Center and the GAINS Evidence-Based Practices Center. Mr. Abreu is former Associate Director of Operations at the Central New York Psychiatric Center (CNYPC) where he was responsible for overseeing discharge planning activities for individuals with mental illness who were returning to the community from prison. He also oversaw the development and implementation of the Sing Sing CORP Re-entry Program. He formerly held positions with CNYPC as Regional Supervisor and as Chief of Mental Health Service at Sing Sing C.F. Prior to joining CNYPC, Mr. Abreu coordinated jail mental health services in Albany and Rensselaer counties in New York State. Mr. Abreu has also coauthored articles on how the mentally ill fare in prison work release programs and on providing services to persons diagnosed with mental illness returning to their communities from prison.

Judge Steven Leifman

The Honorable Steven Leifman serves as Chair of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Mental Health Committee and is responsible for creating the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project. This highly successful initiative brings together law enforcement, justice system, and community stakeholders to divert persons with mental illnesses who commit low-level offenses away from incarceration and into community-based care. Since 2007, Judge Leifman has also served as Special Advisor on Criminal Justice and Mental Health for the Supreme Court of Florida. He has also been appointed to many other committees including the Council of State Governments/TAPA Center for Jail Diversion Judges’ Criminal Justice/Mental Health Leadership Initiative, the Miami–Dade County Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force, and the National Leadership Forum for Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Services. Judge Leifman has also received numerous awards and acknowledgements including NAMI’s highest honor, the 2008 Distinguished Service Award.

LaVerne Miller, Esq

LaVerne D. Miller, Esq., currently works with Policy Research Associates providing technical assistance and support to Mental Health Transformation State Incentive grantees. Her work focuses on the development of policies, practices, and systems assuring the meaningful involvement of consumers, family members, and youth along the entire continuum of transformation activities. She also develops strategies to involve groups that traditionally have not had a voice in system changes, including but not limited to, underrepresented racial, ethnic, linguistic, and gay and lesbian communities. Ms. Miller, who is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Northeastern School of Law, previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney with the Manhattan Attorney’s Office and as a community organizer and housing advocate in southeast Queens, New York. From 1996 to 2008, Ms. Miller served as the Director of the nationally-recognized, Howie the Harp Peer Advocacy Center, in New York City. This well-known center trains consumers to work in human services.

Fred Osher, MD

Fred Osher, MD, is currently the Director for the Health Systems and Services Policy for the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center. In this capacity, he oversees the health components of the CSG Justice Center’s initiatives. He also provides technical assistance to state and local governments across the country seeking to improve their response to persons who have mental health and/or substance use disorders and are involved in the criminal justice system. In addition, Dr. Osher is an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Staff Psychiatrist for Health Care for the Homeless in Baltimore, Maryland. He has published extensively in the areas of homelessness, community psychiatry, co-occurring mental and addictive disorders, and effective approaches to persons with behavioral disorders within criminal justice settings. In 2005, Dr. Osher was honored with the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award by NAMI.

Jennifer Skeem, PhD

Jennifer Skeem, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Irvine. She is a Research Affiliate with NIMH Center for Mental Health Services and Criminal Justice Research, a member of the MacArthur Network on Mandated Community Treatment, and with the UC Irvine Centers for Psychology and Law and Evidence-Based Corrections. Dr. Skeem’s areas of interest are criminal justice and mental illness. The focus of her work is to inform clinical and legal decision-makers about persons with mental disorders. She has authored or coauthored over 70 articles, chapters, and books addressing such topics as understanding psychopathic personality disorder, assessing and managing violence risk, and identifying key influences on the outcomes of probationers who are required to accept psychiatric treatment. Dr. Skeem has received several awards including the Shah Award for Early Career Excellence from the American Psychological Association and the Distinguished Assistant Professor Award for Research from the Academic Senate at UC Irvine in 2006.