Message from Dr. Kirsten Watkins, Interim CEO

Since stepping in as the Bert Nash Center interim CEO on June 24, I wanted to reach out and acknowledge the weight of this moment - for our team, for those we serve, and for our community of supporters.

The road ahead is not short, but it is one worth walking together.

Every day, our friends, neighbors and loved ones turn to the Bert Nash Center in moments of darkness, and we help them find light - through care, through connection, through showing up. That’s not small work. It’s meaningful, it’s essential, and it’s life-saving work. Our incredible team continues to do this work, even as we face our own challenges.

The board of directors and I are incredibly grateful for both our teams’ continued commitment to accessible mental health care in our community and the role you are playing in making that access possible. Right now, we are rebuilding - not just our budget and operations, but our collective strength. Each one of us has a role to play and we will need many hands, hearts, and voices to carry it forward.

We’re working hard to secure the critical support needed to strengthen our foundation. At the same time, we are grateful our community is showing up for us too.

The work in front of us is big. But so is our capacity to rise. I’m confident that the Bert Nash Center team and our community can do this together.

Kirsten Watkins, Psy.D., LP

Interim CEO