Child and Family Well-Being Funders Collaborative Meeting

Alex Briscoe was appointed director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency in 2009 where he led one of the state’s largest public health systems, overseeing health and hospital systems, public health, behavioral health, and environmental health departments with an annual budget of $700 million and 6,200 FTE contracted and civil service staff. Before joining the county, he was the director of the Chappell Hayes Health Center at McClymonds High School in West Oakland, a satellite outpatient center of Children’s Hospital and Research Center. Mr. Briscoe’s work has helped design the nexus of public health and public education. He has designed and administered a number of mental health and physical health programs and services in child-serving systems, including home visiting programs, programs for medically fragile children, and clinical and development programs in child welfare, juvenile justice, and early childhood settings. Mr. Briscoe has served on the Alameda County First Five Commission, The Alameda Alliance, and The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and The Uninsured, as well as a number of other public and private boards and commissions. Mr. Briscoe is a mental health practitioner specializing in adolescent services and youth development. He has advised or collaborated with a number of local and national foundations including The Atlantic Philanthropies, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The California Endowment, and most recently with Tipping Point Community. He has specialized in Medicaid policy and administration, emergency medical services, youth voice and crisis counseling, and safety net design and administration.

Kathryn Icenhower, PhD, LCSW is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SHIELDS for Families, a private non-profit organization incorporated in 1991 with 340 staff, a $30 million dollar budget and 35 programs that serve over 10,000 families annually in South Los Angeles. Kathryn received her BSSW from Ohio State University and her MSW and PhD from the University of Southern California. Dr. Icenhower sits on numerous local, state, and federal coalitions and advisory boards, including a federal appointment to the Advisory Committee for Women’s Services (ACWS) for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), President Emeritus of the national Treatment Communities of America association and the California State Child Welfare Council where she serves as Co-Chair of the Prevention and Early Intervention Committee and Co-Chair of the State’s Family First Prevention Services Act Advisory Committee. She has been recognized by numerous entities for her piloting work in the substance abuse and child welfare fields including an “Innovator Award” from CSAT for her work in Family Centered Treatment; the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award; the “Visionary Award” from the National Association of Minority Contractors; and named as one of the 50 most influential women in Los Angeles by Los Angeles Magazine.