John W. Newcomer, M.D. is President and CEO of Thriving Mind South Florida in Miami, Florida. Thriving Mind (contracting as South Florida Behavioral Health Network, Inc.) oversees safety net mental health and substance abuse services for the population of 3 million people in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, serving approximately 220,000 individuals annually with an annual operating budget of $140 million, funded by the Florida Department of Children and Families as well as other Federal, State, County and private sources.

Dr. Newcomer is also Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. During two decades at Washington University, he served in research leadership roles including Medical Officer for the General Clinical Research Center and Medical Director for the Center for Clinical Studies. Dr. Newcomer has served as Principal Investigator on peer-reviewed federal research grants funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for over 30 years. He was Executive Vice Dean at Florida Atlantic University Schmidt College of Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. From 2007-2019 he served on the Metabolic Disorders Steering Committee of the Biomarkers Consortium of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, and in the public sector Chaired the Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board for the State of Missouri for 13 years. In 2014 he was named to the Thomson Reuters List of Highly Cited Researchers.

Laura Naredo. MS, CHC, CHPC is the chief operations officer with over 20 years of experience at both the clinical and management level. She has also worked with both state agencies and non-profits in behavioral health care. She is responsible for managerial work planning and directing programs to ensure coordination and efficiency among administrative, programmatic and operational aspects of service delivery, reporting directly to the President/CEO. She is responsible for the management of all systems of care operations, quality improvement and quality assurance processes within the agency. She develops, leads, facilitates, and advises internal committees regarding system of care operations, quality improvement, quality assurance, utilization management and risk management activities. She maintains a knowledge of federal and state regulatory conditions and integrates into the internal QI/QA systems, system of care operations and ensures continued compliance with such regulations. She has direct responsibility for the development of the system of care teams, quality improvement and quality assurance programs within the network. She identifies opportunities for performance improvement and establishes corrective action plans. She assists the President/Chief Executive Officer and leadership team in the development of appropriate system of care programming, quality assurance programs and monitor quality control for all operational functions.  

Stephen Zuckerman is the chief financial officer. His role is to develop, initiate, maintain, and revise policies and procedures for the general operation of the Financial Program and its related activities to prevent illegal, unethical, or improper conduct. He develops and periodically reviews and update Standards of Accounting to ensure continuing currency and relevance in providing guidance to management and employees. He collaborates with other departments to direct accounting and finance compliance issues to appropriate existing channels for investigation and resolution. He responds to alleged violations of rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and Standards of Conduct by evaluating or recommending the initiation of investigation procedures. Develop and oversee a system for uniform handling of such violations. He acts as an independent review and evaluation body to ensure that accounting financial issues/concerns within the organization are being appropriately evaluated, investigated, and resolved. He monitors and coordinates the financial and accounting activities of other departments to remain abreast of the status of all financial and accounting activities and to identify trends. He Identifies potential areas of financial vulnerability and risk; develop/implement corrective action plans for resolution of problematic issues and provide general guidance on how to avoid or deal with similar situations in the future. He provides reports on a regular basis, and as directed or requested, to keep the President/Chief Executive Officer, Finance Committee and Board of Directors informed of the operation and progress of accounting efforts. He monitors the performance of the Financial and Accounting Program and related activities on a continuing basis, taking appropriate steps to improve its effectiveness. He ensures the provider network follows the rules and regulations of regulatory agencies as it pertains to the contract with the provider, that agency policies and procedures are being followed, and that behavior in the organization meets the company’s Standards of Conduct.