The 2025 OPEN MINDS Health & Human Services Workforce Best Practices Summit

Throughout his career, Edward has worked with children, teens, individuals, and families from various walks of life; as a coach, crisis counselor, social worker, therapist, teacher, adoption services supervisor, and program director.  He has been a member of several boards, as well as serving as the Executive Director of The Concordia Schools – Los Angeles, the Managing Director for The Institute for the Redesign of Learning, and now as the CEO of the Jay Nolan Family of Companies.

Edward has led multiple organizations to financial prosperity, through digital and cultural change, by focusing on the greatest assets they have, the people they support, and the people providing that support.  He is committed to helping the leaders in our communities and companies to drive lasting positive change through innovation that keeps people at the center.

Having been in executive leadership roles for nonprofits for over 20 years; Edward believes one of the fundamental ways to strengthen our communities is through purposeful efforts to provide opportunities for every member to contribute.  By providing safe, challenging, and diverse venues in which to grow, develop, and contribute we create communities that are whole and healthy.

Isamu Pant believes that when we take care of people, performance follows. His career has been driven by a passion for simplifying complexity so teams can focus on impact, not firefighting. At Aurora Mental Health, he built the organization’s first analytics department, introduced agile operating practices across executive teams, and helped leaders align around five critical organizational priorities every quarter. This work reduced burnout, improved client access, and gave the organization a stronger foundation for growth.

At Amazon Web Services, Isamu designed and implemented a Product Development Playbook that streamlined innovation across teams, and was called on to judge and coach product teams developing cutting-edge solutions. He also scaled operational rhythms that freed leaders from day-to-day chaos and gave them the clarity to innovate.

Across healthcare and high tech, his approach is the same: identify the real constraint, simplify the process, and create systems that put people in the best position to succeed. Today, through his work with Designed for Time, he partners with mission-driven organizations to reduce burnout, strengthen outcomes, and align teams around what matters most.

Eric Eberman, M.S.Ed., is an experienced leader in New Jersey’s behavioral health and disability services sector.  Since January 2023, he has served as Executive Director of Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health – New Jersey, overseeing programs that support nearly 400 adolescents and adults with behavioral, emotional, and cognitive disabilities, including autism.

Since joining Devereux, Eberman has focused his efforts on developing a high-performing leadership team and finding sustainable growth opportunities for the future of the organization.Prior to this role, Eberman was the Director of Public Policy at Autism New Jersey, where he championed legislative initiatives and systemic reforms to enhance services for individuals with autism and their families. Before that, Eberman worked for 17 years at Bancroft where he started as a direct support professional and held roles of increasing responsibility, including senior director of strategic planning, executive director of pediatric and adolescent residential programs, vice president of acute behavioral health, and vice president of clinical services.

Eberman earned his Master of Science in Education, specializing in applied behavior analysis, from Temple University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rider University. During his 28 years in the field, Eberman has served on a number of Boards and has received numerous honors for his work. He received the Philadelphia 76ers’ “Heroes Among Us” award, which is given to individuals in the greater Philadelphia area who have made exceptional and overwhelming contributions to better the lives of children in the community. He also was named one of South Jersey Magazine’s “Men of the Year,” which recognizes men who demonstrate a spirit of caring, giving and making a difference in the lives of others.

James (Jamie) was appointed CEO in June 2016. He joined Grafton in August 2008 as Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice-President. As a successful financial and administrative leader he has over twenty years’ progressive experience in a healthcare environment.

Dr. Head-Dunham’s academic and administrative leadership has fostered noteworthy advances in the fields of addiction and mental health. She has served as a subject matter expert on various national and state platforms informing best practices for the field of behavioral health. Her clinical accolades include Clinical Faculty of the Year for the 2021 academic year at LSU School of Medicine. In 2019 she was the recipient of the Nyswander/Dole Award from the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, INC. (AATOD). Her clinical acumen coupled with her transformative leadership style has shaped an administrative career that fosters enduring changes for systems, organizations and individual levels of performance. Dr. Rochelle Head-Dunham is a New Orleans native who currently serves as the Executive Director and Medical Director for Metropolitan Human Services District (MHSD), a state local governing entity tasked with service delivery for indigent and Medicaid ensured persons living with mental illness, substance use disorders and intellectual/developmental disabilities, residing in New Orleans and neighboring parishes.

Karen Carloni is the Director of Boundless Advantage, the strategic resources division of “Boundless Strategic Resources, Inc”. Boundless Advantage focuses on the development of strategic partnerships. Her role is to develop culturally successful, smooth integrations.  Karen’s former roles include CEO of Southern Maryland Community Network, COO of Cornerstone Montgomery and VP of Market Intelligence at Open Minds. She has also served in clinical and social services roles during her career. At Boundless Advantage she combines her over 30 years of diverse experience in health and human services with a strong focus on developing sustainable organizations.