A new behavioral health director for San Luis Obispo County has been selected.
Following a nationwide search, Dana McEwen, LMFT was offered the role, filling the position left vacant by Star Graber’s retirement on March 6.
According to a County press release, McEwen’s experience includes more than 15 years of executive-level behavioral health leadership.
She most recently worked at Kaiser Permanente as a senior managerial consultant across multiple regions. McEwen has also served as a mental health program director who oversaw a $48 million budget and three child welfare programs across more than 100 sites, according to the county.
In San Luis Obispo County, McEwen “will oversee programs focused on prevention, treatment, crisis response, and support services for some of the community’s most vulnerable populations.”
“Dana stood out for her extensive leadership experience and deep understanding of behavioral health systems,” said Chief Executive Officer Matt Pontes in the press release. “Her experience, integrity, and commitment to accountability make her exceptionally well-suited to lead this important department and continue advancing behavioral health services in San Luis Obispo County.”
”We’ve made mental health a top Board priority in SLO County. The Behavioral Health Director plays a vital role for the people struggling with mental health and addiction in our community, and I’m excited to welcome Dana into this leadership position,” said Board Chair Jimmy Paulding in the release. “Her record of building fiscally sustainable, outcomes-driven policies will serve our County well at this pivotal time for California’s behavioral health system.”
“I am deeply honored to join the County of San Luis Obispo team and grateful to the Board of Supervisors and CEO Matt Pontes for their confidence in me,” McEwen said in the press release. “The Behavioral Health Department is a department grounded in compassion, supported by a community that cares deeply about its most vulnerable residents. I am committed to building on that foundation with fiscal discipline, accountability, and a genuine belief that the right care, delivered at the right time, changes lives. My family and I are thrilled to be making San Luis Obispo County our home, and I look forward to serving this community with everything I have.”
If approved by the County Board of Supervisors on June 16, McEwen, who is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional clinical counselor in California, will begin on June 29.
“She will be moving to San Luis Obispo with her husband and family, drawn not only by the opportunity to lead the Behavioral Health Department during this critical period, but by a genuine belief in our county’s strong sense of community,” the County stated in a press release, adding that her appointment “comes as the County continues expanding behavioral health infrastructure, initiatives and strengthening partnerships aimed at addressing the growing behavioral health needs of the community.”