BHRS Employee Spotlight Posted on October 30, 2026 Welcome to the Employee Spotlight series, where we feature a BHRS employee each quarter to recognize their impact, highlight their work and learn more about the people who serve our community. BHRS employees are encouraged to fill out the form here to nominate a fellow BHRS employee to be featured in the BHRS Newsletter. Name Dr. Sue Smith Hometown Menlo Park Job title Psychiatrist at BHRS East Palo Alto Clinic What do you do? I provide assessments, medication management and ongoing follow up for patients in our clinic. I have also supervised some of the doctors who are training to become psychiatrists. How long have you worked for BHRS/San Mateo County? 19 years What do you enjoy most about your job? I enjoy the privilege of caring for others who may not receive the help they need elsewhere. It is very rewarding to see changes and progress. Hearing about their lives and how that impacts their mental health has made me a better doctor. What has been your most rewarding experience on the job? The most rewarding experiences are the connections I have made with colleagues and patients. I returned to South County where I originally worked from 2000 to 2009, (in 2022 to help cover and 2026 when the East Palo Alto clinic was being remodeled). Seeing some of my former patients, either to provide care or encountering them in the clinic, gave us the chance to reminisce about those earlier days and colleagues they remembered who made an impact in their lives. One patient associated his recovery with the clinic and continues to get treatment there, even though he lives in a different part of the county now. Connections matter! Favorite activities/hobbies or things you like doing when you are not working? I enjoy spending time with family, friends and singing. I hope to get back into playing percussion and cross-country skiing. If I weren’t a psychiatrist, I’d be a… If I weren’t a psychiatrist, I would be a teacher. I have been a mentor in the Computer Academy at Menlo Atherton High School for the past 5 years. Each year I meet with a high school junior 4 times during the school year to help them prepare for their future. We discuss their interests, future career goals, whether college or otherwise, set goals to improve their academic scores, review resumes and conduct mock job interviews. Many have not had a family member attend a trade school, training program or college. It is very rewarding to provide guidance and knowledge to our youth. Dr. Smith was nominated by BHRS Medical Director Dr. Tasha Souter who shared, “Dr. Smith has been a community psychiatrist in our system of care for many years. She graduated from the BHRS Psychiatry Residency Training program and has always kept the needs of our clients as paramount. She works at the East Palo Alto Clinic where she provides outstanding, evidence-based, compassionate treatment to our clients while working tirelessly to outreach and uplift this community. She is also a dedicated and excellent teacher for our current residents. She is always positive, empathic, and collaborative with the clinical team. Her warmth, skill and dedication is an asset to BHRS.” Thank you, Dr. Smith, for your work at BHRS!
19th Annual Housing Heroes Awards Recognize Community Leaders Posted on October 29, 2026 The 19th annual Housing Heroes Awards took place on Wednesday, October 21 at the Redwood Shores Library. Each year, the event honors community partners and colleagues who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in providing and/or maintaining housing for San Mateo County Residents with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues. This year, founding member of the Housing Heroes event Lee Harrison gave a warm welcome, shared a brief history of the event, and introduced the program, including lived experience speaker, Jasmine Babineux, keynote speaker, Board of Supervisors President Noelia Corzo, and the eight Housing Heroes recipients. Harrison shared, “For 19 years we have been celebrating this work, and the people are the reason that we do it. We think this is a reflection of the spirit of San Mateo County leadership and partners that keep the importance of affordable supported housing a recognized priority.” He added, “The founding members were a group of BHRS employees who believed that stable housing was a critical cornerstone of recovery. As behavioral health providers, they saw how difficult it was for people to engage in treatment when they did not have stable housing. Providing those supportive opportunities was seen as visionary and insightful at the time.” President Corzo shared, “When I think about my lived experience and the many ways in which I think about how housing played a pivotal role for me… how that gave me the foundation to become who I am, to live in one place, to have the stability to excel in my education, to live in one community and grow strong roots. Not everybody gets that, but everybody deserves it. What you all do for your clients, you are giving them that.” 2026 Housing Heroes: Samaritan House (Gerryk Madrigal-Ayala, Lupe Filimoehala, Gema Corrales Ruíz) David Carducci, Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County Jack Fuller, Hearts for Homeless Stephanie Smith Gurvitz, Elder Care Alliance Peer Support Specialists Desiree Fortune and Estefanie Hernandez Board and Care Homes, Lulin “Lucy” Wu (Arcadian Residential Community); Grace Aqunio, (Diana’s Care Home); Jonabell Tolentino (Scott Villa) Mental Health Association Staff (Jovana Ibarra, Tiffany Bailey, Tabitha Halverson) Honorable Carole Groom Housing Leadership Award: Mental Health Association of San Mateo County Thank you to the Housing Heroes Awards planning committee: Laura Angel, Brian Baluyot, Tara Currie-Martinez, Kelsey Dattilo, Maria Lorente Foresti, Terrell Fortune, Lee Harrison, Gozel Kulieva, Jessica Nguyen and Daisia Williams. 2026 Housing Heroes
BHRS Office of Diversity and Equity Receives County Equity Champion Award The BHRS Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) has been selected as the 2026 Equity Champion Award winner in the Departmental Equity Team category by the San Mateo County Office of Racial and Social Justice! This County recognition highlights ODE’s contributions to advancing equity and belonging and aligns with broader equity efforts to improve outcomes for all and create conditions for full social, economic and civic participation. The award reflects the collective work, commitment, and care ODE brings to BHRS, County Health, and the broader San Mateo County community. Through its Health Equity Initiatives and longstanding community engagement and prevention work, ODE has elevated community voices and strengthened partnerships. Its efforts also include expanding language access, advancing Multicultural Organizational Development, supporting inclusive hiring, and strengthening workforce development through training, internships and career pathways. Together, these efforts help embed equity into everyday practices, policies and services. Equity is essential to BHRS’s mission because discrimination, stigma, language barriers and other systemic inequities affect access to care and behavioral health outcomes. Addressing these barriers helps clients and families receive timely, culturally responsive services and supports a workplace where staff feel respected, supported and able to contribute. This work advances the BHRS Transformation Journey, our strategic plan, and reinforces equity as a shared responsibility across our system. Congratulations to the ODE team, and thank you to the staff, clients, families, and community partners whose collaboration makes this work possible!
5-Year Transformation Roadmap Overview In 2025, BHRS kicked off an exciting new chapter with what we’re calling our transformation journey, a strategic vision aimed at reshaping the way we provide care across our behavioral health system. We are all here to make a difference in our communities. We help individuals thrive and transform while preserving dignity and compassion. Our transformation is also needed. It is essential to our growth—not just due to regulations but because it is the right thing to do. The world of behavioral health has changed, and will continue to change—demands are higher, standards are stricter, and scrutiny is more intense. We need to recognize that our communities’ needs have also changed, becoming more diverse and personalized than ever before. A BHRS Transformation 5-Year Roadmap Overview has been developed, outlining our strategic priorities, milestones, activities to achieve them, and the outcome metrics for measuring success. Priority 1: Align strategy and fiscal stewardship in a way that empowers BHRS to adapt, evolve, and thrive Outcome Measures: 20% overall increase in revenue reimbursement per client with open episodes. 90% of staff report the strategic vision is reflected in their current practices Priority 2: Cultivate a culture at every level of the organization where data drives progress, transparency, and action Outcome Measures: 80% of program teams develop metrics to drive continuous improvement and decisions across the organization. 75% of leadership staff complete Transformation Academy trainings focused on data for continuous improvement and 70% report application of concepts. Priority 3: Champion a spirit of learning, curiosity, healing, growth and continuous improvement Outcome Measures: 10% increase in Employee Engagement Survey “bottom 3” scores related to perception of senior leadership, including increased trust, alignment with core values and strengthened communication. 90% of NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance) behavioral health accreditation standards are met, demonstrating that quality management and improvement, population health management, provider network, utilization management, credentialing, and member experience processes at BHRS are aligned with NCQA standards. Priority 4: Ensure every service reflects the voices, needs, and aspirations of those we serve Outcome Measures: 80% overall client satisfaction scores from BHRS consumer perception surveys. 100% of Behavioral Health Accountability Sets (BHAS) measures meet or exceed state-established quality benchmarks or achieve an increase of 5% points from the prior measurement year demonstrating that effectiveness of care, access to care, and experience of care are meeting state-wide standards. View the overview document.