Rusty Selix, JD, Director of Staff Services

Rusty Selix is the Executive Director and legislative advocate of the Mental Health Association in California and the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies. For nearly 20 years, he has been one of the state's most successful advocates for increased access to mental health care. He has led the efforts in California to ensure that the state's Medicaid agency takes into account the overall costs in managing mental health benefits - particularly weighing the cost of pharmacy benefits against savings in other segments of health care and disability payments.

Rusty Selix is currently self-employed, providing services he terms creative problem solving to address problems at the local and state level. This combines his experience and skills as an attorney, consultant, lobbyist, association executive, mediator, facilitator, and expert in state and local government gained through his fifteen years experience in California Government Relations.

Led by Rusty Selix of the Mental Health Association in California, the voters in California recently passed Proposition 63, which allows California's mental health system to be an appropriate study for the nation, in mental health and in other areas, of how to allocate resources to maximize results. The system is built around the most cost-effective strategies to effectively treat severe mental illnesses.

Rusty attended Northwestern University where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Economics. Following that, he returned to California to attend the University of California at Davis from which he received his law degree, and was selected to the Order of the Coif by being one of the top students in his class.

Karen Vicari, JD

Karen Vicari is the founder of Cure Arthritis Now!, a nonprofit arthritis advocacy organization, and a member of the California Arthritis Foundation Council, the policy-making body of the four California Arthritis Foundation chapters. Diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis in 1993, she has been active in numerous state policy activities to ensure appropriate treatment for arthritis patients. Prior to her arthritis diagnosis, Karen was a legal aid attorney assisting low income clients with public benefits and housing issues.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association, Sacramento Chapter and the UC Davis Health System Community Advisory Board.

Karen received a B.A. in psychology from UC San Diego and a law degree from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.

Kwabena Adubofour, MD

Dr. Adubofour is the Medical Director of Fifth Street Medical Center located in South Stockton. The clinic is active in the practice of primary care internal medicine. Dr. Adubofour is President of the Golden State Medical Association, and Associate Clinical Professor, Primary Care Residency Program and Department of General Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis Medical Center. Adubofour is chairman of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the South Stockton Diabetes Society, an organization he founded and which is dedicated to improving health care for members of the community with diabetes mellitus.

He is Co-chair of the Educational Slides sub-committee of the Diabetes Coalition of California, a statewide coalition working very closely with the California Diabetes Control Program located in Sacramento. In addition, Dr. Adubofour is a member of the following professional organizations; American College of Physicians, American Diabetes Association and the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Dr. Adubofour is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He believes in working very closely with community and other organizations to promote wellness and prevent disease.

Jennifer L. Bright

As Vice President of State Policy at the National Mental Health Association, Ms. Bright oversees the Healthcare Reform Department, which coordinates strategy and develops advocacy tools to assist the association's 340 affiliates in influencing state and local public policy on appropriations, Medicaid, and a host of other issues affecting mental health. With more than twelve years of experience in state government relations and public policy, she has assisted corporate, association and non-profit organizations in designing strategies to monitor and influence policy development on a wide range of issues. Before joining NMHA staff, Ms. Bright was Senior Vice President of Stateside Associates, a state and local government consulting firm. She received her bachelor's degree in Political Science from Trinity College, Washington, D.C., and a Masters of Public Administration from The George Washington University. In her spare time, Ms. Bright enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, and rowing on the Potomac River in Alexandria. Ms. Bright can be reached at (703) 838-7509 or jbright@nmha.org.

Richard O. Dolinar M.D.

A private practice clinical endocrinologist in Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Dolinar earned his Medical Degree from The State University of New York at Buffalo and did his Endocrinology Fellowship at Duke University. His direct interaction with patients for over 30 years as a physician has nurtured an acute understanding of not only his specialty but also the evolution and current state of the American health care system. This lends a unique and insightful perspective to Dr. Dolinar's expertise as a lecturer and author.

Dr. Dolinar has testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and has also given Congressional briefings regarding healthcare issues. He has presented to State Legislators as well as various healthcare industry professionals. Frequently he is interviewed by the local and national media, including CNN, CBS and PBS regarding his opinions on healthcare issues. He is a Senior Fellow in Healthcare Policy at the Heartland Institute.

A published author, in both professional and consumer publications, his articles and opinion pieces have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) and Diabetes Research. He is co-author of the book, Diabetes 101.

He is a Member of the Board of AACE, (the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) and serves on its National Legislative and Regulatory Committee. He is also the Chair of its Future of Healthcare Task Force.

Dr. Dolinar served as a Flight Surgeon in the Vietnam War and is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel.

Stewart Ferry, M.A.

Stewart Ferry, Director of Advocacy, National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Multiple Sclerosis California Action Network conducts a wide range of advocacy programs for the coalition of California Chapters of the National MS Society. He coordinates legislative visits, participates in coalitions, arranges public testimony, and recruits and trains volunteers. Stewart came to the MS Society because of his mother's diagnosis of MS. He had been employed with the Northern California Chapter since 1991 before serving as statewide Director one year ago. He has helped establish relationships with several key legislators and their staff's. Additionally, has built a statewide coalition of neurological disease organizations called the California Neuroallinace. Recent advocacy priorities in California include establishing an effective Olmstead Plan that accounts for the long-term care needs of a younger adult disabled population; and, preserve important safety net programs such as In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Medi-Cal "Optional Programs".

Stewart received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA with a concentration in Legislative Politics and an M.A. in political science from San Francisco State University with a concentration in State and Local Government. He worked in electoral politics for several years before joining the National MS Society.

Jim Grisolia, MD

Dr Grisolia is a clinical neurologist practicing in San Diego, CA and Associate Professor of Neurosciences on the volunteer staff at UCSD School of Medicine, with interests spanning consumer-centered health care, health care policy and latino health. He chaired the Advocacy Committee for the Epilepsy Foundation at the national level and continues to serve as Senior Vice President for the Epilepsy Foundation in San Diego and is active In the California NeuroAlliance.

Among his consumer activities, he serves on the professional advisory boards for the Epilepsy Foundation of SD, the MS Society of SD, the SD Parkinsons Association, and the American Heart Association Operation Stroke program. He is Chief of Staff-elect at Scripps-Mercy Hospital, the 8th largest hospital in California, and represents San Diego and Imperial Counties on the California Medical Association Board of Trustees. He serves on the board of the SD chapter of CALMA, the California Latino Medical Association and is bilingual and bicultural in English and Spanish.

Loretta Jones, M.A.

Loretta Jones, M.A., is the founder and Executive Director of Healthy African American Families (HAAF) II. As a "Community Gatekeeper," Loretta Jones has dedicated her entire life towards the hope and healing of community and society-at-large. Her career as a civil rights activist, health policy advocate, and social architect has spanned more than 30 years. In an effort to level the playing field for all people, Ms. Jones continues her unyielding commitment as a change agent against disparities in human health, development, and opportunity. She is a member of the Advisory Council planning NICHD's longitudinal child health study and chairs its Social Justice committee. She is a co-investigator of the NIMH UCLA/RAND Center for Research on Quality in Managed Care, the NIA UCLA Center for Health Improvement in Minority Elderly (CHIME), and the NIH Drew/UCLA Project EXPORT, as well as a recipient of numerous CDC grants and contracts. She is a member of the UCLA Institutional Review Board (IRB) for protection of human subjects. Ms. Jones was recently honored by the CDC as their first recipient of an award for public leadership in overcoming health disparities.

Rodrigo A. Muñoz, M.D.

Rodrigo A. Muñoz, M.D. was the 127th President of the American Psychiatric Association. He obtained training in psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He participated in research there that led to his being one of the co-authors of "Diagnostic Criteria for Using Psychiatric Research," the most quoted psychiatric paper in the last decades of the century.

Dr. Muñoz has published more than 200 scientific papers in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the Archives of General Psychiatry, and most of the leading psychiatric journals in the country. Of the eight books he has published, "Boarding Time - A Psychiatric Candidate's Guide to Part II of the ABPN Examination," has helped more than 14,000 psychiatrists in taking the ABPN.

In his local community, Dr. Muñoz is a Past-President of the San Diego County Medical Society and Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Family Health Centers at San Diego. He is Medical Director, Psychiatric Outpatient Services, Scripps Mercy Hospital, and Medical Director Hillcrest Counseling Center. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD.

Dr Muñoz is very active in programs for the indigent, the homeless, and patients who suffer from chronic mental illness. Dr. Muñoz is very active in programs for the indigents, the homeless, and patients who suffer from chronic mental illness. Dr. Muñoz has a full time private practice.

Michael B. Nichol, Ph.D.

Michael B. Nichol, Ph.D., QSAD Centurion Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy: Policy, Planning, and Development (PPD) and Gerontology (Public Administration, University of Southern California). Health policy and health economics are among Mr. Nichol's areas of expertise. Much of his research has been on the cost-effectiveness of pharmaceutical interventions (including pharmacist counseling). His research focuses on patient outcomes, resource utilization, medication compliance, and health utility measurement. Prior to joining the USC faculty, he had a ten-year career in state and regional health policy and management. He currently serves as a consultant to a number of managed care and pharmaceutical companies.