How Ballmer Group is Transforming Community Wellbeing Through Philanthropy

On this episode of The State of Mental Wellbeing, we sat down with Andi Smith from Ballmer Group’s Washington team to explore how the capitalization of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) is fundamentally changing the way community and behavioral health care is delivered in America.  

During this episode, Mohini Venkatesh and Andi Smith discuss the increasing adoption of the CCBHC model. Through Medicaid funding and philanthropic partnerships, CCBHCs are becoming the norm, not the expectation, for how communities can receive care and services. Dive deeper into what makes the backbone of a CCBHC, philanthropy’s partnership with public dollars and how Ballmer Group’s advocation of the CCBHC model is creating scalable change in the way we think about and deliver behavioral health care services.  

This episode explores how CCBHCs are increasing access to care and services through payment reform, community partnerships and implementation support.  

• How CCBHCs are expanding access to behavioral health care services for the community. 
• How philanthropic partnerships with public sectors are scaling these behavioral health care services.
• How mental health is used as a force multiplier to create change in the community and individual lives. 

Andi Smith is the Executive Director of National Behavioral Health and Ballmer Group’s Washington team, where she leads strategy and investments to improve economic mobility for children and families across the state. She brings deep expertise in public systems and policy, with a focus on child welfare, behavioral health, early childhood, disability, housing, and services for youth experiencing homelessness. 

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