ABOUT RCI

Thomas H. Bornemann

Dr. Thomas H. Bornemann became the Director of the Mental Health Program at The Carter Center under the leadership of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on August 1, 2002. Prior to that he served as Senior Adviser for Mental Health in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence of the World Health Organization. Dr. Bornemann has spent his entire career in public mental health working in all aspects including: clinical practice, research, research management, policy development and administration at the national level. Early in his career, Dr. Bornemann co-directed a psychiatric emergency clinic in San Francisco, Ca. and designed and developed a series of inpatient and outpatient services for a variety of populations including refugees. Later, at the National Institute of Mental Health, he was one of the leaders in developing a national mental health program for refugees. Dr. Bornemann served in the Office of International Health as the Chief of Refugee programs.

In 1994, Dr. Bornemann was appointed the Deputy Director of the Federal Center for Mental Health Services in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In that capacity, he had day-to-day responsibility for administering a national program which serves as the Federal focal point for mental health services. He was responsible for providing direction of a program of support to States and communities in service delivery, and in promoting knowledge development and application of best practices. During his tenure at the Center, Dr. Bornemann provided leadership in the development of the first ever Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health. Among his areas of interest, Dr. Bornemann has expertise in humanitarian assistance in refugee and disaster situations and has published and lectured extensively in these areas. He has an overarching interest in overcoming the barriers to the application of research findings to practice settings and the integration of mental health into the larger public health arena. He has consulted extensively domestically and internationally. He holds an academic appointment in the Department of International Health, Division of Health Systems in the School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco. A career Public Health Officer, Dr. Bornemann recently retired at the rank of Assistant Surgeon General.