Ford Kuramoto, D.S.W., LCSW, President

Dr. Kuramoto is a licensed clinician with more than 30 years of experience in health, mental health, substance abuse and social services to multicultural populations. His experience spans private industry, non-profit community-based organization, U.S. Army, and local, state and Federal government service. Dr. Kuramoto served on the SAMHSA National Advisory Council, the Behavior Change Expert Panel for the Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Media Campaign, Office of National Drug Control Policy; the ADAMHA Minority Advisory Committee; Subcommittee on Special Populations, President’s Commission on Mental health, the California Department of Mental Health Advisory Committee and the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. He was formerly on the staff of NIMH in Rockville, MD; the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, UCLA; and the Graduate Addictions Studies Program at Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

A Certified Public Accountant, Ms. Kuramoto has more than 20 years of experience in Big Six public accounting and private industry. Her work experience includes auditing, internal auditing, operations accounting, managing finance departments, and treasury functions. A dedicated community activist, she has volunteered time for many small non-profit agencies and served on committees for professional accounting societies, such as the American Society of Women Accountants.

Dr. Gasco is Chicano and an enrolled member of the Chumash Tribe. He has more than 25 years of experience in mental health, substance abuse and HIV/AIDS services. He served as a director for county mental health centers, including the American Indian Counseling Center. Dr. Gasco has served on many committees for the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

With a Masters Degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, Ms. Edmonds has more than ten years of experience in research, planning, program development and training, as well as developing comprehensive marketing strategies. She has also provided technical assistance and training in HIV/AIDS prevention, and developed a non-profit community service agency to combat HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Ganju has more than 20 years of experience working with mental health systems performance and outcome measures. He has directed projects promoting quality and accountability in transforming state mental health systems. Dr. Ganju has also worked on several World Health Organization initiatives related to mental health. He serves on many advisory committees related to mental health data and performance measures. Most recently, Dr. Ganju helped coordinate national efforts to develop research measures for recovery and cultural competence.

A Certified Meeting Professional, Ms. Ealy has more than ten years of experience in planning, implementing and directing meetings and conferences ranging in size from 5 to over 600 participants for SAMHSA and corporate trade shows. She also has experience working with small businesses and many faith-based community organizations for meetings and conferences.