Lynn T. Beshear
Lynn T. Beshear was appointed commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health on July 10, 2017. She began her career as a staff nurse in the Intensive Care Nursery at Duke University Medical Center, and after moving to Montgomery in 1978, Commissioner Beshear’s focus turned to making a difference in the lives of the citizens of central Alabama. She has served on the boards of directors of several groups and councils, including the Montgomery Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, both of which she co-founded. Commissioner Beshear served from October 2000 through July 2017 in Envision 2020, a community-driven strategic planning effort involving citizens and leaders in the central Alabama counties, designed to develop 25 shared goals related to the quality of life through the use of active partnerships to overcome challenges and increase opportunities. She served in that role until which time she was appointed by Governor Kay Ivey as the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health.