Jeffrey Vanderploeg, PhD, is President and CEO of the Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI), a non-profit based in Farmington, Connecticut. Since joining CHDI in 2009, he has led efforts to strengthen children’s behavioral health through evidence-based, equitable, and sustainable systems, practices, and policies.

Dr. Vanderploeg was the lead author of Connecticut’s 2014 Behavioral Health Plan for Children and helped design the state’s Mobile Crisis training and quality improvement system. He also co-developed the School-Based Diversion Initiative, which has successfully reduced arrests in nearly 70 schools. His recent work emphasizes building infrastructure and public-private partnerships to improve outcomes in children’s behavioral health systems.

Under his leadership, CHDI has been recognized as one of Connecticut’s Top Workplaces and received the 2024 Mission Award from the Society for Implementation Research & Collaboration. Dr. Vanderploeg earned his PhD in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University, completed fellowships at Yale University School of Medicine, and holds faculty appointments at the University of Connecticut and Yale.

Gary M. Blau, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 35 years of leadership in child, youth, and family mental health. He currently serves as Executive Director Emeritus of The Hackett Center for Mental Health and Senior Fellow for Children’s Mental Health at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, and is also the founder of “Gary M. Blau, Ph.D. & Associates.” Dr. Blau previously served as Senior Advisor for Children, Youth and Families and as Chief of the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch at SAMHSA, where he led national efforts to develop “systems of care.” His earlier roles include Executive Director of The Hackett Center, Bureau Chief for Quality Management and Director of Mental Health at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and Director of Clinical Services at the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut.

He is recognized as the founder of Youth M.O.V.E. and the National Building Bridges Initiative, both of which have made a national impact. Dr. Blau has received numerous awards, including the HHS Secretary’s Award for Meritorious Service and the Youth M.O.V.E. Rock Star Award, now named in his honor. He has authored over 70 publications, edited nine books, and held faculty appointments at Yale, Baylor, and currently the University of Texas Health. Dr. Blau earned his B.A. from the University of South Florida and PhD from Auburn University, and is a proud husband, father, and grandfather.

Elizabeth Manley, LSW, is Faculty and Senior Advisor for Health and Behavioral Health Policy at the Innovations Institute. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in children’s behavioral health, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use systems design, with a particular focus on innovation in policy, financing, and practice implementation with states and communities.

Elizabeth holds an LSW and a certificate in nonprofit management from Rutgers University. With more than 30 years of executive leadership at the national, state, and provider levels in both the public and private sectors, Elizabeth brings a unique understanding of the complexity of systems and the impact of innovation. She is the former Assistant Commissioner for New Jersey’s Children’s System of Care, where she led the transformation and implementation of system innovations, including building a trauma-informed, seamless public behavioral health system with expertise in addressing the needs of youth involved in other child-serving systems such as child welfare and juvenile justice.

Tim Marshall, LCSW, is a Senior Advisor with the Innovations Institute at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and a senior consultant at The Baker Center for Children and Families. He is the former Director of the Office of Community Mental Health at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), where he retired after 30 years of state service.

At DCF, Tim gained extensive experience in both children’s behavioral health and child welfare. He represented Connecticut as the Children’s Mental Health Director at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, shared oversight of the statewide children’s behavioral health system, and led Connecticut’s System of Care work for many years.

He also spearheaded the redesign and re-procurement of Connecticut’s Mobile Crisis Service and crisis service array, including the development of four crisis assessment and receiving centers and accompanying 14-day sub-acute crisis stabilization units. Tim also served as Co-Chair of the Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board and was the Department’s lead in the planning and implementation of the 9-8-8 launch.