EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Pamela J. Womack, MSSW

Chief Executive Officer

Pam Womack serves as Chief Executive Officer responsible for the strategic vision and leadership of the organization.  Pam founded MHC in 1993 with the intention of creating specialized, community-based services for those challenged with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI).

Under Pam’s direction, MHC has grown into a premier behavioral health company, offering state of the art treatment to thousands of adults, adolescents, children, and families across Tennessee.

Pam was recently selected to serve on the Mayor’s Community Behavioral Health and Wellness Advisory Council. She is recognized as a fierce advocate for the provision of behavioral health outpatient services, delivered in the least restrictive environment possible, to some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens.

She was honored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness TN with a 2024 Vision of Hope Award for “Visionary Leader” in recognition of her lifework in advocacy and leadership.

Prior to MHC, Pam served 14 years as the Director of Community Services for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health where she was instrumental in developing statewide case management, and mobile crisis services.

Pam received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Mississippi and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee Memphis.

Andrea Westerfield, MSSW, LMSW, LCSW

Chief Operating Officer

Andrea Westerfield serves as Chief Operating Officer where she directs, oversees and supports all of MHC’s operating activities.

She joined MHC in 2008 as a Child and Youth Care Manager. She quickly transitioned to supervisory, and eventually senior leadership roles, where she was instrumental in shaping MHC’s Community-Based Care Management model. She also served as MHC’s Vice President of Integrated Care, where she led operations of clinical outpatient treatment across behavioral health, physical health, and addiction service lines. She is well respected for building consensus, aligning forces and leading teams to success.

Andrea received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Murray State University  and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Tennessee.

David Wilson, MBA, CPA

Chief Financial Officer and Chief Development Officer

David Wilson serves as Chief Financial Officer responsible for all financial operations of the organization. David also serves as Chief Development Officer and oversees the financial feasibility of new opportunities for MHC. David brought a wealth of experience to MHC in 2014 in community-based healthcare, accounting/finance and business intelligence. In 2018, Wilson was named “Nashville Business Journal’s CFO of the Year” for non-profit agencies.

Prior to joining MHC, David practiced accounting with the Nashville based accounting firm Kraft CPAs.  David left public accounting in 2010 and became Director of Finance for SunCrest Healthcare, a private equity owned for-profit home healthcare company.

David left SunCrest in 2014, when the company was sold, and was named CFO of Mental Health Cooperative.  He is a Certified Public Accountant and an Adjunct Professor of Accounting for Belmont University.

David received his Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina State University and Middle Tennessee State University and his MBA from Belmont University, Jack Massey School of Business.

Mark Wisniewski, MBA

Chief Information Officer, Chief Data Officer

Mark Wisniewski serves as Chief Data Officer and Chief Information Officer responsible for information technology and data strategy.  Mark joined MHC in 2020 with the goal of designing and delivering the next generation of healthcare analytics solutions that will assist clinicians and care managers in providing the highest quality of care to MHC consumers.

Mark has a long history of implementing data-driven population health management solutions that focus on: optimizing chronic condition management, closing gaps in care, improving health status, and reducing unnecessary costs.

Prior to MHC, Mark served as a Healthcare Principal Consultant at InfoWorks.  During that time he worked with large payors, networks and provider groups on data strategy, data integration and data warehouse projects.

Mark received his Bachelor’s Degree from Trevecca Nazerene University and his Master’s of Business Administration Degree from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

Peggy Hoffman, MSSW, LCSW

Chief Administrative Officer

Peggy Hoffman serves as Chief Administrative Office responsible for oversight of all administrative and compliance functions.  She has held several executive leadership roles since joining MHC in 1993.

Prior, Peggy directed services for Continuous Treatment Team which was one of the agencies that combined to form MHC. Since 1993, she has been instrumental in keeping MHC mission focused by leading the design of all facilities with client’s needs at the forefront.

Peggy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Middle Tennessee State University, and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.  She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Mohsin Ali, MD, DEA

Medical Director

Dr. Mohsin Ali joined Mental Health Cooperative in 2014, based out of our Chattanooga office. He served as Eastern Region Medical Director for several years, before becoming Medical Director for the entire organization in 2021. Dr. Ali is board certified in Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Trained in Syracuse NY, he has worked in Tennessee for the last sixteen years, in diverse clinical settings– private practice, inpatient psychiatry, corrections, geriatric units, consult-liaison psychiatry in medical settings. But the bulk of his career, interest, and expertise lies in community mental health. He has deep respect for our consumers, enjoys watching their individual journeys unfold. He encourages them to live as fully as possible. From his home in Chattanooga, Dr. Ali enjoys traveling widely, both in person and through his reading of fiction from around the world. He always makes time for family, friends, and nature.

Ruth vanBergen, MBA MSEd, LPC

 Senior Vice President, Emergency Services

Ruth vanBergen serves as Senior Vice President of Emergency Services, where she is dedicated to transforming emergency psychiatric services with a focus on operational excellence, compassionate care and outcomes.

Ruth began her career at MHC in 1998 where she led the development of the state’s first Program for Assertive Community Treatment (PACT), which is still in operation today.  She has also been instrumental in building and nurturing MHC’s care management service, focused solely on persons with serious behavioral health challenges that has matured into one of the largest programs in the state. Ruth previously held the position as Senior Vice President of Operations where she was responsible for all organizational functions, infrastructure and quality of care.

Ruth received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Arizona State University, her MBA in Health Care Management from the University of Phoenix and a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from Southern Illinois University.  She is a Licensed Professional Counselor/Mental Health Service Provider in the state of Tennessee.

Kenya Adams, MHA is Vice President of Integrated Care. Previously, Kenya was Director of our Payor Contracting, Strategy and Development.

Kenya has over a decade of direct experience in clinic operations. She’s held several leadership roles, one of which was with Ascension Saint Thomas Health where she was responsible for an integrated health system of primary care and behavioral health clinics that provided care to the uninsured populations of Davidson, Rutherford, and Humphreys Counties. Kenya is passionate about improving healthcare delivery, optimizing operational efficiency, and ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations. She has a sharp focus on operational excellence, and has successfully implemented process improvements, leveraged technology solutions, and fostered team collaboration to enhance clinic productivity and patient care.

Kenya received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Psychology from the University of New Orleans. She also holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Capella University.

Keisha Greene, MBA, BSN, RN, CPHQ, CEHRS, CPHRM, CHC

Compliance Officer and Vice President of Quality

Keisha Greene has over 26 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and in healthcare management. Keisha has considerable experience in the development of policies & procedures, quality management tools, regulatory compliance, and training programs for caregivers and clinic operations managers. She has significant experience in the large-scale multi-site implementation of policies, procedures, and electronic medical records systems.

Keisha holds an MBA with a concentration in healthcare administration. This combination of experience and education positioned her well to provide the corporate level clinical quality program development and clinical regulatory compliance leadership for two large national healthcare organizations during her career. She is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, a Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist, a Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management and is Certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC). Keisha is a systems thinking and process driven leader who strives to consistently operate in excellence.

Michael Kirshner, MBA, MA, LPC/MHSP

Vice President, Business Development

Michael Kirshner serves as Vice President of Business Development responsible for developing and executing comprehensive growth strategies for all service lines. Michael joined MHC in 2003. He is well known for driving the company’s growth trajectory by developing strategic partnerships, crafting creative marketing campaigns, and accelerating new facility growth.

Prior to MHC, he worked in similar capacities for Tennessee Christian Medical Center (Adventist Health System), Behavioral Health Resources Incorporated, and Psychiatric Management Resources.

Michael received his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from the University of South Florida, a Master’s Degree in Counseling (Psychology) from Trevecca University, and an MBA from Argosy University, Graduate School of Business and Management. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor/Mental Health Service Provider and an Approved Clinical Supervisor through the state of Tennessee.

Kirshner was recognized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness/Nashville with the “Ambassador of Hope Award,” the Tennessee Commission on Children & Youth (Mid-Cumberland) “Advocate of the Year Award,” and the Center for Nonprofit Management for the “President’s Leadership Scholarship.”

mkirshner@mhc-tn.org

Kate serves as the VP of Administration where she provides oversight of the administrative functions and as a strategic partner to executive key agency initiatives. She joined MHC in 2019 as a Project Manager working with the Information Technology team. She was promoted to Director of Project Management to serve the entire agency working on cross functional teams and projects. She has worked to implement various technology solutions, lead process improvement work, and help manage expansion efforts of services and programs. Prior to MHC, Kate worked as a healthcare consultant focused in process improvement, regulation reporting and population health. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Melanie Mummert, SPHR

Vice President, Human Resources

Melanie is our Vice President of Human Resources and is an ICC certified Coach and SPHR certified professional. With over 20 years of experience implementing innovative talent, leadership and learning and OD initiatives that boost productivity and engagement, she drives our people first philosophy to empower our workforce. Before joining Mental Health Cooperative, she spent time driving strategic HR programs in start-ups as well as Fortune 500 organizations.

August White, MEd, LPC/MHSP

Executive Director, West

August White serves as the Executive Director in our newly expanded West Division.

She brings with her close to 20 years of clinical and leadership experience. August is a versatile leader that works towards building strong connections and collaborations to meet the very complex needs of our consumers living with mental illness. August prides herself on being a servant leader and has a proven track record of developing strong relationships with stakeholders and consumers.

August received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Counseling Psychology from the University of Mississippi. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor/Mental Health Service Provider in the state of Tennessee.