AUSTIN, Texas – The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at The University of Texas at Austin is pleased to announce the appointment of national mental health advocates Mary Rainwater, L.C.S.W., and Ricardo Millett, Ph.D., to its National Advisory Council.
The foundation’s 10-member council offers critical guidance and expertise to staff on strategic direction, major grant initiatives and other projects that will dictate the trajectory of the foundation’s impact in Texas. Council members have Texas-based or national expertise in mental health, consumer advocacy, philanthropy and other fields related to the foundation’s mission of promoting the mental health of all Texans.
“We are very pleased that both of these renowned, influential leaders are now serving on our National Advisory Council,” said Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the Hogg Foundation. “Their combined knowledge, insight and experience will help strategically focus the foundation’s initiatives and advance the cause of mental wellness.”
Rainwater is a valued consultant and board member to nonprofit, government and academic institutions nationwide. She brings extensive expertise in the field of mental health to the council, specifically with regard to the design and delivery of integrated health services to underserved and special populations. Rainwater currently serves as technical advisor to the Coordinating Care for Medicare-Medicaid Beneficiaries Project at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass., developing tools and strategies to advance behavioral health integration at community mental health and behavioral health organizations serving Medicare and Medicaid populations.
Rainwater received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Loyola Marymount University and her master’s degree in social welfare from University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her license as a clinical social worker.
Millett is a consultant and a published researcher whose 35 years of experience have centered on linking evaluation research and practices to addressing the increasing vulnerability of marginalized national and international communities. He has served as Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, Senior Vice President of Planning and Resource Management for the United Way of Massachusetts, Director of Evaluation for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, President of the Woods Fund of Chicago, and Principal Associate with Community Science, in addition to consulting work within his own firm, Millett & Associates.
Millett received his bachelor’s degree in economics, his master’s degree in social policy and his doctorate in social policy planning and research from Brandeis University. He has been recognized by the American Evaluation Association, the Canadian Evaluation Society, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Senate, the City of Boston, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and several community-based agencies for his outstanding professional service and commitment to improving community equity.
The Hogg Foundation advances recovery and wellness in Texas by funding mental health services, policy analysis, research and public education. The foundation was created in 1940 by the children of former Texas Gov. James S. Hogg and is part of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.