The Steinberg Institute is honored to have the counsel of a powerhouse Board of Directors, committed to improving treatment and services for people living with mental illness or substance use disorder.
Darrell Steinberg, J.D.
Former Sacramento Mayor and California State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is a powerful and effective advocate for mental health care policy in California. He has a long history of championing policy issues affecting brain health, and has gained the respect and trust of providers, decision-makers, business leaders and advocacy organizations across the state and nation.
Darrell has worked to bring awareness and solutions for what he calls “the under-attended issue of our time.” As a member of the state Assembly, he authored the 2004 Mental Health Services Act, landmark legislation that now generates more than $4 billion annually for “whatever-it takes” services for individuals with the most severe brain illnesses, as well as innovative programs and research focused on early detection, intervention, and prevention of psychosis and serious mood disorders.
His commitment to improving mental health care has resulted in services that provide integrated care to the homeless. In 2013, as a state senator, Darrell authored SB 82, propelling a major statewide expansion of crisis residential and stabilization beds and mobile crisis capacity. In 2015, continuing his press for change, he established a first-of-its-kind statewide organization, the Steinberg Institute, dedicated to raising the profile of quality mental health care as a critical public policy and civil rights issue. In February 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Darrell to co-lead a new statewide Commission on Homelessness and Supportive Housing.
Ruth Shim, M.D., MPH
Ruth Shim, MD, MPH is the Luke & Grace Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Shim provides clinical psychiatric care in the UC Davis Early Diagnosis and Preventative Treatment (EDAPT) Clinic. Dr. Shim received an MPH in health policy from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and an MD from Emory University School of Medicine, and also completed residency training and a fellowship in Community Psychiatry at Emory. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Association of Community Psychiatry, and the Scientific Advisory Council of Bring Change to Mind.
She serves on the Editorial Boards of JAMA Psychiatry, Psychiatric Services, Community Mental Health Journal, and American Psychiatric Publishing, and is co-editor of the books, The Social Determinants of Mental Health, and Social (In)Justice and Mental Health. Dr. Shim is an at-large member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, and the National Academies’ ad hoc committee on Unequal Treatment Revisited: The Current State of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.
Ken Zimmerman, J.D.
Ken Zimmerman is the CEO of Fountain House, a national mental health nonprofit that empowers people living with serious mental illness through direct services, practice innovation, and policy change.
Prior to Fountain House, Ken founded and co-directed the Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative (S2i), a think-and-do tank that uses a social justice lens to catalyze change in mental health policy and practice. Ken was previously the Director of U.S. Programs for the Open Society Foundations, where he led initiatives involving over $100 million in grant-making to advance equality, democracy, and justice. He has also served in senior policy positions in the Obama and Clinton administrations, including as Senior Advisor to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
Following the death of his son Jared in 2016 as a result of his mental illness, Ken has focused on the nation’s broken approach to mental health—specifically calling on, and aiding, mainstream philanthropy to take advantage of the immense opportunities to transform mental health that now exist. Previously, Ken was a litigation partner for the pro bono practice group at Lowenstein Sandler, Chief Counsel to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and founding Executive Director of the New Jersey Institute of Social Justice. A graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School, Ken is a Distinguished Fellow at NYU’s Furman Center and teaches at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He lives with his wife Jackie in Montclair, New Jersey, and is the proud father, not only of Jared but his twins, Brianna and Gabriel.
Al Rowlett, LCSW
Al Rowlett is the Chief Executive Officer for Turning Point Community Programs (TPCP), an organization providing psychiatric services and support through over fifty programs in ten Northern California counties. He has led the agency as CEO for seven years following his role as Chief Operations Officer. In total, Al has had an over 40 year career with TPCP.
An ardent proponent of health care access and equity in California, in 2021 Al was appointed by Governor Newsom to the Mental Health Services Act Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSAOAC). The MHSAOAC oversees the implementation of the Proposition 63 initiative, which established a framework for continuous improvement of mental health care in the state.
Al is also a current Executive Board Member for the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies (CBHA) and serves on state Controller’s Citizens Financial Accountability Oversight Committee (CFAOC).
He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and earned his Master of Social Work degree from California State University, Sacramento. His education also includes an MBA in health services management from Golden Gate University, and a B.A. from Ottawa University.
Juan Acosta
Juan Acosta is a first generation Mexican immigrant, who grew up in Woodland California. He began his advocacy work locally at age 13.
At 21, Juan drafted a historic LGBTQ+ proclamation for his hometown of Woodland. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Francisco State University. Juan has done work throughout the state of California, across the country, and around the world.
He has served on various national committees and speaks at conferences and festivals, including United Nations Side Events and the first-ever Youth Mental Health Action Forum White House Event. Juan co-authored the New York Times Bestselling “Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community” with musical artist and actress Lady Gaga + other Born This Way Foundation Reporters. He regularly collaborates with numerous organizations and brands. His work has been featured by Mashable, Oprah Magazine, DOSOMETHING, MTV, and more. He currently serves as Program Officer for the Sierra Health Foundation.
Anne Bakar
Anne Bakar is President and Chief Executive Officer of Telecare Corporation, a leading national provider of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health care services, dedicated to the recovery of those with complex needs for over 60 years. When Anne assumed leadership of the company in 1987 at age 29, upon the unexpected death of her father, Telecare operated five Northern California inpatient programs. Over the ensuing decades, it has grown from $25 million to $700 million in annual revenue, offering 175+ programs in five states serving 48,000+ individuals and employing over 6,000 people.
Anne’s business acumen and leadership benefit organizations beyond Telecare. She is on the California Health Care Foundation’s Future of Medi-Cal Commission, a blue-ribbon commission developing a transformative vision for Medi-Cal and California’s health care safety net. She is a Board Director of the Steinberg Institute and a Board Trustee for the UC Berkeley Foundation, where she established the Morton Bakar Scholarship Fund in the School of Public Health. She is also on the Executive Board of the Bay Area Business Council.
Anne’s CEO legacy at Telecare is featured in Jim Collins’ book B.E. 2.0, Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company. She was also inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2025. She received her B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with honors and the Kenneth Priestly Award for outstanding student leadership.
David Beier, J.D.
David Beier, Managing Director of Bay City Capital, serves on the boards of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, the patient advocacy organization, No Patient Left Behind, and the biotechnology firm, Infinity Pharmaceuticals. He also is a Member of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy (‘Little Hoover Commission’).
Previously he served in senior executive roles in the White House, Genentech and Amgen. During his career David worked as a partner in an international law firm, an ACLU staff attorney, Legal Services lawyer and Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary.
Doug Bond
As President and CEO of Amity Foundation, Mr. Bond leads all facets of the organization, bringing his exceptional skills as a community-builder and visionary leader seeking continual systemic improvements for marginalized populations. He currently oversees over 60 contracts for Amity Foundation in California and Arizona, including four residential campuses serving over 500 people with histories of criminal justice system involvement, addiction, and homelessness per day. In the last three years, he has built out employment services contracts to create workforce development opportunities for this high-need population, is currently developing 300 units of permanent housing and over 200 more beds for residential services, and has rapidly expanded services and alternatives for youth reentering the community from the California Juvenile Justice.
Stephanie Graves, J.D.
Stephanie Graves is CEO of the Lee Andrews Group, a public relations firm located in downtown Los Angeles. Since 2013 she had led the national communications firm that partners with businesses, agencies and organizations to evolve, promote, engage and protect their projects, reputations and brands.
Stephanie oversees the company’s media relations, outreach campaigns, digital and social media, communications, crisis management, diversity and inclusion policies and strategic partnerships. An accomplished businesswoman, entrepreneur and community leader, her business acumen and financial expertise provides her with the right experience to lead the firm while managing the company’s overall operations, driving profitability, managing company organizational structure and strategy.
Stephanie has also built a reputation for her extensive work in environmental justice issues by tackling and empowering pollution-burden communities through outreach and education programs. Her experience has been sought out by the climate change industry, serving as an expert for educational media outlets.
Stephanie sits on the board of the Mayor’s Fund of Los Angeles, a non-profit to support people experiencing homelessness through outreach, connections to housing, supplies and opportunities for all community members and organizations to help in these solutions. Her education includes a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Southern California.
Margot Kushel, M.D.
Margot Kushel, M.D. is a Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco, the Division Chief and Director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, and the Director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. She also practices as a general internist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of homelessness and housing instability, with the goal of preventing and ending homelessness and ameliorating the effects of homelessness and housing instability on health.
She is the principal investigator of the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness, and the NIA funded study, the Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle agE (HOPE HOME) study, which examines the causes and consequences of homelessness in older adults. In addition, Margot serves on the board of Housing California and the National Homelessness Law Center. She is an Advisory Board Member of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Lisa Stone Pritzker
Lisa Stone Pritzker is founder and chair of the LSP Family Foundation, which she started to advance systems-changing organizations that address children’s, maternal, and mental health, and to support the arts, civic life, and Jewish engagement in humanitarian efforts.
Lisa is an impact multiplier, connecting trailblazers with national resources and each other. She has served as Chair of Stanford University’s Challenge Success program, on the Leadership Council of Peer Health Exchange, the National Advisory Council of Futures Without Violence, the First Five Commission, and on the UC San Francisco Board of Directors, where she was instrumental in the creation of the UCSF Department of Psychiatry’s Child, Teen, and Family Center. Her research for UCSF’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services at San Francisco General Hospital on financial barriers for victims of crimes led to beneficial new legislation.
Lisa serves on the Boards of Directors of Project Healthy Minds, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, All Chicago Making Homelessness History, The Jewish Funders Network. Additionally, she serves on the advisory boards for The Clinton Foundation’s Too Small To Fail Campaign and the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine.
