NYAPRS Note: Congratulations to MHANYS’ Glenn Liebman, NAMI-NYC’s Matt Kudish and ASAP’s John Copolla for being deservedly selected by City and State magazine as among New York’s top 50 most influential NYS health care leaders. See the attached photo that includes Glenn on the left!
The Health Care Power 50: Recognizing The Most Influential People in New York Health Care
By CITY & STATE JANUARY 13, 2019
It’s that time of year when many New Yorkers start paying attention to their health – watching their weight, trying new diets and hitting the gym.
But for others, health care is a year-round profession and passion. Medical practitioners spend countless hours tending to their patients. Business and nonprofit executives grapple with rising costs and pursue innovative solutions as they seek to improve and expand care. And policymakers continually craft new strategies to combat epidemics and improve public health.
In this special list, we recognize the 50 most influential health care figures in the world of New York politics. Since we cover politicians on a day-to-day basis, we omitted all but a few officials who are in government, instead identifying those who influence it from the outside.
We reached out to insiders and experts to compile this list, ranking each person based on their accomplishments, economic clout, sway in political and policy matters, ties to powerful politicians and the constituencies they represent.
Glenn Liebman CEO Mental Health Association in New York State
New York is one of two states (along with Virginia) to require mental health education in schools, thanks to the lobbying efforts of Glenn Liebman and his team at the Mental Health Association in New York State – Albany’s pre-eminent lobby group for mental health. The organization is continuing to push for its policy proposals on other fronts in 2019, including cost-of-living increases for mental health care workers employed by nonprofits.
Matt Kudish Executive Director National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City
Matt Kudish leads the largest affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one of the nation’s largest mental health advocacy groups, and has been working since 2017 to expand the organization’s reach and broaden its partnerships. His efforts come as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration devotes more attention to mental health care needs through its Thrive NYC initiative, with Kudish applauding the mayor’s recent creation of a mental health crisis task force.
John Coppola Executive Director New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers
If the opioid epidemic made anything clear, it was the need for more robust care around substance abuse and mental health. John Coppola, who has led the New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers since its inception, has been beating that drum for decades. He has been vocal about the government’s responsibility to change the way mental health and substance abuse are treated, praising Gov. Andrew Cuomo about his actions to make treatment a priority.
http://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/special-list/power-list/health-care-power-50-6-50.html