Allie Friesen

Allie Friesen serves as the Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). Prior to her role as Commissioner, Friesen worked in healthcare with a focus on Behavioral Health. During her tenure, she focused on developing cost-effective, evidence-based practices across the Oklahoma healthcare system. Her responsibilities included improving access to care, enhancing patient safety and elevating the overall quality of care.

Friesen is a licensed mental health professional who specializes in working with individuals facing neurological disorders and other chronic medical conditions. Additionally, she actively collaborates with community leaders to provide critical access to behavioral health services.

Friesen’s academic background includes studies at Texas Christian University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where she earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling.

In her current capacity, Friesen emphasizes the need for transformative solutions and smart growth within the behavioral health field. She considers it a great privilege to serve the people of Oklahoma and will continually advocate for their needs.

Durand Crosby

Durand Crosby is the Senior Deputy Commissioner with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and an Adjunct Professor at Oklahoma State University where he teaches undergraduate and graduate students in several courses, including Business Ethics, Organizational Behavior, Nonprofit Fundraising, and Nonprofit Management. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma, and his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Crosby began his professional career working for the San Francisco-based law firm law firm Morrison & Foerster where his practice concentrated on intellectual property, commercial litigation, and employment law. He later worked as a Senior Trial Attorney at Allstate Insurance Company and was also previously the General Counsel for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. He has written and published articles on issues related to organizational behavior, such as employee engagement, commitment, and organizational justice, and well as ethics. He has also served as board member for the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Social Workers.

Nisha Wilson

Nisha Wilson serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Treatment and Recovery for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). In this role, Nisha is responsible for the development and implementation of comprehensive approaches to clinical services across the statewide continuum of care. Nisha has served in a variety of roles at ODMHSAS in both the provision of direct care services and program administration, including the oversight of criminal justice initiatives, the statewide network of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, addiction services, crisis continuums of care, and children’s services. She is passionate about bridging the gap between research and practice and is focused on outcomes that deliver quality care and treatment.

Nisha received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Northeastern State University. Nisha is a Licensed Professional Counselor and served as a board member for the Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure from 2014-2022.

Kim Corcoran

Kimberli Corcoran, MSN, RN, NE-BC serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Safety and Quality for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (ODMHSAS). Corcoran earned her Master of Science in Nursing with a focus on Global Health from Oklahoma Baptist University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and an Associates of Applied Science in Nursing from Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City. She holds a certification as a Board-Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC) from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and has multiple certifications in EHR system workflows and design. Corcoran’s background includes front-line nursing in both inpatient and ambulatory obstetrics, and additional roles in Quality, Patient Safety, Performance Improvement, Nursing Shared Governance, Leadership, and Informatics. Prior to beginning her role with ODMHSAS, she served as the Patient Safety Officer for a large not-for-profit health system in Oklahoma. During her 5 years in the role, she led the development of the organizations safety management system and the culture of safety strategic initiative- by deploying system wide training, process, and structure in error prevention tools and high reliability principles, established a fair and just culture, and improved the transparency of event reporting by 250 percent. Corcoran also serves as an adjunct faculty member for OBU for courses such as Leadership and Management, Community and Faith-based Nursing, Maternal Child, and Acutely Ill Pediatrics.

Corcoran is passionate and dedicated to providing qualitative access to care to the underserved and marginalized which shown by her service on multiple community and not-for-profit organizations, including as an advisory board member to the Oklahoma Charitable Clinic Association. Previously, she served as the director of clinical operations for a large free clinic where she was instrumental in creating a vision and partnership with a local hospital system to bring an integrated EHR into the free clinic setting, one of the first partnerships of its kind. This collaboration has improved both continuity and quality of care for uninsured patients while reducing total costs of charitable care for the entire Oklahoma City healthcare community. She previously served on the boards of the Health Alliance for the Uninsured and the MyHealth Access Network and has held membership in the Oklahoma Healthcare Quality and Risk Management Association, the Oklahoma Organization of Nurse Executives, the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, and the Community Christian Health Fellowship. She is a champion of volunteerism efforts, both locally and internationally, including leading seven different teams of women annually to Honduras to serve at a Christian school in an impoverished community. In addition, she assisted in the development of an educational curriculum for a large international organization to train communities in clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices as it relates to pregnant women, infants, and children.