Team
Megan Davidson
Program Director
Dr. Megan Davidson is the program director of the Stepping Up initiative, the national effort to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in the justice system. Megan has over 10 years of experience leading complex stakeholder engagement, research and evaluation, and technical assistance projects at the intersection of behavioral health and criminal justice. She has supported many jurisdictions with the implementation and evaluation of systemic efforts intended to improve outcomes for individuals touched by the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. Megan earned her PhD in public affairs with a concentration in criminal justice from the University of Central Florida.
Elise Simonsen
Associate Program Director for Behavioral Health and Justice
Elise is NACo’s associate program director for behavioral health and justice. Elise oversees NACo’s behavioral health and justice portfolio which provides thought leadership to counties related to mental health, justice, and public safety. She will oversee all strategic aspects of the portfolio, including identifying current and near future priority areas of county needs, emerging trends and best practices in local behavioral health and justice. Before joining NACo, Elise served as a senior policy analyst at National Governors Association (NGA). Elise holds a PhD in Criminology from the University of Florida.
Kate Berg
Program Director of School and Justice Initiatives
Kate Berg, MA, is the program director of school and justice initiatives for the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF). Kate has been an advocate for mental health and comprehensive wraparound support for youth for over 15 years. She has worked both directly in and in collaboration with schools, districts, and regional/state education entities, ensuring educational environments meet the diverse needs of both students and educators. In her most recent role as associate director of programs and strategy with the national nonprofit Alliance for a Healthier Generation, she led a team of program managers on various initiatives across 70 school districts in the U.S., supporting program implementation, evaluation, and program improvement. These programs were designed to promote policy and systems change using the whole child health framework predominantly focused on mental health and well-being. Prior to this, Kate served in various educational roles, including public school teacher, school counselor, multi-tiered systems of support coordinator, and student success manager. She holds a MA in school counseling from the University of South Florida and a BA in developmental psychology from Florida State University.
Jeri Thuku
Program Director School and Justice Initiatives
Jeri Thuku, MPH, is the Program Manager of School and Justice Initiatives. Prior to joining APAF, Jeri was a Senior Program Coowrdinator with Jhpiego, a non-profit organization, where she supported programs in East Africa. Her primary role was monitoring and tracking projects, including ensuring project timelines and scopes were adhered to. In past roles, Jeri has worked in the domestic and international global health space, with organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, HealthHIV, and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. In those roles, Jeri primarily focused on capacity building, HIV/AIDS, and research and evaluation. Jeri has published two journal articles in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS), including “Providers PrEP: Identifying Primary Health Care Providers’ Biases as Barriers to Provision of Equitable PrEP Services” and “A Landscape Analysis of Prevention of Vertical Transmission Program Data and Interventions from Fiscal Years 2019 to 2021”. Jeri earned her B.S. in Community Health from George Mason University and her Master’s in Public Health from George Washington University.
Mark Stovell
Deputy Program Director
Mark oversees the delivery of broad-based technical assistance products and tools to assist counties in their Stepping Up efforts. Mark has also provided technical assistance to Second Chance Act and Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program grantees that serve people with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental illness, and he has coordinated additional projects designed to advance practices at the intersection of the criminal justice and behavioral health. Before joining the CSG Justice Center, Mark worked for the Partnership to End Addiction in New York City where he developed educational tools for state decision makers on improving addiction prevention and treatment through health policy. He also worked for Families USA in Washington, DC and for Hunger Free Vermont as part of the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship. Mark earned his BA in political science and sociology from Ohio University and his MPA at Baruch College.