October 11, 2018
Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018
LANSING, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder today announced the appointment of Dr. Debra Pinals of Ann Arbor to the Mental Health Diversion Council.
The council is housed within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and helps strengthen the state's mental health system. It offers solutions to improve services for Michiganders living with mental health conditions to help ensure better quality of life, safety and independence.
“It is vital we support and provide resources for Michiganders with mental health conditions, and I thank Debra and the rest of the council for ensuring we maintain and improve Michigan’s mental health system," Snyder said.
Pinals is the medical director of behavioral health and forensic programs for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She also serves as director of programs in psychiatry, law and ethics, as well as the director of forensic evaluation service and as a clinical professor of psychiatry for the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry. Pinals holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo and a medical degreefrom the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Additionally, she completed psychiatry and forensic training through Harvard Medical School. She also conducted a research fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health. Pinals will serve as a designee of the director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and replace Lynda Zeller.
Pinals will serve the remainder of a four-year term expiring Jan. 30, 2019.
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