Dr. Patricia Getty is the Returning Veterans Initiative Lead for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA). She has served as Branch Chief for the Division of State and Community Systems Development at the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), providing oversight to the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant and the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grants.

Formerly, Dr. Getty served as the Idaho State Director for Substance Abuse for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and as the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Coordinator for the Department of Education in Idaho.

Dr. Getty is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Prevention Professional and an Internationally Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor. In addition to many years in the prevention field, she spent 17 years as a substance abuse counselor, working in various civilian and military facilities including the U.S. Military Hospital in Nuremburg, West Germany. She directed several treatment facilities in Idaho. While practicing in her privately owned counseling program, she had a contract with the Veterans Administration to provide counseling to veterans returning from Vietnam and their families, focusing on PTSD, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders and suicide prevention.

In addition to having worked with veterans in a professional capacity, Dr. Getty also understands the struggles associated with being married to a soldier serving in a military campaign, having personally experienced her husband's tour in Vietnam.