Dr. Kevin Dixon to Retire after Three Decades with ADAMH

Dr. Kevin Dixon will retire at the end of January, after 34 years with the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County (ADAMH). Dr. Dixon began his career at ADAMH in the public affairs department, building on his previous work at Temple University and WDAS FM radio in Philadelphia. He rose to become vice president of community and cultural engagement where he is responsible for developing community-based initiatives that address a wide-range of behavioral health issues.

Dr. Dixon has a long history of building bridges, empowering young leaders and inspiring meaningful change in the community.  Some of his most notable accomplishments include:

• Launching the Consumer and Family Advisory Council (CFAC) to ensure that the voices of individuals in recovery and their families are represented in Franklin County’s behavioral health system when programs and services are being evaluated and developed.
• Helping to bring Mental Health First Aid training opportunities to Franklin County where community members learn how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders.
• Facilitating the launch of ADAMH-funded prevention services in Franklin County's public school districts connecting each district with a provider that supports the mental health needs of students, their families and teachers with programs such as emotional support, suicide prevention, drug and alcohol prevention, parent workshops and early intervention for students who need additional support.
• Developing a strong network of faith leaders from a wide cross section of faith institutions. For the past several years, Dr. Dixon has worked with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) Franklin County to provide an annual Faith Symposium for senior faith leaders in the community focused on topics related to mental health, addiction recovery and self-care.
• Highlighting the importance of cultural competence awareness and training in the community. Dr. Dixon’s focus on cultural competence education began in the 1990’s when he led ADAMH’s efforts to bring nationally known scholars such as Alvin Poussaint, Iyanla Vanzant and Maya Angelou to Columbus for a series of conferences. Dr. Dixon continued that focus on providing cultural competence training opportunities to the community – especially for the providers who work in the ADAMH system of care. Through a recent partnership The Ohio State College of Social Work, behavioral health provider staff and social work students have had the opportunity to learn about cultural competence topics that will help them better connect with their clients and provide culturally appropriate care.
• Developing the Black Community Ambassadors Support Program, which offers programs, resources and support groups to encourage young black community ambassadors. The program, funded by ADAMH and coordinated by Mental Health America of Ohio, launched in early 2020 and quickly pivoted to support black community ambassadors virtually through the pandemic and months of community protests and conversations about racial inequity in our community.

ADAMH recognized Dr. Dixon during a virtual retirement celebration at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27.