Adrienne has been serving as our Senior Policy Advocate for Behavioral Health. She now will be taking on a larger role at the CA Alliance, overseeing the work of the Policy Team.

She has been the government affairs director at the Steinberg Institute since 2017. She is a recognized expert in mental health policy who has devoted her career to improving the well-being of people living with brain illness and substance use disorders. Adrienne became involved in mental health policy as a key staff person in the campaign to pass the 2004 Mental Health Services Act. Prior to her position with the Steinberg Institute, she has worked in a variety of roles to carry out the vision for services laid out in the law, including as the director of intergovernmental affairs for the County Behavioral Health Directors Association.

Before joining CBHDA, Adrienne was a senior associate with the nonprofit California Institute for Behavioral Health Solutions, and a senior policy analyst with the California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies. She has been a champion for culturally relevant program design, incorporating peer support as a crucial piece of recovery, and using evaluation and outcomes-based reporting to drive strategy.

Shilton has served as an adviser on several statewide efforts, and currently sits on a task force examining mental health issues in California’s LGBTQ community. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Knox College, and a master’s degree in public policy and administration from California State University, Sacramento.

Email Adrienne at ashilton@cacfs.org.