Vision 2030 Solution Symposium: Protecting Our Progress
Our second annual Symposium brought together a powerful community of leaders ready to shape what’s next in behavioral health.
SACRAMENTO SHERATON GRAND | FEBRUARY 4, 2026
What is the Vision 2030 Solution Symposium?
Hosted by the Steinberg Institute, California’s leading force in behavioral health policy and advocacy, the Vision 2030 Solution Symposium is where the most influential visionaries, changemakers, and advocates convene to discuss how to transform California’s behavioral health systems of care.
Held in Sacramento, the symposium is a powerful demonstration of leaders across sectors working together to drive real, systemic change. Join us to connect with hundreds of leaders across the behavioral health sector and help shape the next chapter of mental health and substance use care.
Protecting Our Progress
At a moment when national and state shifts threaten to undo hard-won progress, our second annual Symposium brought together leaders with both a national and state perspective – some of our nation’s most influential voices – to chart a path forward. Learn more about this year’s Protecting Our Progress theme here.
Driven by our Vision 2030 Initiative, the day’s conversations focused on how to protect progress and strengthen care for people living with serious mental illness and substance use disorders.
Featured Panels
Protecting the progress made requires collective action. This year’s panels centered on the areas where the stakes are greatest: homelessness, parity enforcement, crisis response, and the criminalization of substance use.
Protecting California’s Progress: Advancing Reform Amid Uncertainty
Featuring
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Former State Senator and BHSA Author
Dr. Mark Ghaly, Former Secretary of California Health & Human Services
Aligning Systems for Impact: Policy, Provider, and Payer Perspectives on Behavioral Health Reform
Moderated by Kana Enomoto
Director of Brain Health at the McKinsey Health Institute
Modern Systems for a Strained Workforce: Technology, Access, and the Next Era of Behavioral Health
Moderated by Andrew Barr
Founding Partner at GreyMatter
From Incarceration to Care: Decriminalizing and Caring for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders
Moderated by Karen Larsen, LMFT
Chief Executive Officer of the Steinberg Institute
Breaking the Cycle: Strategies to Reduce Homelessness, Incarceration, and Hospitalization
Moderated by Margot Kushel, MD
Professor of Medicine, Division Chief, UCSF Division of Health and Society, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
Redefining Response: Building a Safe and Effective Crisis Response System
Moderated by Tara Gamboa-Eastman
Director of Government Affairs at the Steinberg Institute
2026 Symposium Speakers
This year’s speakers included policymakers, advocates, county and health system partners, providers, researchers, and individuals with lived experience for conversations focused on solutions and collaboration.
Naomi Allen
Founder, Brightline
Andrew Barr
Founding Partner, GreyMatter
Doug Bond
President & CEO, Amity Foundation
Randy Carter
Dedicated Peer Counselor, Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor, Associate Director of The 50 Documentary
Jacey Cooper
President, Precision Health Strategies
Susan Talamantes Eggman, PhD, LCSW
Former State Senator, District 5
Author of Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA)
Kana Enomoto
Director of Brain Health, McKinsey Health Institute
Dr. Caroline Fenkel, DSW, LCSW
Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer, Charlie Health
Dr. Mark Ghaly
Former Secretary, California Health & Human Services
Al Guida
President & CEO, Guide Consulting Services, Inc.
Todd Henry
Police Chief, Davis Police Department
Margot Kushel
MD, Professor of Medicine, Division Chief, UCSF Division of Health and Society, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
Anthony Menacho
Executive Director, Sacramento Street Medicine
Marko Mijic
Vice President for Community Health, Kaiser Permanente
Michael Mohun
EMS Battalion Chief, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District
Noa Oldak-Moradian
Director of Community Engagement, Brightline
Yngvild Olsen
National Advisor, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Claire Simonich
Associate Director, Vera California, Vera Institute of Justice
Darrell Steinberg
Former Sacramento Mayor, Founder of Steinberg Institute
Gary Tsai, MD, DFAPA, FASAM
Director, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC) Bureau, County of Los Angeles, Dept of Public Health
Laura Tully, Ph.D.
Vice President of Partnerships, Kooth Digital Health
Alex Visotzky
Senior California Policy Fellow, National Alliance to End Homelessness
Kelli Weaver, LCSW
Behavioral Health Deputy Director, Behavioral Health Services, Department of Health Services, County of Sacramento
Elise Witek
Senior Director of Partnerships, Eleos Health
Highlights from our 2026 Solution Symposium
Key themes & insights
Our blog highlights the biggest themes that emerged from the Symposium: the challenges, opportunities, and strategies to building an accessible, effective system for every Californian.
Panel recordings
Panels included roundtable discussions on how to achieve our Vision 2030 goals to build a robust behavioral health workforce, expand access to care, and dramatically reduce hospitalization, homelessness, and incarceration among those living with behavioral health conditions.
Detailed panel recaps
Download our Vision 2030 Symposium recap report for detailed panel takeaways, insights, and actionable strategies shaping the future of behavioral health in California.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
We hope, and expect, that the Steinberg Institute's Vision 2030 approach — bringing together research, data analysis, and pushing our system further — is not just going to benefit those who pay close attention, but all Californians wherever they are.
2026 Snapshots
Stay ahead of what’s next. Get first access to Symposium news and updates.
What is Vision 2030?
We believe people living with serious mental illness and substance use disorders can recover – and deserve the chance to lead stable, meaningful lives. But despite billions invested, access has not improved enough, and we are unable to track meaningful outcomes for Californians living with these conditions.
In 2023 we launched Vision 2030 to address these challenges and transform California’s behavioral health system. Leveraging our role as an independent advocacy organization, we are leaning into research and implementation efforts that will drive our advocacy work and help bring desperately needed accountability to our systems.
Our goals are intentionally ambitious. Without a high bar, the state risks letting complacency prevent true progress.
Vision 2030 Goals
Build Our Workforce
Modernize and strengthen California’s behavioral health workforce to meet the diverse needs of the entire state.
Reduce Homelessness
Reduce the number of unhoused people with mental illness or substance use disorders by half.
Reduce Incarceration
Reduce the number of people with mental illness entering our criminal justice system by half.
Reduce Hospitalization
Reduce the number of people entering hospital emergency departments due to behavioral health crises by half.