CMAP Nexus Series: A Mental Health in All Policies Agenda for the New Administration

Keshia M. Pollack Porter, PhD, MPH, is a Professor of Health Policy and Management and Vice Dean for Faculty. Her work uses injury epidemiology, health impact assessment (HIA), and mixed methods to advance policies that create safe, healthy, and equitable environments where people live, work, play, and travel. She focuses on identifying policy solutions that address social determinants of health, reduce disparities, and advance health equity. She regularly engages with policymakers to promote evidence-informed policy decisions and advance Health in All Policies (HiAP) at the local, state, and federal levels.

Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, is a nationally recognized epidemiologist, public health leader, and passionate advocate for advancing health equity. Since joining the de Beaumont Foundation as its third employee in 2012, Brian has been instrumental in shaping its growth and influence. Appointed president and chief executive officer in 2018, he has led the foundation in partnership with a talented and dedicated team, transforming de Beaumont into a leading voice in health philanthropy and public health innovation. Together, they have expanded the foundation’s reach and impact, pioneering initiatives that address social determinants of health and catalyze systemic change to improve population health across the nation.

A prolific contributor to both scientific and popular media, Brian has authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles—cited more than 4,000 times—and co-edited eight books. His insights have been widely shared through outlets such as The Washington Post, CNN, The Hill, STAT, The Daily Beast, and CNBC, as well as interviews with The New York Times, the Associated Press, Politico, MSNBC, NPR, BBC, and Fox News. Additionally, he is a regular contributor to Forbes.com.

Before joining the de Beaumont Foundation, Brian spent a decade as an applied epidemiologist, serving in leadership roles at state and local public health agencies. His extensive experience in research, practice, and advocacy underscores his unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge, driving innovation, and improving health outcomes for all.

Sally Satel, MD, is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a practicing psychiatrist. She also serves as a lecturer at the Yale University School of Medicine and Medical Director at a local methadone clinic in Washington, D.C. Her research focus includes mental health policy, transplant policy, and political trends in medicine.

Dr. Satel has testified before Congress on veterans’ issues, mental health policy, drug courts, and health disparities. She has written widely in academic journals on topics in psychiatry and medicine, and she has published articles on cultural aspects of medicine and science in numerous magazines and journals. Her publications include PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine (Basic Books, 2001); The Health Disparities Myth (AEI Press, 2006); When Altruism Isn’t Enough: The Case for Compensating Organ Donors (AEI Press, 2009); and One Nation under Therapy (St. Martin’s Press, 2005), coauthored with Christina Hoff Sommers. Her recent book, Brainwashed – The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience (Basic, 2013) with Scott Lilienfeld, was a 2014 finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Science.

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’s research focuses on mental health disparities and inequities, and she provides clinical psychiatric care in the UC Davis Early Diagnosis and Preventative Treatment (EDAPT) Clinic.

Dr. Shim is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Association for Community Psychiatry. Dr. Shim serves on the editorial boards of JAMA Psychiatry, Psychiatric Services, Community Mental Health Journal, and American Psychiatric Publishing. 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 served on the National Academies ad hoc committee on Unequal Treatment Revisited: The Current State of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. She is co-editor of the books The Social Determinants of Mental Health and Social (In)Justice and Mental Health.

Hannah Wesolowski, MPA, leads NAMI National’s Government Relations, Policy & Advocacy team, working with advocates, policymakers, and partners to enact policy changes that will improve the lives of all people affected by mental health conditions. She believes in the power of advocates sharing their stories to advance research, increase mental health funding, improve access to care, expand social supports, and decriminalize mental illness. 

She came to NAMI in 2017 as Director, Field Advocacy, before becoming Chief Advocacy Officer in 2021. She serves on NAMI’s Executive Team and is a frequent spokesperson for NAMI, appearing on C-SPAN and in is frequently quoted in outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Los Angeles Times, among others. Before joining NAMI, she spent five years at the Public Affairs Council supporting public affairs professionals in building civic engagement and grassroots mobilization programs. She previously led political advocacy efforts at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the American Institute of Architects.

Hannah received her undergraduate degree in Politics and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University. She lives in Northern Virginia with her family. 

Catherine K. Ettman, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. With a background in politics and policy, her work explores the social and economic forces that shape population mental health and policies that can reduce mental health disparities. She is the co-editor of Urban Health (Oxford University Press, 2019) and Migration and Health (University of Chicago Press, 2022). Dr. Ettman received her PhD in Health Services Research at Brown University School of Public Health and studied public policy at Princeton University.