Joseph “Chip” Johnston has served in the Behavioral Health Field for 37 years from direct care worker to executive director of Centra Wellness Network, a rural county based community mental health agency in Michigan, a position which he has held for 17 years. Chip has been a board member of NACBHDD since 2007 advocating for policies to foster and support behavioral health efforts in rural and frontier communities.

The rural/frontier nature of Michigan’s Northern and Upper Peninsula equating roughly the size of Mississippi with less than a million total population requires different approaches due to the lack of scale and distance. Behavioral health delivery requires a collaborative approach with other governmental agencies and limited but valuable NGO’s such as senior centers, schools, health departments, food panties, EMS, sheriff’s departments, etc. Chip is well known for effective solutions to maximize delivery of services, is one of Michigan’s senior directors and is always willing to provided guidance, technical training, and support to colleagues throughout the state.