Key People

Neal Adams, MD, MPH, Summit Honorary Chairperson, currently serves as Medical Director for the California State Department of Mental Health. Previously he was Director/Medical Director for Santa Cruz County Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Dr. Adams has been part of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors President’s Task Force on Performance and Outcome Measures Technical Workgroup. He is currently President of the American College of Mental Health Administration and served for 2 years as Chair of the College’s Accreditation Organization Workgroup. Dr. Adams received his MD from Northwestern University in 1978 and also received his MPH from Harvard University that same year. Following completion of his residency in psychiatry at Stanford University, he also participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Dr. Adams is a citizen of Santa Cruz County.

Paula A. Comunelli, MSOD, Project Director and Summit Co-facilitator, is the Principal of Spirare Consulting. Paula initiated the MH Summit project and has more than 12 years of experience in Organization Development as a consultant, facilitator, educator, and speaker. In 2002, she was President of the Board at Interfaith Compeer, a local mental health non-profit. Paula was a “Series of Hope” speaker and appeared on local public television, as an advocate for eroding the discrimination and prejudice of mental illness. Paula is an Appreciative Inquiry subject matter expert and a co-owner of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting, LLC. She has 100+ partners worldwide who are committed to using this strengths-based approach to create a positive revolution in change. Paula’s background includes Organization Development, Communications, and Events management positions in the Silicon Valley. She holds a MS in Organization Development from Pepperdine University and a BS in Business from California State University, Hayward and is also a citizen of Santa Cruz County.

Jane Magruder Watkins, MA, MS, Summit Co-facilitator, is a past Chair of NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science in Washington, DC, and has worked in nearly 50 countries on five continents. She has been at the forefront of the development of Appreciative Inquiry, an organizational transformation process that enables creativity and generativity within systems and results in the kind of agile organization needed to succeed in the emerging environment. In her work as a consultant for Organizational Development and transformation, her clients include Corporations, Government Agencies and the non-profit sector. As an innovator, author, and teacher in the use of Appreciative Inquiry, she has developed and applied appreciative approaches in all aspects of Organization Development — strategic planning, team building, executive coaching, leadership development, conflict resolution, valuing diversity, project development, joint ventures, partnerships, evaluation. Jane holds an MA degree in English Literature; an MS degree in Organization Development and has done post graduate research and study at the Judge Institute of Management Studies at Cambridge University, UK.