Laura is the Director of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services for Niagara County, where in addition to being the Director of Community Services (DCS), she also oversees a broad spectrum of direct services, including outpatient mental health & substance abuse treatment, crisis services/mobile crisis outreach, and hospital diversion. Prior to taking the DCS position in 2014, Laura served as the Executive Director and Forensic Interviewer/Trainer for the Child Advocacy Center of Niagara. Working for local non-profit human service agencies, she has more than 15 years of program management and leadership experience. In these roles, she has facilitated the implementation of evidence-based practices for mental health and trauma treatment and has secured expanded funding in high priority need areas. Laura serves on a number of local and state boards, including the Niagara County Opiate Addiction/Overdose Strategy Implementation Standing Committee, the Niagara County Behavioral Health/Justice Committee, OMH Evidence Based Practice Project Advisory Board and the NYS Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant Advisory Council.

First Vice-Chair

Michael Orth, MSW
Commissioner
Westchester County Dept. of Community Mental Health

Michael serves as the Commissioner of the Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) in Westchester County. He was appointed to serve as the Commissioner in January 2018 after serving as Deputy Commissioner since 2009.  He has worked with the Department of Community Mental Health since 1993 spending over 16 years in Children’s Mental Health Services.  In this capacity he led the development of Westchester’s System of Care for children with emotional, social and behavioral challenges, and their families. He served as both the first CCSI and C-SPOA Coordinator for the county and also was responsible for Westchester’s successful SAMHSA – System of Care grant.

Michael leads several planning efforts in Westchester including serving as Co-Chair of the Suicide Prevention and Awareness Task Force, Coordinated Children’s Services Initiative (CCSI) Committee, Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities Committee, Psychological Mental Health Response Team, and Westchester County’s Response to Opioid Task Force. Michael serves on several NY State behavioral health advisory committees and is currently Co-Chair of the CLMHD Children and Families Committee.

Suzanne Lavigne, MHA, CASAC-M
Director of Community Services
Franklin County Community Services

Suzanne has served as Director of Community Services for Franklin County since September 2009. She has 35+ years of experience in mental hygiene services and has worked with youth and adults in the areas of intellectual/developmental disabilities and behavioral health. Suzanne received her graduate degree in Healthcare Administration from Seton Hall University and is credentialed by the Office of Addiction Services and Supports as a Master Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC). Suzanne was previously a Program Surveyor for the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) from 2005-2009 and served as an adjunct faculty member in the Human Services Department of North Country Community College (2004-2017). She is a certified Bridges out of Poverty Trainer. Suzanne serves as an officer for the Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors (CLMHD) and co-chair of the CLMHD Addiction Services and Recovery Committee. She serves on the NYS Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council and is a member of the NYS Opioid Settlement Board.

Secretary

Lynda Battaglia, LCSW
Director of Community Services
Genesee County Mental Health Department

Lynda has served as the  Director of Mental Health & Community Services for Genesee County since Fall 2019. In this role, she provides direct oversight  of the Genesee County Mental Health clinic which is an OMH Article 31 Licensed outpatient clinic serving children and adults. Additionally, Lynda oversees all services in the community that fall within the Mental Hygiene System, including Mental Health, Substance Use and Intellectual Developmental Disability. Lynda has chaired the CLMHD Mental Hygiene Planning Committee since 2020. Prior to the DCS role, Lynda worked in various positions within the New York State Office of Mental Health for 14 years. Areas of practice and expertise are Forensic Services, Suicide Prevention & Education, Crisis Services and Emergency Mental Health. Lynda is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Buffalo where she teaches a graduate level course for the Social Work program focusing on Forensic Social work and Understanding Suicide. Lynda served as the President of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Western New York Chapter, for 10 years. Lynda was awarded with the AFSP  Excellence in Education Award in 2010. She has worked in the field for more than 20 years and strives to bring a voice to community awareness and education on topics such as Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. 

Treasurer

George Roets, RN, MS
Director of Community Services
Yates County Community Services Department 

George is the Director of Community Services for Yates County, a position he has held since 2003. He also served as the Director of Community Services and Public Health for Schuyler County from 2002 to 2012. Before that, he was employed by the New York State Office of Mental Health, retiring as the Executive Director of the Buffalo Psychiatric Center in 2002 after 37 years. George received a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Buffalo. He is a Registered Nurse and a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist. He earned a certificate as an executive generalist from the National Institute of Mental Health. During his state career, he was a therapist, clinical trainer, clinical supervisor, Clinic Director, Team Leader, Program Analyst, Unit Chief, Community Services Director, Operations Director, Quality Assurance Director, and finally an Executive Director at three Psychiatric Centers. While serving administratively, he maintained his clinical skills as a psychiatric assignment officer in several large hospital emergency departments. He also held faculty appointments at the University of Rochester School of Nursing and the University of Buffalo Department of Psychiatry. Upon retirement, he consciously decided to focus his next career on rural New York State. His rural involvement has included supporting local coalitions, advancing the peer movement, AHEC leadership as the board chair, Merger activity for Schuyler Hospital as the Board Chair, suicide prevention training across the state, a faculty appointment to the Southern Tier Law Enforcement Academy at Corning Community College, Chairing the Finger Lakes Regional Planning Consortium, and serving as a regional clinical review committee member under DSRIP.