Allie Friesen

Allie Friesen serves as the Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). Prior to her role as Commissioner, Friesen worked in healthcare with a focus on Behavioral Health. During her tenure, she focused on developing cost-effective, evidence-based practices across the Oklahoma healthcare system. Her responsibilities included improving access to care, enhancing patient safety and elevating the overall quality of care.

Friesen is a licensed mental health professional who specializes in working with individuals facing neurological disorders and other chronic medical conditions. Additionally, she actively collaborates with community leaders to provide critical access to behavioral health services.

Friesen’s academic background includes studies at Texas Christian University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling.

In her current capacity, Friesen emphasizes the need for transformative solutions and smart growth within the behavioral health field. She considers it a great privilege to serve the people of Oklahoma and will continually advocate for their needs.

Durand Crosby

Durand Crosby is the Senior Deputy Commissioner with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and an Adjunct Professor at Oklahoma State University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate students in several courses, including Business Ethics, Organizational Behavior, Nonprofit Fundraising, and Nonprofit Management. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma, and his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Crosby began his professional career working for the San Francisco-based law firm law firm Morrison & Foerster where his practice concentrated on intellectual property, commercial litigation, and employment law. He later worked as a Senior Trial Attorney at Allstate Insurance Company and was also previously the General Counsel for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. He has written and published articles on issues related to organizational behavior, such as employee engagement, commitment, and organizational justice, and well as ethics. He has also served as board member for the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Social Workers.

Nisha Wilson

Nisha Wilson serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Treatment and Recovery for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). In this role, Nisha is responsible for the development and implementation of comprehensive approaches to clinical services across the statewide continuum of care. Nisha has served in a variety of roles at ODMHSAS in both the provision of direct care services and program administration, including the oversight of criminal justice initiatives, the statewide network of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, addiction services, crisis continuums of care, and children’s services. She is passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice and is focused on outcomes that deliver quality care and treatment.

Nisha received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Northeastern State University. Nisha is a Licensed Professional Counselor and served as a board member for the Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure from 2014-2022.

Jessica Wisdom

Jessica Wisdom is the Chief Clinical Integration Officer for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). In that role she oversees all ODMHSAS treatment system acute care hospital functions, system-wide performance improvement and compliance requirements.  She began her career with the department in 2006 as part of the Griffin Memorial Hospital (GMH) treatment staff.  

Jessica began work at GMH as an outpatient mental health therapist and participated on the crisis response team.  She worked on the hospital psychiatric inpatient acute care unit for 15 years as a therapist doing group therapy and psychological testing, and transitioned to managing grants for the facility and implementing best practice initiatives.  Jessica also served as the GMH grievance coordinator and as director of admissions. She was part of the hospital’s executive management team for over a decade.   

Not originally from Oklahoma, Jessica moved here from Washington with a plan to one-day return, however she has never left and has adopted the state as her home.  She was a collegiate soccer player at Tacoma Community College and Eastern Washington University, an experience that taught her the value and importance of team work and an understanding how every role contributes to overall success.

Her key professional interests include inpatient psychiatric care, improving consumer outcomes, person centered trauma informed care, improving efficient processes across the state, and implementing nationally identified best practices in services.  Jessica is passionate about consumer advocacy and protecting the rights of persons receiving care.  

Jessica holds a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Gonzaga University.  She has maintained a private counseling practice since 2018.

Rich Edwards

Rich has worked for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) since 2013 and previously served as the Budget Director for the department.  Mr. Edwards is responsible for planning, directing, and managing the agency’s more than $475 million budget. This includes providing oversight for all the department’s federal grants as well overseeing the operational functions of the finance department.   

Before working at the department Mr. Edwards was a Senior Budget Analyst at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), where he was responsible for approving and administering budgets totaling over $3 billion in state appropriations for state agencies within the cabinets of Health, Education, and Veterans Affairs.  In that capacity he also served as the Co-Chair of the Finance Workgroup for Governor Fallin’s Task Force on an Oklahoma Health Insurance Exchange.  Mr. Edwards received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and his Master in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma.

Melissa Miller

Melissa Miller is Chief of Policy and Provider Regulation at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, where she identifies and implements strategic policy initiatives for the state's behavioral health delivery system and oversees the Department's provider certification and contact compliance divisions. Prior to her work with the Department, Melissa served as Deputy Director at the Oklahoma State Department of Health providing management of high-priority policy and health initiatives. Melissa also worked at the Center for Learning and Leadership at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where she provided training and technical assistance related to developmental disabilities. Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Anderson University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Oklahoma.

Dewayne Moore

Dewayne Moore is the Chief of Compliance and Accountability with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.  In this role, Dewayne oversees the department’s Inspector General’s Office, Consumer Advocate Office, Auditing Division and Risk Management Office.  Dewayne is also a lecturer for the department on topics including confidentiality, mental health law, ethics and EMTALA.

Dewayne began his career as an Assistant District Attorney for the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office.  He continued his legal career with Allstate Insurance Company as a trial attorney.  Dewayne subsequently became the legal instructor for CLEET where he taught Oklahoma’s peace officers statewide including courses for the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. 

Dewayne began his career with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as Deputy General Counsel and subsequently General Counsel.  Dewayne has also served as a Clinical Associate Professor for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Oklahoma.  Dewayne received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.

Tony Stelter

Tony Stelter, LPC, serves as the Chief of Statewide Crisis Services for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Tony is responsible for overseeing the planning, developing, implementation, managing, improving and other aspects of Oklahoma’s crisis continuum.

Stelter serves as a founding member of the Lived Experience Advisory Committee for the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Tony has over 13 years of experience working in mental health and substance use services in a variety of roles including outpatient, inpatient, community response, consumer advocacy, and crisis. Tony recently served as the Director of Contact Center Operations and Clinical Services for Oklahoma’s statewide 988 Contact Center.

Tony received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in Psychology and Received his Master’s in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Tony is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Oklahoma and a proud father to his teenage son.

Stelter is an advocate for eliminating stigma and believes collaboration, partnership, and compassion is the approach needed for a successful crisis continuum. 

Jim Jackson

Jim Jackson, LMFT, serves as the Chief Clinical Officer at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. He is passionate about partnering with mental healthcare providers to improve access and treatment outcomes to better serve the citizens of Oklahoma.

Prior to his work at the department, Jim worked in the healthcare system in various clinical and leadership roles over 11 years. He specializes in inpatient psychiatric care, trauma informed care and treatment for problematic sexual behaviors in youth. Jim is originally from Kansas but moved to Oklahoma in 2012. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Wichita State University and received his master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Friends University. Jim is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist in the state of Oklahoma. He resides in Oklahoma City with his wife and three children.