Donald Harris, MBA

Donald Harris serves as Assistant Director with SAMHSA’s Service Members, Veterans, and their Families Technical Assistance (SMVF TA) Center at Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA). In this role, Mr. Harris works directly with state and local interagency teams to support strategic planning and implementation that strengthens the behavioral health systems that serve the SMVF populations across these states.  In coordination with the project Co-Directors, he also supports the SMVF TA Center team in completing project tasks. This support involves relationship development with national experts, monitoring of emerging trends, planning for technical assistance events, and implementation of systems for tracking TA trends and outcomes.

Mr. Harris’s experience in various leadership and managerial roles over the past 16 years has provided him with a sound knowledge of cross-function team building, organizational analysis, and performance measurement.  In previous roles, Mr. Harris held responsibility for the coordination and successful operation of large, multi-location teams spread across wide geographic areas. He has served as a cross-functional team leader, analyzing data to be leveraged for strategy and product/program development in the private sector.  Early in his career, Mr. Harris served as a small unit leader on an air base ground defense team in the United States Marine Corps and is an Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom combat Veteran. As an Information Science doctoral student, Mr. Harris has an interest in how big data can be better leveraged to support mental health and public health promotion. He has a special interest in trend analysis, inter-organizational network development, and strategic information management. He is skilled at providing support to cross-functional teams to help implement change and in developing metrics to measure outcomes.  Mr. Harris holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.