Open Role
Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use
Office of the Assistant Secretary
700 reports
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
SAMHSA Executive Leadership and Center-Based Organizational Structure
Government · Divisional structure · 700 employees · Rockville, MD
12
Agency head span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 14)
5
Avg span
wide
3
Max depth
3 levels
Interactive org chart
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration organizational chart
Explore the agency leadership model, component structure, and reporting layers from official public sources.
Open editable chart
Take this model into your AI workspace Use AI to reason through the model, then bring the scenario back into Creately Atlas.
Choose a prompt, then open an AI app and paste.
Download the CSV data instead
SAMHSA is a center-based HHS agency leading U.S. behavioral health policy, grants, data, and crisis coordination, including oversight of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, with national reach through states, Tribes, and communities.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Scenario views in the chart
- Model Assistant Secretary Vacancy Assess continuity of operations with the Assistant Secretary role vacant and identify interim delegation of authority.
- Add Chief Data & AI Officer Create a cross-agency data and AI leadership role to coordinate CBHSQ data, grants reporting, and analytics.
- Move 988 Office Under Principal Deputy Reassign the 988 Crisis Coordinating Office to report directly to the Principal Deputy for tighter operational oversight.
Atlas work this supports
- Compare public operating models Use this official-source baseline to compare agencies, components, reporting layers, and field-office networks.
- Model vacancies and transitions Create planning scenarios for acting leaders, new offices, component moves, and cross-agency coordination changes.
- Keep an official source trail Track source URLs, leadership updates, and agency structure changes in one Atlas workspace for review.
The people
Key leaders and offices
12 senior leadership roles or offices from official public sources. Use this section as a current agency-leadership index, not a private-company filing table.
Christopher D. Carroll, MSc
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Office of the Assistant Secretary
0 reports
Timothy W. Westlake, M.D., FACEP
Chief of Staff
Office of the Assistant Secretary
0 reports
Neeraj Gandotra, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Office of the Chief Medical Officer
0 reports
Daniel Lonnerdal, M.S., FACHE
Executive Officer; Director, Office of Management, Technology, and Operations
OMTO
0 reports
Coqui Aspiazu
Director, Office of Communications
Office of Communications
0 reports
Odessa Crocker
Acting Director, Office of Financial Resources
OFR
0 reports
Rear Admiral Christopher Jones, Pharm.D., Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; Acting Director, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality
CSAP / CBHSQ
0 reports
Tison Thomas, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Acting Director, Center for Mental Health Services
CMHS
0 reports
Karran A. Phillips, M.D., MSc
Acting Director, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
CSAT
0 reports
James Wright, M.S., LPC
Acting Director, 988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office
BHCCO
0 reports
CAPT Karen Hearod, M.S.W., LCSW
Director, Office of Tribal Affairs and Policy
OTAP
0 reports
The operating model
How Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration divides the work
5 offices, branches, or components organize the agency mission. Tile size scales with estimated staff where public estimates exist.
Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)
150 employees
p9
Leads federal programs and grants supporting mental health services, especially for serious mental illness and children’s mental health.
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
120 employees
p8
Focuses on preventing substance use and misuse through community-based programs, education, and national initiatives.
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
150 employees
p10
Oversees treatment-related grants, opioid treatment program policy, and access to evidence-based substance use disorder treatment.
988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office
60 employees
p11
Coordinates the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and crisis care policy across states and territories.
Office of Management, Technology, and Operations
120 employees
p5
Provides enterprise operations, IT, grants systems, and administrative support for SAMHSA.
The agency brief
What this U.S. agency structure tells us
SAMHSA is an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services responsible for leading national efforts in mental health, substance use prevention, treatment, crisis care, and recovery support. Structurally, SAMHSA is distinctive within HHS for its center-based model, organized around major programmatic Centers (CMHS, CSAP, CSAT) that align to prevention, treatment, and mental health services, complemented by cross-cutting offices for crisis coordination (988), data and statistics (CBHSQ), Tribal affairs, minority health, recovery, and grants management. The agency primarily exercises authority through grant-making, national guidance, technical assistance, data collection, and coordination with states, Tribes, territories, and community providers rather than direct service delivery. Its public-facing mission centers on improving access, quality, and equity in behavioral health care nationwide.
- Vacant Assistant Secretary role with Principal Deputy serving as senior career leader
- Center-based structure aligned to prevention, treatment, and mental health
- Dedicated national 988 crisis coordination office
The comparison
Compare with related agencies
Compared with peer HHS operating divisions such as CDC and HRSA, SAMHSA is smaller and more specialized, with a stronger reliance on discretionary and block grants and less regulatory authority. Unlike CDC’s science-centered structure or HRSA’s population-based service bureaus, SAMHSA’s organization is program-center …
Senior office count
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
14
Reporting depth
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
3 levels
Current signals
What changed recently
No recent leadership changes beyond acting and vacant roles documented on official SAMHSA leadership pages as of Q2 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who leads Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration?
SAMHSA is led by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use; the position is currently vacant, with the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary serving as the senior executive.
What does Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration do?
SAMHSA leads national efforts to improve mental health, prevent substance misuse, expand treatment, support recovery, and coordinate behavioral health crisis services such as 988.
What are the major offices or components of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration?
Major components include the Centers for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse Treatment, the 988 Crisis Coordinating Office, and several cross-cutting policy and operations offices.
Who does Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report to?
SAMHSA is an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and ultimately reports to the HHS Secretary.
How can this org chart be used for planning or coordination?
The org chart helps policymakers, grantees, and partners understand SAMHSA’s decision structure, identify responsible centers or offices, and plan cross-center or crisis-response coordination.
Sources
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/substance-abuse-and-mental-health-services-administration/MLA 9th
"Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/substance-abuse-and-mental-health-services-administration/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/substance-abuse-and-mental-health-services-administration/.Permanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/us-government/substance-abuse-and-mental-health-services-administration/ · last updated 2026-04-01