By Karen Larsen
Next month we will say a bittersweet goodbye to Maggie Merritt as she departs the Steinberg Institute after a decade of service. Maggie is off to grand adventures in this next chapter of her life but we can’t let her leave without acknowledging her unwavering passion and commitment to the Institute. We wouldn’t have accomplished all that we have without her leadership and dedication.
A lifelong mental health advocate, Maggie worked alongside then-Assemblymember Steinberg on the successful Yes on Proposition 63 campaign that enacted the Mental Health Services Act in 2004. Maggie worked alongside our founder Darrell Steinberg, to launch the institute in 2015 and served as our inaugural executive director from 2015-2022. She brought her strong background and legislative history to the position, maximizing the Institute’s impact on mental health policy in California.
In late 2021, our Board and Maggie decided to recruit a CEO for the Institute and expand beyond public policy advocacy in our strive to fix California’s behavioral health systems. This conversation was actually prompted by Maggie and is a testament to her selflessness and ability to put the organization first, always. As our CEO, Karen Larsen, joined the team in 2022, Maggie stepped back to focus on special projects.
We are forever indebted to Maggie for laying such a strong foundation for the Institute. Her many sleepless nights and challenges along the way led to our hard won successes. When our founder started the organization, it was with an acknowledgement that few in the legislature were paying attention to mental health, and that needed to change.
Fast forward almost a decade later and the budget for behavioral health in California has more than doubled, and the amount of legislation focused on behavioral health has increased eightfold. From parity to peer workforce to 988 implementation, we have much to be proud of and much to be grateful to Maggie for.
Thank you Maggie from the bottom of our hearts. May you find joy in this next chapter and pride in our continued work.
