2025 C-Suite Awards
NONPROFITS/SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES: Dawn Allen
Thrive Behavioral Health | Chief of staff
AT FIRST, Dawn Allen thought she wanted to work with youths. After working in different clinics, Allen began to see that advocating for adults was where her true passion lay.
Primary Care and RI Healthcare Crisis: South County Health is Working to Address, But Rhode Island Needs Systemic Solutions
Rhode Island’s healthcare system is at a breaking point, affecting patients, providers, and hospitals statewide…
Learn More
Allen, the chief of staff for Warwick-based Thrive Behavioral Health, could see a broken mental health system in Rhode Island and the lack of support for adults needing such services.
“Mental illness, substance use disorders, they need to be treated the same as any physical illness,” Allen said. “Break down those silos between the two: it’s all health care.”
Thrive is the state-designated certified community behavioral health clinic within Kent County. The nonprofit clinic provides services regardless of insurance, ability to pay, age and more. Housing, veteran services and a residential program are among other services Thrive provides clients.
As chief of staff, Allen works closely with CEO Dr. Kleckner Charles, advocates for legislation and works on the national level with various councils. Prior to that, Allen headed Thrive’s special projects.
She used community connections and her previous experience to manage a $4 million federal grant to turn Thrive into a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. The model meets patients where they are in their recovery journey.
One objective of the grant was sustainability. Allen began collaborating with the state behavioral health and health and human services departments, and with the National Council for Mental Well-Being to help build Thrive.
“I … really tried to make those connections in our service area, getting to know the other organizations, getting on different boards related to mental illness, substance abuse disorder, and really just getting Thrive’s name out there,” Allen said. “Building those relationships really helped get a lot of things done and really helped with collaboration and creating a collaborative community.”
Allen and those she was working with also educated community providers, legislators and different state departments on the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model in advocating for the program. After much lobbying, Rhode Island implemented and funded the model statewide a few years later.
“I’ve always been a very good advocate,” Allen said. “I really look to see where there is a gap and how can it be filled. I don’t like hearing ‘Oh, no, that can’t happen or that’s too difficult.’ I heard that with [the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model] the minute it didn’t get in the budget, it’s going to be killed, and I [said], ‘There [are] other plans.’
“My dream is to have no one suffer with behavioral health or substance abuse disorder. More still needs to be done.”
There was high staff turnover when Allen arrived at Thrive and she saw how the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model could increase staff salaries. Allen says she and the organization initiated several trainings, including for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Around the state, Allen provides Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model training. Allen has overseen the training so much so that she is known as a guru for it. Jessica Lachey, Thrive’s development director, can attest to that.
“She is the one that has really been spearheading the whole [Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic] initiative. I don’t mean just for Thrive; I mean for the entire state,” Lachey said. “We are very lucky to have her, and there are eight community behavioral health clinics that got this new status. She really pushed on all levels for it.”
Both Allen and Lachey collaborate on Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic grants and state legislation to further support mental health care in Rhode Island. Lachey says Allen looks at the big picture on how to better the whole community.
“She is proactive and a forward thinker and has always been just a really great source of knowledge when it comes to how … we get this done,” Lachey said.
