Professional Experience

As a consultant, Rebecca draws upon a rich history of impactful work across public health, behavioral health, and children and family systems. Over the course of her career, she has led initiatives that have shaped national policies, improved service delivery, and fostered cross-sector collaboration. Below are some key accomplishments, projects, and contributions that reflect her commitment to driving systemic change and improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities.

Leadership at SAMHSA: Driving Policy and Systems Change

As Deputy Director of the National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory at SAMHSA, Rebecca spearheaded the development of federal strategies that advanced mental health and substance use policy across the country. She led efforts to integrate trauma-informed care into federal public health initiatives, ensuring that communities and healthcare providers were better equipped to address the needs of individuals impacted by trauma.

• Key Developer of SAMHSA's Trauma-Informed Approach: As one of the principal authors, she was integral in establishing SAMHSA’s nationally recognized trauma-informed care framework, which has been widely adopted across health and social service systems.

• Coordinated National Initiatives: she directed multi-agency initiatives that aligned federal, state, and local agencies in a coordinated response to behavioral health challenges, improving service delivery for at-risk populations.

Strategic Contributions to Children and Family Systems

With a background in both law and social work, Rebecca has long focused on strengthening children and family services, advocating for policies that improve access to care and support for vulnerable children and families.

• Partnerships with ACF, CMS, and DOJ: She played a key role in partnering with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to integrate trauma-informed care into their systems, ensuring that children and families received services sensitive to the effects of trauma.

• Youth Behavioral Health Policy Development: She contributed to the creation of policies that promote youth mental health services, focusing on early intervention and family support. This work has positively impacted local and state programs across the country, improving behavioral health outcomes for children and adolescents.

Crisis Services and Behavioral Health Integration

One of Rebecca’s proudest accomplishments was supporting the development and implementation of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This national initiative, designed to provide immediate, accessible mental health crisis support, reflects her commitment to improving crisis response systems across the United States.

• Leadership on the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: She supported the federal rollout of the 988 Lifeline, working to ensure that people in crisis would have access to timely, compassionate, and trauma-informed care.

• Expanding Behavioral Health Integration: In collaboration with public health, healthcare, and social service organizations, she developed strategies to integrate mental health and substance use treatment into primary care settings, ensuring individuals received the holistic care they needed.

Long COVID Response and Public Health Initiatives

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rebecca led efforts to address the long-term effects of the virus, focusing on the behavioral health challenges posed by Long COVID. This included guiding policy development, supporting healthcare systems in managing Long COVID patients, and ensuring that vulnerable populations received adequate care.

• Policy Development for Long COVID: She contributed to the development of national guidelines for addressing the mental health and substance use needs of individuals impacted by Long COVID, ensuring that public health systems could adapt to the unique challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic.

• Support for Providers and Communities: She worked with stakeholders, community organizations, and providers to enhance their capacity to support individuals experiencing Long COVID-related symptoms, which often include mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Public Health Consulting: Systems Change and Capacity-Building

Through RBZ Consulting, Rebecca is working with a diverse range of organizations to create lasting change in public health and behavioral health systems, providing strategic consulting services that improve service delivery and foster collaborative solutions.

• System Integration Projects: She is helping organizations align their operations across healthcare, social services, and education sectors, creating more seamless and effective systems that better serve individuals and families.

• Stakeholder Engagement and Capacity Building: She is leading initiatives to engage key stakeholders in public health systems, from policymakers to community leaders, and provided capacity-building support to ensure that systems are sustainable, effective, and capable of adapting to evolving community needs.

These accomplishments reflect a career dedicated to improving public health systems, integrating trauma-informed care, and ensuring that children, families, and communities have access to the support and services they need to thrive. Through this work, Rebecca aims to continue fostering innovation, collaboration, and systemic change across sectors.