Five seek mental health position
Five candidates vying for the administrator position of the state's Division of Mental Health and Development Services will be interviewed today and Friday in Northern Nevada.
Carlos Brandenburg, the division's current administrator, will retire Jan. 25 after more than 30 years in government-run programs, more than a dozen at the helm of Nevada's.
Candidates interviewed today will be Harold Cook, director of Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services; David Spinella, manager of the state's Rural Mental Health Clinic in Laughlin; and Dr. William Hogan, commissioner of the Arkansas Health and Social Services Department.
On Friday, candidates Michael Hamarneh, a clinical psychologist from Illinois, and Antoni Sulikowski, consultant and chief executive officer of Norfolk Regional Center in Nebraska, will be interviewed.
Interviews are being conducted by the state's Commission on Mental Health and Developmental Services and are open to the public. The public can watch the process by video conference at Desert Regional Center, 1391 S. Jones Blvd., and in Reno at Sierra Regional Center, 605 21st Street.
Following Friday's interviews, the commission will meet to discuss the candidates. A list of three nominees will be recommended to the governor, said Stuart Ghertner, director of Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services.
The mental health division is one of the state's largest human services agencies, employing more than 1,800 at eight sites in Las Vegas, Reno and each of the rural counties.
Its annual budget exceeds $230 million.
