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Annie Foncannon

Annie began working in the mental health field as a paraprofessional at Crider Center in 2000. Shortly after she became a part of the Marketing and Development team working on a grass-roots effort to create a Children’s Services Fund for St. Charles County. She was named the Social Marketing Liaison for the St. Charles County SAMSHA cooperative agreement to create a System of Care in that community. She went on to be the campaign manager for Lincoln and then Franklin County’s efforts to create Childrens Services Funds. All three counties successfully passed. During that time she worked on strengthening the System of Care in these communities earning her many recognitions including a gold and silver award in the national Excellence in Communications and Community Outreach for her work in System of Care Social Marketing. Due to her experience, she served as faculty/presenter at several national System of Care academies and meetings. In June of 2009 Annie was hired by the Franklin County Community Resource Board (FCCRB) to be the Executive Director of the Franklin County Putting Kids First Children’s Services Fund. In this capacity she serves as a member of the Franklin County System of Care. During her career she has served in statewide capacities to strengthen the System of Care in Missouri. In addition, she has been a contract consultant to the first St. Louis System of Care federal grant and the System of Care Grant that worked in Joplin, Jefferson City, and Springfield known as the SOC-CESS. Annie continues to believe in the power of System of Care to strengthen children, families, and communities.
 

Presentation(s): 

System of Care in Missouri

 

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Cla Stearns, PhD

Dr. Stearns is Children’s Services Director for the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH) and a partner with Kinmundy Consultant Group. He is a Licensed Psychologist and holds Doctorate and Masters degrees from the University of Missouri. His over 30 years of professional experience includes: providing private practice psychological services for individuals, families, schools and governmental agencies; psychological and neuropsychological assessment, utilization review in managed Medicaid; and vocational assessment and rehabilitation. He has more than 13 years experience with the Department of Mental Health (DMH) in a variety of roles, beginning as the state director for assessment, eligibility and utilization review for DMHs Division of Developmental Disabilities, promotion to Assistant Division Director, and further promotion to his current position. He lives with his wife in Prairie Home, MO.
 

Presentation(s): 

System of Care in Missouri

 

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JJ Gossrau, MSW, LCSW

JJ Gossrau, MSW, LCSW, is the Director of the Early Psychosis Care (EPC) Center and the Director of Young Adult Services at the Department of Mental Health. Her responsibilities include supervision and development of the EPC Center and connecting with key stakeholders including state government offices, private and nonprofit community service agencies, universities, and community behavioral health provider agencies. She is passionate about outreaching, educating, and supporting young people, transforming psychosis care, and ensuring timely access to effective early intervention services. More recently, JJ has worked to expand System of Care (SOC) across Missouri. JJ strongly believes in SOC and the positive impact of involving families and youth with lived experience in decisions about care, treatment, and support. JJ received her Master of Social Work from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dogs Jessie and Fredy and spending time with her husband and 2 boys.
 

Presentation(s): 

System of Care in Missouri

 

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Kathleen Murray, BA, MS

For more than 30 years, Kathleen Murray has dedicated her career to community outreach, mental health advocacy, and the development of compassionate, effective systems of care for marginalized populations. Her work has centered on creating meaningful connection with individuals who are often the hardest to engage-those navigating complex trauma, unstable environments, or multiple barriers to traditional services. Kathleen is widely recognized for her advanced skills in empathy, rapport-building, and deep engagement, bringing people into support systems when others could not.
Kathleen’s practice is grounded in integrity, persistence, and a “no wrong door” philosophy, ensuring that every individual receives support regardless of how they enter the system. A champion of collaboration and long-term commitment, Kathleen has consistently remained engaged when others moved on, often becoming the steady presence clients rely on most. Her leadership, dedication, and heart-centered approach continue to influence programs, practitioners, and communities working toward equitable, accessible, and person-centered care.
 

Presentation(s): 

Improving Care for People with Complex Needs: Real Solutions That Make a Difference

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Dana Silverblatt, MA

Dana Silverblatt has served as Director of Community Programs at Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis since 2019. In that role, she helps to shape strategic priorities and guide cross-department initiatives related to behavioral health and community integration. She collaborates with internal and external partners including health systems, state agencies, providers, and community organizations to drive consensus, troubleshoot challenges, and strengthen service delivery. Prior to BHN, Dana dedicated more than a decade of her work to Community Mental Health Centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers in Chicago and the St. Louis region. Through her collective experience, Dana brings an extensive background in project management and program implementation within a safety net in urban, suburban, and rural settings. Dana earned a Masters of Arts in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago and a Bachelors in psychology from the University of Michigan.

Presentation(s): 

Improving Care for People with Complex Needs: Real Solutions That Make a Difference

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Kanila Brown, MA, MS

Kanila is a student in UMSL’s Clinical Psychology PhD program. She earned her BA in Psychology from Talladega College in 2017. In 2019, she earned her MA in Clinical Psychology and MS in Quantitative Psychology at Ball State University. There, her Masters thesis examined social cognitive predictors of substance use and sexual risk behavior among emerging adults. Broadly, Kanila’s interests include understanding behavioral and mental health disparities, predominantly among Black people. More specifically, she is interested in understanding the cultural mechanisms of substance use trajectories among Black people across the lifespan and culturally responsive interventions. Her thesis used qualitative data to build a model of cannabis use among Black adolescents through a social-ecological framework. Her specialty proposed a framework of racialized drug socialization among Black people. Her dissertation will use qualitative methods to identify themes for how Black primary caregivers educate their kids ages 11-17 about drugs and alcohol. The purpose of her study is to reveal intergenerational strategies used by Black caregivers at the intersection of race and drug socialization of Black youth. Her findings will help inform how Black caregivers can educate to their kids about drugs and alcohol and will result in the facilitation of a series of community discussions with Black caregivers in the St. Louis region.

Presentation(s): 

From Research to Practice: Diverse Approaches to Understanding and Addressing Substance Use

 

 

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Hannah Meyer, MSW, LCSW

Hannah Meyer, LCSW is the Clinical Social Work Manager at Optimistic Beginnings, a state operated 8 bed treatment program within Northwest Community Services. The program serves individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities who also have severe mental illness. Hannah has been with the program for the last 9 years utilizing DBT, EMDR and Trauma Recovery models to support individuals in development of emotion regulation and stabilization. She obtained her master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Social Work in 2013.

Presentation(s): 

Falling Through the Cracks: The Lives We Overlook

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Rachel Cramsey, MSW, LCSW

Rachel Cramsey is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in Saint Louis, Missouri. Rachel’s career began as an inpatient social worker at Barnes Jewish Hospital. In 2015, Rachel started working with women and families impacted by the criminal justice system. Rachel transitioned into the role of Executive Director at that nonprofit before returning to BJC in 2019. From 2019-2025, Rachel provided therapy to perinatal and post-partum parents and later to students ages pre-K-8th grade. Since September 2025, Rachel has worked as Clinical Community Health Supervisor and now supports therapists on both the embedded and virtual behavioral health teams for St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Outside of work, Rachel enjoys running, spending time with loved ones, traveling, and listening to records.

Presentation(s): 

Through Community Collaboration, St. Louis Children’s Hospital Takes Behavioral Health Beyond Hospital Walls

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Tracy Tackett, MEd, LPC

Tracy Tackett is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with a Master of Education in Guidance and Counseling, through Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO (2017) and Bachelors of Art in Psychology, through Columbia College, Columbia, MO (2009). Tracy provides integrative treatment services to adults living with severe and persistent mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders at New Horizons Community Support Services in Jefferson City, MO. Tracy has worked in the mental health field for over 20 years in various capacities including providing direct care to clients in hospital and residential settings, case management services, and counseling services. Tracy is a passionate advocate for trauma-informed care. She incorporates various counseling techniques and therapies to meet individual needs, including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and somatic and attachment-focused eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (S.A.F.E. EMDR).

Presentation(s): 

Trauma-informed Care – Looking for the Story Behind the Behavior/Presenting Issues

Breaking Free! Breaking Through Barriers to Live Life to the Fullest

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Mike Abrams, MSW

Mike Abrams is a social worker and the Young Adults Supervisor at Independence Center, where he leads the Coordinated Specialty Care for First Episode Psychosis (CSC-FEP) program. With over a decade of experience in social services and mental health, Mike has guided programs ranging from mentoring initiatives to data-driven partnerships with United Way.
At Independence Center, his leadership of the CSC-FEP program has built a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and humility—helping young adults improve their quality of life and achieve their goals. Mike also helped forge a partnership between the CSC-FEP team and the Clubhouse at Independence Center to reduce social isolation and strengthen members’ sense of belonging. He looks forward to sharing how these teams work together to support members and achieve shared success.

Presentation(s): 

Clubhouse: A Natural Community Connection for Young Adults with Early Psychosis