David Dickinson, MA

Region X - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

David Dickinson, MA.
SAMHSA Regional Administrator
2201 6th Avenue, MS RX-02
Seattle, WA 98121-1826

David A. Dickinson, MA, has over 30 years experience in the field of behavioral health, working in clinical service delivery as a counselor, program manager, and agency director, as well as serving in leadership positions in state government in Kansas and Washington. His clinical career also included service delivery in California, Colorado, and Oregon. Prior to his position as Regional Administrator for Region X, David served as the Director of the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) in the Department of Social and Health Services, State of Washington, where he had been posted since April 2009. In this position he managed responsibility for the State's substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery services and community mental health system. During his tenure in Washington, he was responsible for integrating the former Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse and the Mental Health Division, creating the DBHR while melding two historically distinct Divisions with a shared vision of delivering quality, data-driven behavioral health services in a recovery-oriented system of care. He also had an active executive leadership role in promoting the concept of bilateral integration of behavioral health and primary healthcare in Washington State through person-centered health home clinical models.

As the Director of Addiction and Prevention Services in the Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services for the State of Kansas, a major accomplishment under David's leadership was the oversight of the RFP process and successful implementation of a state-wide contract for managing substance abuse treatment services with braided Medicaid and federal block grant funding in a Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP), utilizing a 1915b Medicaid waiver. David also oversaw the development of programming to address problem gambling as the State of Kansas entered the gaming market with legislatively approved State-owned casinos and the creation of the Problem Gambling and Addictions Grant Fund with 2% of all gaming revenues statutorily dedicated to the fund.

David has held positions as the First Vice President of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), as well as being an at-large member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). David received a BA in Political Science from Baker University in Kansas, and earned his MA in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University in California. He resides in Olympia, Washington with his family.

Last updated: 11/7/2011