Press Release Brooke Doyle Appointed Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health

Boston —  Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced the appointment of Brooke Doyle, M.Ed., LMHC, as Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health (DMH). A Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Doyle assumes this role after serving as Acting Commissioner of DMH following the retirement of Commissioner Joan Mikula on October 1, 2020.

Doyle brings extensive leadership and management through the lens of a mental health clinician, supervisor and administrator. A seasoned leader in both the public and private sectors, she has spent 18 years at DMH, in progressively more responsible positions including Deputy Commissioner for Mental Health Services.  In this capacity, she has been responsible for overseeing adult state operated and contracted mental health services, as well as strategic planning and stakeholder engagement.

“I am pleased to appoint Brooke Doyle, an experienced leader, with both a clinical and management background as Commissioner of Mental Health. She is a long-time champion for mental health parity and an advocate for mental health access,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders. “Her experience in the fields of homelessness and substance use disorders is important as we continue to reduce barriers to service access.”

“I bring immense personal and professional passion to this new role, having dedicated my entire career to working in the behavioral health field, with experience in both public and non-profit settings, including eighteen years with the Department of Mental Health over the course of my career,” said Department of Mental Health Commissioner Brooke Doyle. “I am driven to improve the mental health delivery system through cross agency collaboration, provider partnership and guidance from stakeholders. In this extraordinary time, access to mental health services is even more critical than ever, and I am invested in breaking through the stigma and the barriers that exist.”

Doyle has spent 30 years in the mental health field, starting her career at Bay Cove Human Services, and serving as a counselor and later, a leader, at many mental health and human services organizations across the Commonwealth. She spent 10 years at the Department of Mental Health from 1997 - 2007, as community services director at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston, a compliance officer, and inpatient services coordinator of the Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center. Before returning to DMH, she was the Vice President of Homeless Services and Intensive Treatment Services at Community Healthlink in Worcester, where she led a multi-service center for adults who were homeless.

Doyle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master of Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston. She resides with her husband in Boston, MA.

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