For more info or to schedule an interview, contact: Lindsay J. Keller, 202-380-3116 (office), email

Download as PDF 

Lorrie Rickman Jones, Ph.D., was appointed Director of Mental Health, Illinois Department of Human Services on July 1, 2005. Prior to taking on this responsibility, Dr. Rickman Jones served as the Deputy Director for Clinical Operations for Mental Health in Illinois, responsible for the daily operations of nine state hospitals, and the service planning and funding of over 120 community-based mental health providers. She has received specialized training in clinical neuropsychology, forensic psychology and organizational management.

Barbara Shaw is Director of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority, a state agency charged with planning, coordinating, funding and evaluating violence prevention efforts in Illinois. Ms. Shaw has 30 years of experience working at community and statewide levels mobilizing the public, private and community sectors to address family and community program and policy issues including poverty, family violence, affordable housing, violence prevention and children’s mental health. Ms. Shaw chaired the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Task Force, a broad coalition that successfully advocated for passage of groundbreaking legislation, the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Act of 2003. She currently serves as Chair of the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership, appointed by the Governor. The Partnership was created by the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Act of 2003 to implement its provisions.  

Tanya R. Anderson, M.D., currently serves as the Acting Chief of Clinical Services for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health. In this role, she provides coordination and leadership of the comprehensive network of mental health services and providers in the state of Illinois and for state operated mental health facilities. Dr. Anderson is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and has a long-standing interest in culturally competent care, services and health care disparities. She has published in these areas and currently has a research project examining the validity and sensitivity of several PTSD assessment tools for urban impoverished youth exposed to trauma.

Gustavo Espinosa, LCSW, currently serves as Associate Director of the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health. In this role, he is responsible for planning, directing, administering and coordinating all mental health services with state-purchased services from community providers within Region 1 Central. He also serves as the Facility Director for Madden Madden Mental Health Center in Maywood. He has a long-standing interest in culturally competent care, and has served as an advocate for access to care for the Latino community, the uninsured and the undocumented, working with a number of advocacy groups. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois; the Joint Advisory Council on the Mental Health System; The Multicultural Multilingual Advisory Committee to the Bureau of Mental Health in Chicago. He is fluent in Spanish.

Debra Ferguson, Ph.D., is currently the Associate Deputy Director for Forensics, responsible for all juveniles adjudicated Unfit to Stand Trial or Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in Illinois. She is also the chief administrator for the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Mental Health Juvenile Justice Program. Dr. Ferguson received her doctoral degree from George Washington University. She completed an internship in Clinical Psychology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. She has over 20 years’ experience in forensic psychology, in both private practice and public sector institutions. She is a former Chief Psychologist at one of Illinois’ forensic hospitals and former expert forensic examiner at Forensic Clinical Services in Cook County. She serves on a number of local, state and national committees focused on mental health issues for youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

Brenda Hampton is employed with the Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, as Acting Associate Director of Systems Rebalancing. Ms. Hampton has 17 years of professional experience with the Division in various administrative and policy decision-making positions. Prior to her tenure with state government, she worked for 14 years in various clinical and administrative positions in community-based mental health and behavioral health centers throughout the greater Chicago area.

Mary E Jensen, MA, RN, CRSS DMH Recovery Support Specialist, is the first nurse in Illinois to achieve the Certified Recovery Support Specialist credential and is well known in the mental health consumer recovery movement in Illinois and nationally. She has provided numerous presentations to diverse audiences on the role of peer services in mental health, on medical conditions that mimic mental illnesses, on Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) and related topics.  She brings her own personal experience of mental health recovery into her work and inspires consumers of services and clinicians in pursuit of wellness.

Nanette Larson is Director of Recovery Support Services for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health. She is a nationally recognized leader in the mental health consumer recovery movement and has provided numerous presentations to diverse audiences on recovery, spirituality and related topics. Her passion for recovery comes from her personal experience of recovery from mental illness, and her message is one of hope for all whose lives are affected by these conditions.

Colette Lueck is Managing Director of the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership. Previously, she served as Clinical Director for three systems of care development grants designed to support interagency collaboration among schools, parents and mental health service providers to enhance access to services for youth with serious emotional disorders. She has spent over 25 years working in the field of children’s mental health, focused on staff development and training; expansion of service offerings to include home-based services and respite care; and partnerships with the caregivers of youth in need of mental health supports. She is a member of the National Wraparound Initiative and has conducted training on wraparound and systems of care nationally.

Robert Vyverberg, Ed.D, currently serves as Chief of Staff for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health. In this role, he also serves as Acting Director in the absence of Dr. Jones, and as lead for System Support Services, including its legal, human resource, fiscal and information services. Prior to becoming Chief of Staff, Dr. Vyverberg served as Network Manager/Facility Director of DMH’s North Central Network, working closely with the Director of Recovery Support Services in the early development of a recovery-oriented, community-based service system.

Paula Wolff is Senior Executive at Chicago Metropolis 2020, a civic organization implementing policy initiatives and programs for regional action on issues including land use, transportation, child development and education. Her policy emphasis is on justice and violence, examining issues of crime, violence, incarceration and rehabilitation.