George Braunstein, FACHE, has 40 years of experience in the health and human service industry, leading both private and public organizations – in institutional and ambulatory settings.

While working with OPEN MINDS, Mr. Braunstein has completed an array of projects. From strategic planning for Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Brain Injury services to mergers and acquisitions, Mr. Braunstein is comfortable tackling challenges in any health and human service environment. He has experience with multi-agency networks and recently has served as the head of Delaware State Hospital. Mr. Braunstein has provided them with stability and direction as they determine the future of their business.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Braunstein served as Executive Director of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) in Fairfax, Virginia, which provides community-based mental health, substance abuse, and developmentally disabled services. During his six-year tenure with the CSB, which had a $150+ million budget and over 1,200 employees, he both reduced the budget and increased service access. Mr. Braunstein also developed the organization’s first fully integrated service model that combines mental health, substance use treatment, and primary care services.

Before his role in Fairfax County, Mr. Braunstein was the Executive Director of the Chesterfield County CSB. In his eight years in that role, he restructured management to flatten the organization, which improved both service and budget performance and eliminated a $1.5 million deficit with no reductions in staff.

Mr. Braunstein also served as the Executive Director of Behavioral Health for Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee – the largest integrated health care system in Wisconsin with 13 hospitals, 20,000 employees and $1.5 billion in annual revenues.  He was responsible for the management of all aspects of a $40 million, 800-employee multi-site integrated behavioral health service delivery system. Mr. Braunstein brings managed care experience to the OPEN MINDS team, having served as the director of behavioral health for Family Health Plan Cooperative, a Wisconsin HMO.

Well respected in the behavioral health community, Mr. Braunstein is a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and has served on several boards of local and national associations. He has previously been involved with organizations such as the SAMHSA National Leadership Council, the National Association of Community Behavioral Health, the Virginia Association of Community Services Board, and the Hilliard House.

Mr. Braunstein is a certified clinical specialist in adult psychiatry and is a licensed advanced practice nurse practitioner in the state of Wisconsin. He received his Master of Science in Community Mental Health Nursing and his Bachelor’s in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He also earned a Bachelor’s degree in History Education from Rockford College.  In continuing education, Mr. Braunstein completed psychotherapy training from the Family Studies Center at Northwestern University and the University of Virginia Senior Executive Leadership Institute.