Governor Cooper Appoints NASW-NC Member Ryan Estes to MH/DD/SAS Commission

Congratulations to Ryan Estes, MSW, MBA, LCSW, LCAS, CCS who has been appointed by Governor Roy Cooper at the recommendation of NASW-NC to the North Carolina Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services! The Commission’s mission is to promote excellence in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs for persons with mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance abuse disorders in North Carolina. The Commission has the authority to adopt, amend and repeal rules to be used in the implementation of state and local mental health, developmental disability and substance abuse service programs.

Mr. Estes is the Treatment Operations Director for Coastal Horizons Center. His work focuses on program development, fiscal and policy oversight, and clinical and administrative consultation. Ryan oversees $30M of a nonprofit budget, added 250 social work positions at his company, and his supervisory chain includes more than 300 employees. Ryan is a part-time adjunct faculty for UNC-Wilmington.

Ryan received his BA in psychology from Wake Forest University, his Master of Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill, and an Master of Business Administration from UNC-Wilmington. Ryan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist. He is part of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, Board Treasurer for NC Child, and a national Protective Factors trainer. Ryan is a former chapter president for NASW - North Carolina. He currently is the Region V National NASW Board representative, a member of the national NASW Financial Committee, and a voting delegate.