December 2020 Group Watch: Lynn Beshear Retires as Mental Health Commissioner
Lynn Beshear retired as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health on December 16, after being appointed to the position in July 2017 by Governor Ivey. Beshear is credited with spearheading many initiatives to increase access of services for citizens with mental illness while navigating complexities of delivery by the department and community providers. Governor Ivey has appointedKim Boswell as the new Commissioner. Boswell comes to the job with more than 36 years of experience working with individuals with mental illness, substance abuse disorders and developmental disabilities. She previously served as Chief of Staff to Beshear and has been both Associate Commissioner for Administration as well as Director of Human Resources for the Alabama Department of Mental Health. Boswell has a bachelor’s of social work from the University of Alabama Birmingham and a master’s of social work from Florida State University.
