Ann-Marie Louison

Ann-Marie Louison joined CASES in 1999 to launch the award-winning Nathaniel Project, CASES’ first alternative-to-incarceration program for adults with serious mental illnesses convicted of felony crimes. For sixteen years she oversaw the development of programs and treatment services for individuals with serious mental illness and behavioral health needs impacted by the criminal legal system. Ms. Louison has developed arraignment diversion programs and implemented evidence-based Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) as an alternative-to-incarceration program. She has shared the innovative approaches and programs CASES has developed at the intersection of mental illness and the criminal legal system across the country, serving as a technical assistance consultant and presenting on expert panels. Ms. Louison has coordinated the organization’s response to healthcare and criminal legal system reforms and now leads and coordinates efforts to monitor and continually improve services and program performance. She holds a Master of Social Work and Applied Social Research from Brunel University (U.K.) and is the proud winner of the 5th annual Joan H. Tisch Community Health Prize for Excellence in Urban Public Health. In 2021, she was honored as one of City & State’s Mental Health Power 50. The list seeks to recognize some of the most influential public officials, academics, healthcare professionals, advocates, and activists who are making a difference in the lives of people living with mental illness.