Dr. Tison Thomas is a career member of the Senior Executive Service and a behavioral health leader with more than 30 years of experience advancing mental health policy, system transformation, and service delivery across federal, state, and local levels. Since April 2025, he has served as the Acting Director of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), where he provides executive leadership for federal mental health policy and investments supporting states, territories, and tribal communities nationwide across prevention, treatment, and recovery.
As Acting Director, Dr. Thomas leads national efforts to strengthen community mental health systems, expand access to evidence-based services, and modernize crisis response infrastructure. His work emphasizes strong federal–state partnerships, measurable outcomes, and effective stewardship of federal resources to improve care for individuals with serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, and co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions.
Previously, Dr. Thomas served as Deputy Director of CMHS beginning in 2022, where he managed the Center’s day-to-day operations. In this role, he oversaw five divisions and two offices, supervised approximately 200 federal staff, and managed a $2.3 billion portfolio comprising more than 2,500 grants and over 20 contracts. He strengthened internal controls, improved program performance, and enhanced the quality and consistency of CMHS operations.
Earlier, as Director of CMHS’s Division of State and Community Systems Development, Dr. Thomas led major federal mental health funding programs, including the Mental Health Services Block Grant, Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH), and the Community Mental Health Centers grant program. He directed national implementation of early intervention for psychosis, supporting more than 400 Coordinated Specialty Care programs nationwide. Under his leadership, PATH data collection was standardized in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), resulting in the collection of data on more than 100,000 individuals and its integration into the HUD Homeless Management Information System.
Before joining SAMHSA, Dr. Thomas held senior leadership roles at the state level, leading large-scale behavioral health system transformation initiatives focused on integrated behavioral health care, evidence-based practices, and system accountability. His leadership is grounded in early clinical experience across inpatient and emergency psychiatry, crisis services, managed care, and community mental health settings, serving adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance, including individuals experiencing homelessness, experience that continues to inform his national policy leadership.
Dr. Thomas holds a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in social work, and a Ph.D. in social work policy and practice, and he is a licensed clinical social worker. He brings a disciplined, practitioner-informed approach to federal leadership, focused on strengthening systems, improving outcomes, and ensuring that federal mental health investments deliver measurable impact nationwide.