Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ

Phillips Medal 

2023 Recipient

Lori Criss, M.S.W.

Originally from Appalachia Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, Lori Criss has served in various executive leadership and policy-making roles in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s behavioral health field for more than three decades.  

She was appointed Director of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Governor Mike DeWine in 2018 and has since made it her mission to help make behavioral health services for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵans more visible, accessible, and effective. As Director of a cabinet-level state agency, Criss has focused on growing and modernizing person-centered behavioral health prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery supports; erasing the stigma that surrounds substance use disorders and mental illness; developing a strong and supported workforce; enhancing the use of data to improve outcomes; promoting parity; and focusing on populations that have experienced inequity in access to services, quality in care, and outcomes.  

With the support and leadership of Governor DeWine, Criss has focused Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s efforts on building out a full continuum of prevention, treatment, recovery support and harm reduction services for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵans of all ages; strengthening crisis supports; rapidly expanding the use and availability of telehealth; increasing access to naloxone and medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders; introducing new mental health supports for students and education professionals; launching 988 and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ CareLine to provide Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵans with 24/7 emotional support and referrals; and strengthening relationships and collaborations with community and local partners.  

Her professional accolades and membership are numerous and include: serving as a Member of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) National Advisory Council (NAC); Vice President for Internal Affairs for the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Addiction Directors (NASADAD) Board of Directors; Commissioner with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD); Member, National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) State-Only Advisory Group on State Strategies to Modernize the Behavioral Health System; Vice Chairwoman of Governor Mike DeWine’s RecoveryÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ Advisory Council; Board Member for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Commission on Minority Health; and Member of the Advisory Board to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s Criminal Sentencing Commission.  

Before joining the state of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, Criss served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services Providers, and worked for the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Commission on Minority Health and Amethyst, Inc.  

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ State University. She graduated from SAMHSA’s 2010-2011 Women's Addiction Services Leadership Institute, a yearlong nationally-selective, intensive program designed to build leaders for the nation’s behavioral health field. In 2019, she was awarded The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ State University Alumni Association’s Alumni in Government Distinguished Service Award and received the Distinguished Career Award from The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ State University’s College of Social Work Hall of Fame. Originally from Mingo Junction, she and her husband Scott reside in central Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and are the proud parents of two adult daughters.