Staff

Ms. Arnold has worked at AHCI since 2008 as a Housing Support Coordinator. She is responsible for the Permanent Supportive Housing Program at Beaver County Behavioral Health. In this role, she locates and obtains housing, and coordinates services for individuals with persistent mental illness and co-occurring disorders.

She brings twenty years of experience in the social services field to her position at AHCI, including experience as a Residential Director, Supported Housing Counselor, a Case Manager, an ICFMR Supervisor, and work as a private Drug & Alcohol Contractor.

Email Renee Arnold

Ms. Carey joined AHCI in 2009. As a Quality Analyst, she monitors behavioral health managed care organizations’ Medicaid contract compliance through data reporting and trending, as well as quality improvement tracking. Other areas of focus include quarterly and annual reporting on behavioral health service utilization in Allegheny and Beaver counties.

Ms. Carey holds a Master of Science in Healthcare Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Before joining AHCI Ms. Carey worked with federal and local government organizations to empower underserved communities.

Email Rachel Carey

Ms. Casagrande has worked at AHCI since 2008. As the Manager of Finance, she is responsible for the internal accounting functions of AHCI and the external audit. She also provides financial oversight of the HealthChoices/Medicaid program, including monthly reporting, claims audits and the external program audit. She also manages payroll and benefit processing and coordinates the Annual United Way Campaign, Day of Caring, and the Business Boosting Early Learning program.

Prior to joining AHCI, Ms. Casagrande worked for fourteen years in a non-profit agency that provides behavioral health, family support, residential, foster care and adoption services.

Email Lynann Casagrande

As AHCI’s Chief Information Officer, Mr. Casey has over 20 years of experience in data management and analysis. In this capacity, Mr. Casey is responsible for the setup and operation of a management information system to be used in the operation of AHCI, including: vision, design, strategic planning, project management, policy and procedure formation, and coordination with various contracted entities. During his tenure at AHCI, Mr. Casey has overseen the development of several data warehousing projects, including one of the few that integrates behavioral health data across Medicaid and County systems.

Email Tim Casey

Ms. Crompton has worked at AHCI since 2008 as the Facilitator for the Acute Community Support Plan (ACSP) project. Ms. Crompton brings significant clinical skills to her role as facilitator. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor as well as a Certified Addiction Counselor, National Certified Gambling Counselor, and a member of the National Board of Certified Counselors. Prior to coming to AHCI, Ms. Crompton worked several years as a High Risk Care Manager for a behavioral health managed care organization.

Email Sally Crompton

Ms. Daniel has worked at AHCI since 2008. In her role as a Recovery Coordinator, her primary responsibilities are to teach the principles of recovery to different agencies and groups through committee and meeting participation, speaking engagements, visits to various organizations, and participation in special projects. Ms. Daniel brings her lived experiences as a consumer to her position, in addition to her professional experience in the private sector as a focus group coordinator. She has been recognized for her accomplishments in public speaking.

Email Maria Daniel

Mr. Fitzsimmons came to AHCI in 1998 with a long and varied background in Information Systems. As the Manager of System Operations, he is responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the IS technical and application development staff and serves as the lead technical resource in the IS department.

With over 35 years experience in the healthcare IT field, he possesses extensive knowledge in health-related applications and database design as well as infrastructure and network design.

Email Doug Fitzsimmons

Ms. Fleming brings over 25 years of experience to her work AHCI. As Chief Executive Officer, she is responsible for the overall management and strategic direction for AHCI. She also serves as project manager for many initiatives; most recently she coordinated the activities related to the closure of the state hospital serving a five county area.

Prior to coming to AHCI, Ms. Fleming held several positions in both public and private behavioral health organizations and she has consulted in several states. Much of her work has focused on service system assessment and design and the development of Community Treatment Teams and ACT Teams, including teams in Pittsburgh and Ohio.

Email Mary Fleming

Ms. Gerkin has worked at AHCI since 2009. As the Administrative Assistant, she is responsible for coordination of the clerical duties, including meeting scheduling, transcribing and distributing meeting minutes, maintaining and ordering office supplies, organizing files and other tasks as needed. She also provides oversight and monitoring of the office interns.

Prior to joining AHCI, Ms. Gerkin worked for a non-profit agency with a primary focus on regional economic development.

Email Leanne Gerkin

Ms. Heberlein has worked at AHCI since 2003. As the Manager of Evaluation and Outcomes, she is responsible for program evaluation, data analysis, and reporting activities related to Medicaid-funded behavioral health services. Her projects have involved Community Treatment Teams/Assertive Community Treatment, permanent supportive housing, drug and alcohol services, and outcomes for people discharged from the local state mental hospital.

Prior to joining AHCI, she received a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She also has worked as a teacher and counselor in a residential treatment facility for adolescents.

Email Emily Heberlein

Mr. Howe has been employed by AHCI since 2002. As the Technical Support Specialist, he is responsible for the installation and hardware and software support of employee computers and handheld devices, server hardware and software as well as network hardware and ethernet connections. Mr. Howe also maintains the AHCI statutory reporting compliance, as well as the processing of the monthly and quarterly transmission of information. Mr. Howe also provides installation of servers and other related hardware and software at clients’ sites, and remotely monitors and maintains clients’ data warehouse systems.

Email Chuck Howe

Mr. Kindler has been employed by AHCI since 2008. As a Recovery Coordinator, his primary responsibilities are to teach the principles of recovery to different agencies and groups through committee and meeting participation, speaking engagements, visits to various organizations, and participation in special projects. He works to decrease the stigma attached to mental illness and participates in the Public Psychiatry Think Tank to try and create more recovery-oriented practices for the public psychiatry sector. Mr. Kindler brings his lived experience as a consumer to his position as well as his work experience as an advocate.

Email James Kindler

Mr. Koren has been employed with AHCI since 2008. Mr. Koren is involved in new project development, including designing and implementing the Acute Consumer Support Plan (ACSP) program. In addition, Mr. Koren has been involved with the Mayview Regional Service Area Plan project.

Prior to coming to AHCI, Mr. Koren worked at Southwest Behavioral Health Management and was with public sector practice at Deloitte Consulting. Mr. Koren also has experience as an intensive case manager with a local provider. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Email Matt Koren

Ms. Lewis has been an employee with AHCI since 2002. She works closely with counties, managed care organizations (MCO’s) and the Department of Public Welfare to provide fiscal monitoring, financial reporting, and oversight of the HealthChoices (Medicaid) program. She also handles a variety of responsibilities to help AHCI’s day-to-day operations run more smoothly and fulfills several human resources functions.

Email Tawnya Lewis

Mr. Mountain joined AHCI in 2009 and brings with him six years of IT experience in the healthcare field. He has experience in both software development and web development. His primary focus at AHCI is on web development. He also plays a supporting role in server rollout and in general IT support.

Email Brian Mountain

Mr. Neeley has worked at AHCI since 2001 and has over 25 years experience in the information technology field. His background includes software design and development, database design, and using database applications for data warehousing and data mining. His responsibilities include providing data and reports to support various initiatives and projects.

Email Keith Neeley

Ms. Patterson is responsible for consulting services for providers of Community Treatment Teams (CTT, also known as ACT). She also heads the project development and management initiative at AHCI. Prior to coming to AHCI, Ms. Patterson has developed and led CTTs transitioning individuals with long-term state hospital stays into independent community living. She has also served as a manager and administrator of case management and CTTs and as a CTT/ACT consultant. Ms. Patterson brings over 20 years of clinical experience in public mental health to her position at AHCI, and is a Licensed Social Worker with a Master’s Degree in Social Work.

Email Kim Patterson

Ms. Phillips is the Chief Operating Officer at AHCI and has worked in the health care and human service fields for nearly fifteen years. In her current position, she is responsible for Finance, Information Systems, Quality Improvement and Evaluation along with Training and Recovery Initiatives. During the past three years, she has played a key role in the management of the regional state hospital downsizing initiative, including financial modeling, budgeting and contract negotiations as well as project management. Prior to her current position, Ms. Phillips served as the Director of Finance, and has worked in healthcare operations. Ms. Phillips holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Email Brandi Mauck Phillips

Ms. Primus has been employed with AHCI since 1999. As the Director of Quality and Evaluation, Ms Primus is responsible for establishing oversight plans and managing the staff that conducts monitoring efforts regarding behavioral health managed care organizations’ (MCO) Medicaid contracts. Monitoring activities focus on ways to improve the continuum of care through data analysis, report trending, and collaborating with the County and MCO to affect system change. Most recently, Ms. Primus has been coordinating efforts to establish permanent supportive housing programs in Allegheny and Beaver Counties in Pennsylvania.

Prior to her tenure at AHCI, Ms. Primus worked at a managed care organization in public sector marketing. She holds a Master’s Degree in Communications from Syracuse University.

Email Kelly Primus

Ms. Santoro began working at AHCI in 2008. She is responsible for program evaluation, data analysis, and monitoring activities related to Medicaid-funded behavioral health services and supervises staff working on recovery efforts in Beaver County.

Ms. Santoro holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner (CPRP). She has worked as a Behavior Specialist Consultant (BSC), Mobile Therapist (MT), and as a Behavioral Health and Rehabilitation Services (BHRS, or wraparound) Treatment Monitor. Ms. Santoro has also worked as a Manager of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Programs.

Email Stephanie Santoro

Ms. Strong has been employed with AHCI since 2006. She oversees the planning, execution and evaluation of AHCI’s training programs, outreach efforts and conferences. She works closely with the Recovery Coordinators to help promote recovery principles to consumers, family members, providers and others throughout the community.

Prior to joining AHCI, Ms. Strong worked with the Pittsburgh School District. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Email Jessica Strong

Ms. Tindell has worked for AHCI since 2008. As a Recovery Coordinator, her primary responsibilities are to teach the principles of recovery to different agencies and groups through committee and meeting participation, speaking engagements, visits to various organizations, and participation in special projects.

Ms. Tindell brings 25 years of drug and alcohol experience and over 15 years of mental health experience to her position at AHCI. She is an active volunteer at the Mental Health Association as an aerobics instructor and Wellness facilitator. She has worked on a Warmline for consumers and as a peer mentor, and is a Certified Peer Specialist.

Ms. Tindell brings 25 years of drug and alcohol experience and over 15 years of mental health experience to her position at AHCI. She is an active volunteer at the Mental Health Association as an aerobics instructor and wellness facilitator. She has worked on a warmline for consumers and as a peer mentor.

Email Darlene Tindell

Mr. Wright has been an AHCI employee since 2001. He graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in 1995 with a degree in Management Information Systems and has over 12 years of experience in Information Systems. He holds the position of AHCI’s Database Administrator and is also responsible for collecting and managing data, developing reports and building web-based applications.

Email Jody Wright