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Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
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2023 Phillips Medal Recipient

2023 Phillips Medal Recipient Lori Criss, M.S.W.

Phillips Medal 

2023 Recipient

Lori Criss, M.S.W.

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

She was appointed Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in 2018 and has since made it her mission to help make behavioral health services for Ohioans 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 Ohio’s efforts on building out a full continuum of prevention, treatment, recovery support and harm reduction services for Ohioans 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 Ohio CareLine to provide Ohioans 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 RecoveryOhio Advisory Council; Board Member for the Ohio Commission on Minority Health; and Member of the Advisory Board to Ohio’s Criminal Sentencing Commission.  

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

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from The Ohio 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 Ohio State University Alumni Association’s Alumni in Government Distinguished Service Award and received the Distinguished Career Award from The Ohio State University’s College of Social Work Hall of Fame. Originally from Mingo Junction, she and her husband Scott reside in central Ohio and are the proud parents of two adult daughters.