Ruth Fox started out her career as a Licensed Practical Nurse.  She has worked in the Mental Health field for the past 30 years.  Ruth volunteered with Homeless Coalitions, Housing Coalitions and was actively involved in community work while practicing as a nurse.   Realizing that her heart was focused on social services she began working at a local church as the Home Missions Director supporting people in the community who were struggling with various situations, many of whom had mental health concerns, supplying them with options to available support services in the community.  In 1998 Ruth began working at Community Human Services in Pittsburgh, PA as a Team Leader for adult mental health residential services.  Ruth was promoted to Program Director and remained employed at Community Human Services for 10 years. 

Personally, Ruth is a parent of four children, one diagnosed at age 8 with major depression and agoraphobia.  In 2016 Ruth and her husband took in two grandchildren and raised them for 4.5 years, one with several mental health diagnosis. Ruth has been married to her husband for 32 years who early on was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and since is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.  She attended NAMI Spouse Support groups and took their Family-to-Family training.  There have been many ups and downs, but we love each other and when someone is sick that you love, you support them and care for them.

Ruth’s professional and personal life made her uniquely qualified when in 2008 she was offered and accepted the position of Executive Director of Allegheny Family Network., she is a self-taught CEO now who is a hard worker and highly motivated.  She believes the ability to support parent/caregivers that have been through similar situations with their children and offer them resources and information to support them in making good decisions for their child and family is so rewarding.  Ruth thinks it is a pleasure to employ “family members” in doing what they know best - supporting and advocating for parents/caregivers who have children with mental health and behavioral needs through their journey.  She believes that children grow up and that families need peer support at all ages.  Ruth currently sits on the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Steering Committee at the state level to promote the use of Family Peer Support across the life span in PA as a mental health billable service.

Ruth has personal knowledge, experience, and above all - passion for what she does.  Ruth feels it is a wonderful way to give back - to support others facing many issues daily, to encourage them to advocate, to help them get the support they need, to be informed, and to have hope for tomorrow.   

LaQuana Fulton is a National Training and Education Coordinator with the Caregiver Support Program, VA Central Office.  Ms. Fulton holds over 15 years of experience in Healthcare Social Work. Ms. Fulton is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the Veterans and caregivers. Ms. Fulton has held several positions in Social Work practice in the areas of Gerontological Social Work practice and Healthcare and serves as a strong advocate for older adults, caregivers, and families.

Ms. Fulton holds a Master of Social Work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Science degree in Gerontology from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of South Carolina. Ms. Fulton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the Commonwealth of Virginia and certified as a Clinical Social Worker in Gerontology (CSW-G).

Dr. Huysman's mental health career began in the 1980s. He created an outreach and clinical program known as TV Aftercare™, an innovation designed to support and assist TV talk show guests who opened themselves up on air to help other victims of abuse, substance dependency, and toxic relationships. Dr. Huysman appeared on more than 100 TV talk shows, coordinating pro bono clinical services for more than 800 guests over 15 years.

In the 1990s, Dr. Huysman collaborated with Leeza Gibbons to create The Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation and was appointed Executive Director. He established and oversaw programming providing respite and clinical services for caregivers in 10 US cities. He co-authored Take Your Oxygen First: Protecting Your Health and Happiness While Caring for a Loved One with Memory Loss.

In the early 2000s Dr. Huysman began his career at WellMed, focusing on the emotional health of employees. Committed to a trauma-informed model of care, he created the Emotional Support Response Team (ESRT). He is an Advisor to The Polyvagel Institute, dedicated to raising awareness, building community, facilitating research, and offering education on understanding the mind/body system.

Greg Link is the Director of the Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services with the Administration for Community Living/U.S. Administration on Aging, which oversees programs funded under the Older Americans Act (OAA), including Title III-B in-home supportive services, Title III-E National Family Caregiver Support Program as well as ACL’s Alzheimer’s disease programs. Greg and his team also provide general oversight and technical assistance to the aging network on a range of program areas, including Information and Referral, family caregiver support programs and policies, housing, employment, transportation, LGBT aging, and Holocaust Survivors. Before coming to ACL/AoA, Greg worked at the National Association of State Units on Aging where he provided technical assistance and training to states on family care giving, consumer direction, and transportation. Greg has also worked at the community level as a case manager and social services manager at Senior Friendship Centers in Fort Myers Florida. There, he oversaw the social services staff and the delivery of services funded by the Older Americans Act, state funds and Medicaid waivers. Greg holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida and a Master of Arts in Government from Johns Hopkins University.