Speaker's Profile

Debbie Atkins, MAC, LPC is Vice President of Growth at Carelon Behavioral Health, where she partners with states, counties, health plans, and other stakeholders to design and advance behavioral health solutions that improve access, quality, and outcomes. A licensed professional counselor with 30 years of experience across the public and private sectors, Debbie brings deep clinical expertise, operational leadership, and nationally recognized crisis-system knowledge to her work.At Carelon, Debbie supports business development and strategy with a focus on crisis care, systems transformation, and whole-person behavioral health solutions. Since joining the organization, she has helped expand Carelon�s crisis footprint in multiple states and serves as a subject matter expert on crisis systems of care.Before joining Carelon, Debbie spent more than a decade with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, where she directed statewide crisis coordination, led system planning and performance improvement efforts, and served as project lead for Georgia�s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline implementation. She also previously managed a 31-county regional behavioral health system and held executive leadership roles in community-based behavioral health organizations serving children, adults, and families with complex needs.Debbie�s leadership is grounded in a belief that strong systems should be clinically sound, fiscally responsible, data-informed, and centered on the people they serve. She holds bachelor�s degrees in psychology and business finance from Mississippi State University and a master�s degree in counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary.