2025 Speaker Bios
Nick Mason – Senior Marketing Coordinator & Associate, Perkins+Will
Originally from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Nick brings the spirit of the Midwest to Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design. Currently a Senior Marketing Coordinator and Associate at Perkins&Will, Nick is involved with business development, proposal coordination, and client engagement. Perkins&Will’s Health Practice has been working in Los Angeles for 30 years delivering projects across the region for some of the most prestigious healthcare, higher education, and life science research clients. Nick is back to moderate “Purposeful” for a third straight year, an event that he enjoys helping facilitate meaningful connections within our industry.
Anosha Zanjani – Architectural Designer, Researcher, and the Founder and Principal + Behavioral Health Consultant at Mindful Insights Consulting
Anosha Zanjani is an architectural designer, researcher, and the Founder and Principal Behavioral Health Consultant at Mindful Insights Consulting. She is dedicated to improving environments across the continuum of care, with a focus on mental health facilities. Her career began in behavioral health—working in psychiatric settings, private practice, and academic research—where she witnessed firsthand how poorly designed spaces can impede recovery. This experience inspired her to transition into architecture, with a mission to design environments that promote healing for both patients and staff. Drawing on clinical expertise, neuroscience, environmental psychology, trauma-informed practices, and evidence-based design, Anosha specializes in creating spaces that support mental health and well-being. She is an award-winning designer who has contributed to behavioral health projects across the U.S. and internationally, and she frequently speaks and writes on the intersection of mental health and the built environment.
Brian Burnham Jones – CEO, BHSME, LLC & Behavioral Health Real Estate Development Leader
Brian Burnham Jones is a nationally recognized expert in behavioral health real estate development, with over 25 years of experience leading transformative projects across California. As CEO of BHSME, LLC, he serves as an Owner’s Advisor to counties, hospitals, nonprofits, and developers—guiding projects from vision through financing, permitting, design, and construction. Brian brings a unique blend of business acumen and behavioral health insight. He earned his MBA in Sustainable Real Estate Development from the University of Colorado Boulder, an MA in Clinical Psychology, and a BA in Comparative Philosophy from Stanford University.
From 2021 to 2024, Brian served as Director of Real Estate Operations at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP), where he helped launch and lead California’s $2.2 billion BHCIP initiative in partnership with DHCS. He authored performance frameworks, compliance strategies, and infrastructure tools now guiding statewide investment. At BHSME, Brian continues to lead with vision, strategy, and care—focusing on human-centered design, regulatory success, and lasting community impact. His work is more than development; it’s about creating places of healing and dignity.
Luke Bergmann, PhD, MSW – Principal, Health Management Associates
Luke Bergmann, Principal at Health Management Associates, has over 15 years of executive experience providing strategic leadership to municipal and county behavioral health offices. His expertise spans programmatic and operational leadership, including substance use treatment and crisis services, to strategic and transformational innovation.
Before joining Health Management Associates, Luke was director of behavioral health with the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency. Leading the county’s largest department, he oversaw operations for the county’s psychiatric hospital, a skilled nursing facility and multiple community clinics. He also led the County Behavioral Health Plan, overseeing care for those with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) who were enrolled in Medi-Cal. As director, Luke provided strategic direction for all departmental business, including community contracted services, across a diverse regional network. He established California’s first Behavioral Health Population Health Office, enabling data-driven improvement, and built an innovative crisis continuum of services, standing up seven crisis stabilization units and 44 mobile crisis response teams distributed regionally across the county.
As assistant vice president of the NYC Health + Hospitals Division of Medical and Professional Affairs’ Office of Behavioral Health, Luke led behavioral health transformation efforts across the nation’s largest municipal health system. These efforts included mental health and substance use care transformation initiatives, adapting to fiscal and regulatory changes including the New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) and Medicaid’s behavioral health coverage shifting to a managed benefit in the state. In a previous role with NYC Health and Hospitals’ Office of Behavioral Health, Luke served as the clinical and administrative lead for substance use services. He developed and implemented population health informed clinical standards and workflows in outpatient and inpatient behavioral health specialty care, primary care and other ambulatory services, inpatient medicine, and emergency departments. Luke earned his doctorate in social work and cultural anthropology from the University of Michigan. He also has a Master of Social Work in interpersonal clinical practice with adults, a master’s degree in ethnology, and a bachelor’s degree in art history and anthropology from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Melissa Steach, Ph.D. – Industrial-Organizational Psychologist & Behavioral Health Design Strategist & U.S. Regional Engagement Manager, Pineapple Contracts
Dr. Melissa Steach, Ph.D. is an industrial-organizational psychologist and behavioral health design strategist focused on creating environments that foster safety, dignity, and healing. She currently serves as the U.S. Regional Engagement Manager for Pineapple Contracts, a global leader in behavioral health furniture design. Pineapple champions design as a therapeutic tool used to intentionally shape environments that support emotional regulation, reduce harm, promote compassionate care, and enable healing.
Melissa brings a unique blend of behavioral science, environmental psychology, and design strategy to her work with healthcare architects, designers, clinicians, and planners. Her expertise helps bridge clinical needs and human behavior with durable, therapeutic design solutions that improve outcomes for both patients and care teams.
Internationally recognized for her thought leadership in compassionate leadership and psychological safety, Melissa has delivered keynotes and workshops that examine how the built environment directly impacts team dynamics, trauma-informed practices, and patient engagement. Her background spans art, business, and applied science, allowing her to distill complex research into practical, design-relevant insights.
She holds certifications in positive psychology, cognitive behavioral coaching, ergonomics, is a WELL Accredited Professional and an ICF-accredited coach. Her work has reached tens of thousands globally through LinkedIn Learning, speaking engagements, and research – all in service of more humane, effective, and healing-centered spaces.
Rosie Zoll – Director of Facilities & Planning, Be Well OC
Rosie Zoll currently works as Be Well OC’s Director of Facilities & Planning. Ms. Zoll is an experienced professional in the healthcare planning & design industry, with demonstrated success through the entire project lifecycle, from strategic space planning, design development, operational workflows, training, building activation, and stabilization. She has over fifteen years of experience working in healthcare planning & development, most recently working as the Director of Transition Strategy for the new $2Billion Stanford Hospital. Prior to that project, she led all aspects of Facility Planning for the Hoag Health System in both Newport Beach and Irvine, CA. Ms. Zoll is passionate about creating environments that truly support, nurture and inspire the people who inhabit them.
Ms. Zoll holds a Masters of Science in Human-Environment Relations with a Minor in Healthcare Administration, from Cornell University.
James E. Rosser, LCSW, CMT-P – Chief of Clinical Operations, Department of Psychiatry, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Director of Outpatient Programs & Administrative Director, ECT Service, Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA
James Rosser is a licensed clinical social worker and seasoned healthcare executive with over 25 years of leadership experience in behavioral health. As Chief of Clinical Operations for UCLA’s Department of Psychiatry and Director of Outpatient Programs at the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, he oversees eleven partial and intensive outpatient programs serving over 100 patients daily. He also serves as Administrative Director of the hospital’s ECT Service.
Under his leadership, UCLA’s outpatient psychiatry services achieved a 120% increase in patient census while maintaining strong financial performance. James spearheaded the implementation of a customized EPIC EHR system for acute psychiatric care and manages a team of over 100 professionals, including physicians, psychologists, nurses, and social workers. His programs consistently rank highest in staff engagement and patient satisfaction across the institution.
James has led several strategic initiatives including new clinical programs in perinatal mental health, thought disorders, and adolescent psychiatry. He plays a key role in compliance, budgeting, and clinical operations, and has been instrumental in successful Joint Commission and Department of Public Health surveys.
He previously served as Managing Director of UCLA’s Borderline Personality Disorder Clinic and held leadership roles at Cedars-Sinai and Saint John’s Hospital. James is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and past president of the Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Health. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences, and he remains active in community mental health, education, and professional development.
David Hunt – CannonDesign, Healthcare Market Leader
David is a licensed architect with over 35 years of experience in healthcare planning, architecture, and construction services for leading public and private health systems. For the past eight years, he has been instrumental in the successful delivery of Behavioral Health projects and the growth of CannonDesign’s Southern California healthcare studio.
Earlier in his career, David co-founded a firm that advanced the Design-Build approach for healthcare projects in Southern California. He is a strong advocate for a collaborative team culture, fostering seamless interdisciplinary teamwork to innovate and deliver high-quality projects.
David’s passion lies in empowering people to flourish through human-centered design and creating sustainable facilities for thriving communities. Having personally experienced the challenges of a fragmented mental health system, he is committed to advancing diverse behavioral health projects across the continuum of care. Recently, he contributed programming and design concepts to the largest Round 1 BHCIP Grant Award and is currently leading the resulting 100-bed Acute Psych Hospital, with his expertise spanning master planning, renovations, and large-scale inpatient and outpatient facilities.
Alison Birnie, DNP, MSHCM, NE-BC
Alison grew up on a farm in Idaho and attended nursing school at Boise State, moved to California and started at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena where she worked off and on for 37 years in a variety of roles from Quality Management, Risk Manager, Manager of Community Clinic. Her last role was the Director of the Trauma, ED, Critical Care, and Behavioral Health Unit.
Alison completed her Masters in Healthcare Management and went to work for St. Jude in Fullerton as their Director of Community Clinics (dental clinics, mobile clinics and medical clinic). Side roles included working registry in CCU, Critical Care transport, hospice and as a home health nurse over the course of career.
Completed DNP May 2024 from University of San Diego.
Currently working at Martin Luther King Community Hospital as the Associate Chief Nursing Officer. Our EmPath unit will be opening in September.
Darci Hernandez is a Principal with Boulder Associates and leads the firm’s Southern California region. Her forward-thinking planning and design ability, coupled with client service focused on responsiveness and accountability, has resulted in her becoming a trusted advisor to clients such as Hoag, Providence, and UCLA, among others. Darci understands the business drivers of healthcare and is committed to the concept of healthcare as a holistic, whole-person endeavor, believing that design solutions, whether through facilities or operations, need to drive towards that outcome. Darci leads Boulder Associates’ Behavioral Health Community of Practice. She is passionate about how behavioral health care is delivered and integrated into our healthcare system. Her work with clients like Be Well and RUHS is changing how behavioral facilities are perceived. Darci joined BA in 2002 and holds a Bachelor of Architecture with a Minor in Urban Planning from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
