Mark McDaniel Retires from 21 Years as Executive Director

Family, friends, colleagues, public officials and other well-wishers attended a reception to celebrate the retirement of Mark McDaniel after 21 years as Executive Director of the Tri-County Board. The reception was held at the Fort Piqua Plaza Thursday June 27, 2019.

Biography and Career Highlights

Mark earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Bowling Green State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Prior to his work in the public sector, Mark spent 15 years in the private sector: 10 years at Starr Commonwealth Schools working with troubled youth and their families; 5 years as Executive Director of Fountainview Center, a provider of substance abuse services in Van Wert, OH.

​Mark has been in public sector human services for 26 years: 5 years as Executive Director of the Auglaize County Department of Human Services; and 21 years as Executive Director of the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services, the longest tenure in the Board’s 50-year history.

Among his awards and recognitions, Mark considers two to be of special significance: Administrator of the Year in 2002 by the Ohio Advocates for Mental Health, and Board Director of the Year in 2005 by NAMI Ohio. Both of these organizations are advocates for persons living with mental illness, and to be so recognized by advocates for advocacy is a special honor.

In his two decades at the helm of a three-county Board overseeing mental health and addiction services, Mark has seen fundamental changes in the system and the Board’s role in it:

“The greatest change in our system has been the evolution
of the Board from an entity that predominately funded outpatient services to one that now supports a broad community support system, as well as the outpatient. In 1998 the Board owned one house; the Board now owns and operates 15 buildings, including five apartment complexes, six houses, two recovery homes and an outpatient office facility. (One Wellness Place is on the way which takes service delivery to a new level.) SafeHaven has grown from a single small site in Troy to full service sites in each of our three counties.”

The Board owns and funds the operation of two 24/7 staffed recovery homes and 2 graduate homes (men’s and women’s) with plans to expand in the future.
In another evolutionary move the Board has systematically moved away from funding piecemeal prevention activities to funding only best-practice programs that are evidence-based.

Mark has guided the Board to become more strategic in general by developing inclusive three-year strategic plans which focus on the development of delivery system infrastructure. The Board continues to work to link its strategic planning with that of the public health departments, hospitals and others. The Board has been a major investor and supporter of collaborative development, jail service expansion (including the Sheriff’s Treatment and Recovery House in Shelby County), expansion of medication availability, and partnerships to increase the number and variety of detox, residential, hospital, and other supported living systems for children and families.
 
During Mark’s tenure the Board has evolved into a major workforce and skill development trainer in the Tri-County region. In addition to offering workforce development and Continuing Education Unit training for treatment providers, the Board is the go-to resource for mental health and substance use. Board staff and other experts have trained hundreds of school personnel, law enforcement officers and other emergency responders, court staff, jail staff, and the general public. The Board invests in other community supports as well, such as the Crisis Response Team to support organizations and businesses in the wake of community crisis.

​As a result of Mark’s continuous presence in the community, bringing business leaders, faith-based leaders, law enforcement and courts, behavioral health and medical providers, and community members to the same table for planning and responding to community priorities, the citizens of Darke, Miami and Shelby
Counties value mental health and addiction treatment and prevention, and continue to work in partnership to reduce stigma and improve access to services that help our communities thrive.