The 2023 OPEN MINDS Health & Human Services Workforce Best Practices Summit

Victor Armstrong serves National Director of Soul Shop for Black Churches, a national initiative to equip faith community leaders to minister to those impacted by suicide. Victor previously served as Chief Diversity Officer of RI International with responsibility for developing, creating, and implementing the Diversity Equity and Inclusion framework throughout the organization. Prior to this role Victor served as North Carolina DHHS Chief Health Equity Officer, with responsibility for leading the overarching strategy and operational goals to promote health equity, diversity, and inclusion across all the agency’s health and human services.

Victor originally joined NC DHHS as ‪Director of the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Substance Abuse Services in March of 2020, with responsibility and oversight of the public community-based mental health, intellectual and other developmental disabilities, substance use, and traumatic brain injury system in North Carolina. Prior to accepting this role, Victor spent six years as Vice President of Behavioral Health with Atrium Health. Based in Charlotte. Victor has over 30 years of experience in human services, primarily dedicated to building and strengthening community resources to serve individuals who have been historically marginalized. He is a nationally recognized speaker on issues regarding health equity and access to healthcare, particularly as it relates to individuals living with mental health challenges.

Victor currently serves on the board of directors of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention- North Carolina and is the host of the “Strong Talk” podcast. He is a member of NC Institute of Medicine (NCIOM), and serves on the National Response Steering Committee for the Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.  

Victor’s awards and recognitions include:

• Living Waters Annual Mental Health Summit 2022 “Lifetime Mental Health Champion” Award
• National Association of Social Workers North Carolina (NASW-NC) 2022 Social Worker of the Year
• Addiction Professionals of NC (APNC) 2021 DEI Leadership & Impact Award
• Mental Health America’s 2021 H. Keith Brunnemer, Jr. Award for “Outstanding Mental Health Leadership”
• Black Mental Health Symposium 2019 Mental Health Advocate of the Year
• Atrium Health 2019 Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award
• East Carolina University School of Social Work 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award
• i2i Center for Integrative Health 2018 Innovation Award for “Whole Person Care”
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) NC, 2012 Mental Health Professional of the Year.

Victor graduated, Magna Cum Laude, from North Carolina Central University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and received a Master of Social Work (MSW) from East Carolina University. He is the husband of Dr. Charletta Armstrong and the father of 3 sons, Carter, Alonzo, and Victor Jr.

Vic is speaking during Developing A Talent Management Strategy For The Future.

Ramona Osburn, MBA, MHA, FACHE, brings 20 years of experience in the behavioral health field to OPEN MINDS. Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Osburn served as the Regional Vice President of Operations, Strategic Behavioral Health, providing leadership, strategy, and operational support to behavioral health hospitals and outpatient centers in multiple states. In that role, she created numerous outpatient telehealth programs, developed a strategy for community-based care programming, and was responsible for business development and marketing planning.

Previously, Ms. Osburn was the Chief Executive Officer for Summit Behavioral Health. At Summit, Ms. Osburn led a program to integrate the operations of a large addiction treatment center; an addiction medicine practice with more than 40 addictionologists and psychiatrists, and a medical health care system. She facilitated the development of a strategy for the newly-integrated system, developed its marketing plan, created a physician council, and negotiated its payer contracts including pay-for-performance arrangements.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Osburn was the Market Chief Executive Officer for Universal Health Services (UHS).She was recruited to design, build, and open a new behavioral health hospital and multiple outpatient centers to support a partnership with a regional medical center. Ms. Osburn was also responsible for the operations of four other behavioral health hospitals, managing the CEOs of those facilities. In this role, Ms. Osborn also recruited psychiatrists, led a initiative to integrate behavioral health into the medical center’s emergency services, and negotiated numerous health plan contracts and partnerships.  

Before UHS, Ms. Osburn was the Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health for Texas Health Resources. In that role, she provided operational leadership for multiple behavioral health hospitals, residential addiction treatment centers, eating disorder programs, and outpatient centers. She developed the organization’s direct employer contracting strategy and negotiated Center of Excellence contracts with health plans. Ms. Osborn also led Texas Health Resources involvement in an ACO initiative to integrated behavioral health with primary care and created a systemwide mobile assessment team for 55 hospital emergency departments in the greater Dallas metro area.

Ms. Osburn received her MBA and MHA from Texas Women’s University and Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Excelsior College at the University of New York.Edit Speaker 

Erin is speaking during Innovative Approaches For Retaining Direct Support Professionals.

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW, has more than 20 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive expertise and a wide range of experience in health plan management, clinical operations management, and technology. A recognized thought leader among her peers, Ms. Hicks is a regular keynote speaker at industry conferences and association meetings, as well as an author of hundreds of articles and resources for professionals in both clinical and executive roles.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system. She served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, UPMC’s managed behavioral health organization responsible for $800 million in annual revenue. At Community Care, Ms. Hicks was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations, including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. She also managed the day-to-day operations of human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.

Ms. Hicks also served in a variety of tech leadership roles for UPMC. In 2002, she was appointed as the Vice President of Technology Strategy for the UPMC Insurance Services Division before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, a leading provider of electronic health record software for behavioral health and social service organizations. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth and profitability of the company and the direction of software development. In addition, Ms. Hicks was the President of U Squared Interactive, a UPMC-owned organization with the exclusive United States rights to Beating The Blues – the renowned computerized cognitive behavioral therapy solution for treating anxiety and depression.

Ms. Hicks started her impressive career as a psychiatric social worker and an Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.

Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Point Park College, Pittsburgh, PA.

Corina has a 15-year-career in the child welfare arena, most recently at Wayfinder Family Services as chief program officer over the past 11 years. During her time at Wayfinder, the agency grew its contracts from $10 million to $20 million, added six group homes, a medically fragile residential program, and shelter care. She also took the program lead of a merger/transition with another organization. Prior to Wayfinder, Corina worked as a regional administrator at McKinley Children’s Center, a chronic care social worker at The Children’s Clinic, and as a foster care social worker/clinician at Concept 7 Family Support & Treatment Center. For the last 7 years, she has been an adjunct guest lecturer at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs where she teaches several courses to MSW graduate students. Corina holds a B.A. in political science and a B.A. in sociology from the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California.

Corina is speaking during Recruiting Best Practices For A Competitive Labor Market.

With over 30 years of progressive Human Resources experience in varying disciplines, Kymberly Garrett has a background using a holistic Human Resources Management style. Kymberly supports all levels of professional development and has created cutting edge programs in Talent Acquisition, Talent & Performance Management and Executive Coaching.  Whether creating customized leadership training programs or facilitating change management initiatives – Kymberly utilizes her experiences in both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups, as well as, private and nonprofit organizations to help guide teams into becoming sustainable high-impact and high performing teams. Kymberly is certified through various Human Resources and Training organizations and also teaches Human Resources Practice.  Additionally, she serves on various Advisory Boards and is listed as a Subject Matter Expert with many labor-related governmental agencies. Kymberly, a Chicago native, has called Southern California home for the last 18 years.  She holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Kymberly is speaking during Recruiting Best Practices For A Competitive Labor Market.

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW, has more than 20 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive expertise and a wide range of experience in health plan management, clinical operations management, and technology. A recognized thought leader among her peers, Ms. Hicks is a regular keynote speaker at industry conferences and association meetings, as well as an author of hundreds of articles and resources for professionals in both clinical and executive roles.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system. She served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, UPMC’s managed behavioral health organization responsible for $800 million in annual revenue. At Community Care, Ms. Hicks was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations, including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. She also managed the day-to-day operations of human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.

Ms. Hicks also served in a variety of tech leadership roles for UPMC. In 2002, she was appointed as the Vice President of Technology Strategy for the UPMC Insurance Services Division before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, a leading provider of electronic health record software for behavioral health and social service organizations. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth and profitability of the company and the direction of software development. In addition, Ms. Hicks was the President of U Squared Interactive, a UPMC-owned organization with the exclusive United States rights to Beating The Blues – the renowned computerized cognitive behavioral therapy solution for treating anxiety and depression.

Ms. Hicks started her impressive career as a psychiatric social worker and an Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.

Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Point Park College, Pittsburgh, PA.

Ramona Osburn, MBA, MHA, FACHE, brings 20 years of experience in the behavioral health field to OPEN MINDS. Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Osburn served as the Regional Vice President of Operations, Strategic Behavioral Health, providing leadership, strategy, and operational support to behavioral health hospitals and outpatient centers in multiple states. In that role, she created numerous outpatient telehealth programs, developed a strategy for community-based care programming, and was responsible for business development and marketing planning.

Previously, Ms. Osburn was the Chief Executive Officer for Summit Behavioral Health. At Summit, Ms. Osburn led a program to integrate the operations of a large addiction treatment center; an addiction medicine practice with more than 40 addictionologists and psychiatrists, and a medical health care system. She facilitated the development of a strategy for the newly-integrated system, developed its marketing plan, created a physician council, and negotiated its payer contracts including pay-for-performance arrangements.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Osburn was the Market Chief Executive Officer for Universal Health Services (UHS).She was recruited to design, build, and open a new behavioral health hospital and multiple outpatient centers to support a partnership with a regional medical center. Ms. Osburn was also responsible for the operations of four other behavioral health hospitals, managing the CEOs of those facilities. In this role, Ms. Osborn also recruited psychiatrists, led a initiative to integrate behavioral health into the medical center’s emergency services, and negotiated numerous health plan contracts and partnerships.  

Before UHS, Ms. Osburn was the Senior Vice President of Behavioral Health for Texas Health Resources. In that role, she provided operational leadership for multiple behavioral health hospitals, residential addiction treatment centers, eating disorder programs, and outpatient centers. She developed the organization’s direct employer contracting strategy and negotiated Center of Excellence contracts with health plans. Ms. Osborn also led Texas Health Resources involvement in an ACO initiative to integrated behavioral health with primary care and created a systemwide mobile assessment team for 55 hospital emergency departments in the greater Dallas metro area.

Ms. Osburn received her MBA and MHA from Texas Women’s University and Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Excelsior College at the University of New York.Edit Speaker