Leadership
President, Founding Member
Verna Foust, MS, LPC, LBP
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." --Martin Luther King, Jr.
Vice-Pres., Founding Member
Gail Lapidus, CSW, LCSW, LMFT
Secretary, Founding Member
Joy Sloan, LCSW
Treasurer, Founding Member
Jeanette Moore, LCSW
"If Serving is Beneath You, Leadership is Beyond You." --Anonymous
Founding Board Member
Brent Black
Founding Board Member
Bryan Blankenship, Ph.D.
“…for there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.” --Amanda Gorman
Founding Board Member
Jessica Pfau
Board Member
Josh Cantwell, LCSW, CPRSS
Executive Director
Jennifer McCollum, APR, CRE
Government Relations
Margaret Erling
About Oklahoma’s Safety-Net Providers
Oklahoma’s safety net providers organize and deliver advanced mental health care and substance abuse treatment services to Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens including those who live at or below the poverty level. They serve in 57 of the state’s 77 counties. They are depicted below in sky blue. The counties in navy blue are covered by state-run facilities.
5,000 Employees
They employ more than 5,000 Oklahomans, many of whom are highly skilled with extensive training and/or advanced degrees. They include clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, psychiatric registered nurses, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, mental health counselors, and more.
$200 Million Payroll
They provide great jobs for servant-minded Oklahomans who are called to work in the field of mental health and substance abuse treatment. The annual combined payroll of our provider-members is about $200 million.
Admired Nationwide
Oklahoma’s safety-net providers operate within a very sophisticated system that is often admired by other states. Our CEOs and Executive Directors, with nearly 500 years of experience in mental health, collectively, helped build this envied system with the help of many state partners including legislators.
Address
4400 N. Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Phone
(405) 352-0565