Trina Dutta

In her role as Senior Advisor, Trina provides policy and programmatic guidance to the OAS to advance the behavioral health of the nation and support SAMHSA’s mission.

Trina returns to SAMHSA after spending six years working for the District of Columbia. As policy director for the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), she led DC’s system redesign efforts which included development and implementation of a Section 1115 waiver of the IMD payment exclusion for mental health and substance use treatment as well as integration of the fee-for-service behavioral health benefit into the Medicaid managed care program. Prior to her work with DBH, Trina served as special projects officer to DC’s Medicaid Director within the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF). In this position, her work largely focused on home and community-based services for individuals receiving long term care. In addition, Trina coordinated and/or led implementation for a variety of other initiatives, including DHCF’s Medicare eligibility initiative, electronic visit verification for personal care services, and an interagency partnership aimed at reducing inappropriate 911 calls (with DC’s Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and the Department of For-Hire Vehicles).

Before joining District government, Trina spent eight years with SAMHSA focused on behavioral health integration; this included leading the Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration program and SAMHSA’s partnership with CMS on the Section 2703 person-centered health homes program. She also staffed the Office of Behavioral Health Equity and supported establishment of SAMHSA’s disparity impact statements, which aims to address disparities in access, use, and outcomes among traditionally underserved populations. Trina joined SAMHSA in 2006 as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Trina grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from The Ohio State University in 2000 with a joint Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Psychology. After serving in Peace Corps/Nepal as a water sanitation coordinator, Trina received a Master of Public Health-Master of Public Policy dual degree from UC Berkeley. She resides with her family in Mount Pleasant, DC.