Q&A with Our New CEO: Dr. Jeannine L. Lisitski’s Inspiring Journey and Vision for Mental Health Partnerships
We are delighted to introduce Dr. Jeannine L. Lisitski as the new CEO and President of Mental Health Partnerships. To help you get to know her better, check out an insightful Q&A session with Dr. Lisitski. Here’s what she had to share about her journey, vision, and experiences.
Q: What personal mission aligns you with Mental Health Partnerships’ vision?
Dr. Lisitski: “My personal mission is well aligned with the vision of Mental Health Partnerships, which is: a community where people flourish, live the lives they imagine for themselves, and engage in the promotion of mental well-being.”
Q: How did you start your career in social work?
Dr. Lisitski: “I started my career in social work after attending law school for one semester and realizing that the advocacy that I wanted to focus on was more about alleviating suffering and oppression through direct service work rather than in a courtroom. At the time, I was serving in a volunteer role at a women’s center and they offered me a full-time job. I started in the field providing direct counseling and case management services at a domestic and sexual violence services organization.”
Q: Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that influenced your path?
Dr. Lisitski: “At one point, I was at a crossroads in my career, faced with a choice of jobs, one of which was doing street outreach working with families and individuals experiencing homelessness and facing a variety of challenges. My decision was made when I was out shopping one day and saw a person who was homeless struggling with their cart, barely making it. I felt a sudden sense of anguish that our society had failed to fulfill its moral obligation to each other. At that moment, I felt like time stopped, and I heard the screaming of angels. It was a very strange, out-of-body type experience, one that I would experience only one more time in my life.”
Q: How did your experience with Project HOME shape your advocacy work?
Dr. Lisitski: “Fast forward to my work with Project HOME: I was out riding with the outreach teams one evening. We were dropping someone off at a shelter and the folks that ran the shelter approached us, asking for help. We followed them down an alleyway to the shelter door, where a man was lying on the ground. He looked emaciated. We learned that he was released by another county’s prison system at 7 pm on a Friday evening and dumped near the door to the shelter in the alleyway. The man was unable to walk up the stairs to enter the shelter because he was so weak. The prison officials had tied pieces of wood to the man’s legs to reinforce them. The shelter staff explained that an ambulance had arrived and refused to take the man because they said that he needed hospice and not a hospital since he was dying. I called the ambulance back, and as I walked back down the alley to talk with the emergency responders,
“I had that same sensation of everything slowing down, time stopping, and angels screaming. I am not sure how else to describe how I felt in this moment. I knew that I was in for a struggle to advocate for the emergency responders to take the man for care.
“After threatening to make calls to City officials, the emergency personnel finally took the man to the hospital and we went along to make sure that they didn’t abuse him in any way. He ended up getting into a hospice within a few weeks and was reunited with his family before he passed away. After this incident, we followed up to advocate with the City Office of the Inspector General and there was an investigation and consequences for the prison and the emergency responders.”
Q: What have you learned from working with people experiencing homelessness?
Dr. Lisitski: “Some of the most impactful experiences of my life have been working with people experiencing homelessness. In this work, I learned to advocate with systems that failed to address the needs of individuals and families without a home. It was in this work that I first experienced the power of building relationships that serve as a bridge to community reconnection, healing, and recovery. I have learned so much from working with folks with lived experience who found their recovery path. This is the knowledge that I have used to shape program development and to understand how to advocate for system changes to better support all members of our community.”
Q: How do your experiences inform your leadership at Mental Health Partnerships?
Dr. Lisitski: “My journey in social work and mental health advocacy has been guided by moments of profound clarity and deep empathy. These experiences continue to fuel my commitment to creating a community where everyone can flourish and live the life they imagine for themselves.”
We are confident that Dr. Jeannine L. Lisitski’s leadership brings new energy and vision to Mental Health Partnerships. Her dedication and profound empathy will be instrumental in driving our mission forward and creating a community where everyone can thrive.
