Dr. Jei Africa, PsyD, MSCP, CATC-V, FACHE, Director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) at the County of San Mateo, is an innovative thought-leader and clinician who is passionate about integrating effective culturally responsive practices into the core functioning of County health services. Prior to his current role, he served as the Assistant Director of Human Services Agency as well as the BHRS Director in the County of Marin.

For over a decade, Dr. Africa served as the Director of the Office of Diversity and Equity with the San Mateo County Health System where he led agency-wide efforts addressing health equity that received State recognition. He spearheaded the development of the first-ever multi-disciplinary behavioral health LGBTQ+ community center and led the health system’s change efforts to enable the collection of SOGI data for all patients.

In addition to his professional work, Dr. Africa was appointed to serve as a founding member of the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission (2014-2017). He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and was a member of the College of Behavioral Health Leadership and the National Alliance on Mental Illness CA (NAMI CA) Board of Directors. He is a fellow with the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) Leadership Institute and the American College of Health Executives.

Since 2007 he has been a volunteer with Alliance for Community Empowerment (ALLICE). It is his fervent belief that through helping others, especially through storytelling and education, helps people heal.