CBHDA Behavioral Health Policy Forum 2025:
Transforming Behavioral Health: Changing Lives
Our main hotel room block and back up hotel room block are now completely sold out. There are other hotels with availability in Santa Barbara, so if you still need a hotel room, please make your own arrangements. CBHDA is not holding any additional rooms at this time.
Speakers and sponsors (bronze, gold, platinum and title tiers) should have received a separate registration link along with hotel booking details. If you haven’t already, please complete your registration and book your hotel room today.
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We’re excited to announce our upcoming CBHDA Behavioral Health Policy Forum October 22–24, 2025 in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA!
Our event will consist of a networking reception, informational workshops, breakout sessions, and stories from individuals with lived experience. Please join County Behavioral Health Directors and staff, providers, health plans, consumers, elected officials, policy staff, advocates and statewide behavioral health practitioners and policy leaders. This is an excellent opportunity to cultivate relationships in the community and keep a pulse on the rapidly evolving behavioral health policy landscape to maximize your impact in transforming behavioral health and changing lives.
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Dates: October 22–24, 2025
Location: Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort located at 633 E Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Theme: Transforming Behavioral Health: Changing Lives
Agenda at a Glance:
Wednesday, October 22
4:00pm – 7:00pm: Registration (Grand Ballroom Foyer)
5:30pm – 7:00pm: Networking & Awards Reception – (Plaza Del Sol - light refreshments provided)
Champion in Behavioral Health Award: Assemblymember Mia Bonta
Rachel Garcia Guerrero Equity & Advocacy Award: Keris Jän Myrick, Sr. VP of Partnerships and Innovation, Inseparable
Partnership Award: Marina Owen, Chief Executive Officer, CenCal Health
Rising Champion in Behavioral Health Award: Assemblymember Sade Elhawary
Thursday, October 23
7:00AM – 7:45AM: Continental Breakfast (Grand Ballroom)
7:45AM - 8:05AM: Welcome & Introduction - Michelle Doty Cabrera, Executive Director, CBHDA (Grand Ballroom)
8:05AM - 9:05AM: Keynote Speaker (Grand Ballroom)
Margaret J. Wheatley - Author of Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
9:05-9:15AM: Toni Navarro, CBHDA President & Santa Barbara County Behavioral Health Director & Jose Chang, AG Commissioner (Grand Ballroom)
9:15AM – 9:45AM: The Future of Medi-Cal (Grand Ballroom)
Keynote Speaker Michelle Baass - Director, Department of Health Care Services
9:45AM-9:55AM: Break
9:55AM – 11:15AM: Breakout Session One - Four Sessions Available
1a - Behavioral Health Services Act Implementation (Anacapa)
1b - The Future of Medi-Cal (Santa Cruz)
1c - Lanterman-Petris-Short Reforms Progress Update (Santa Rosa)
1d - Designing Integrated Systems: Advancing Strategies for Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Transformation (San Miguel)
11:15AM-11:30AM: Break
11:30AM-11:45AM: Laura Capps, Supervisor, 2nd District, Chair of Board of Supervisors; Board
Representative on the Behavioral Wellness Commission, Santa Barbara County (Grand Ballroom)
11:45AM-1:15PM: Homelessness Plenary Panel (Grand Ballroom)
Gregg Colburn, Author of Homelessness is a Housing Problem
Dr. Margot Kushel, Professor of Medicine, Director & Division Chief, UCSF
Lunch Service starts at 12:00pm (Grand Ballroom)
1:15PM-1:30PM: Break
1:30PM –3:00PM: Breakout Session Two - Four Sessions Available
2a - Leadership in This Moment (San Miguel Room)
2b - County Behavioral Health Financing for the Future (Santa Rosa Room)
2c - Children and Youth Evidence-Based Practices: Policy and Implementation (Santa Cruz Room)
2d - Meeting the Moment: Navigating Cliffs, Breaking Silos and Advancing BHSA Housing Interventions Through Partnerships and People-Centered Care (Anacapa Room)
3:00PM-3:15PM: Break
3:15PM-4:45PM: Changing Lives Through California's Historic Investments in Behavioral Health – General Session D (Grand Ballroom)
4:45PM-5:00PM: Michelle Doty Cabrera, Executive Director, CBHDA (Grand Ballroom)
5:30PM: Dinner on Your Own
Friday, October 24
7:00AM - 7:45AM: Breakfast (Plaza Del Sol Outdoor Area)
7:30AM – 7:35AM: Michelle Cabrera, Executive Director, CBHDA (Plaza Del Sol Outdoor Area)
7:35AM – 7:45AM: Mona Miyasato, Santa Barbara County County Executive Officer (Plaza Del Sol Outdoor Area)
8:00AM-9:15AM: Breakout Session Three - Four Sessions Available
3a - LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Access in 2025 (San Miguel Room)
3b Forensic Behavioral Health (Anacapa Room)
3c - BH CONNECT Waiver Implementation (Santa Rosa Room)
3d - Reimagining Crisis Response: Mobile Crisis in Action (Santa Cruz Room)
9:15AM-9:30AM: Break
9:30AM-10:45AM: Breakout Session Four - Four Sessions Available
4a - The Next Ten Years: Charting the Future of California’s SUD System Beyond DMC-ODS (San Miguel Room)
4b - CARE Court (Santa Cruz)
4c - Federal Funding Threats (Anacapa Room)
4d - AI in the Public Sector: Navigating the Nexus of Ethics, Innovation & Impact (Santa Rosa Room)
10:45AM-11:00AM: Break
11:00AM-11:30AM: Closing Keynote – General Session E (Grand Ballroom)
Kim Johnson, Secretary, California Health & Human Services
11:30AM - 12:00PM: Jei Africa, CBHDA President-Elect, Behavioral Health Director for San Mateo County - Closing Notes (Grand Ballroom)
Registration Information:
Registration is now closed
Hotel Booking Information:
Our main hotel room block and back up hotel room block are now completely sold out. There are other hotels with availability in Santa Barbara, so if you still need a hotel room, please make your own arrangements. CBHDA is not holding any additional rooms at this time.
Please reach out to Pegah Barrientos (pbarrientos@cbhda.org) regarding any registration questions, for hotel booking inquiries contact Linda MacDonald (lmacdonald@cbhda.org) and Andrea Porter (aporter@cbhda.org) and Caitlin Lafferty (clafferty@cbhda.org) for any additional questions or concerns.
We look forward to seeing you in Santa Barbara in October 2025!