Kana Enomoto Honored with Leadership Award
SAMHSA’s Acting Deputy Administrator, Kana Enomoto, M.A., recently received the inaugural King Davis Award for Emerging Leadership in Promoting Diversity and Reducing Disparities from the American College of Mental Health Administration (ACMHA).
The award was presented to Ms. Enomoto by King Davis, Ph.D., the award’s namesake, at the annual behavioral health summit of the ACMHA in Santa Fe, NM, on March 13.
Kana Enomoto, SAMHSA’s Acting Deputy Administrator, accepted the King Davis Award for Leadership from Dr. King Davis (right).
The King Davis Award recognizes emerging leaders who have made significant contributions in promoting diversity or reducing disparities through their work in the areas of behavioral health services, research, advocacy, or policy.
In presenting the award, Dr. Davis said, “Kana has made significant contributions to our field through her research emphasis on minority populations.” He also recognized her creative administrative work at SAMHSA. “It is truly an honor both to have such an award named for me but equally powerful to be able to present it to Kana as the first recipient,” Dr. Davis said.
Ms. Enomoto has served SAMHSA for more than a decade. Prior to her current post, Ms. Enomoto served as Special Assistant to the Administrator and Acting Associate Administrator for Women's Services at SAMHSA.
Ms. Enomoto’s background is in clinical psychology with a focus on research and clinical work with ethnic minority populations.
The ACMHA recently awarded King Davis with the 2009 Saul Feldman Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award honors the contributions of an individual to leadership and policy in the mental health and addictions recovery field.
In addition, Dr. Davis is recognized as a scholar, author, and leader in academia. Retired in 2008 as Executive Director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, a post which he held since 2003, Dr. Davis continues his contribution to the field as the Robert Lee Sutherland Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy at the University of Texas (Austin) School of Social Work.
Dr. Davis has served on a number of local, state, and national boards. A prolific writer, he has authored many articles and reports on mental health, managed health care, and social justice. His book, The Color of Social Policy, was published in 2004.
Recently, in the Federal arena, Dr. Davis served on the Surgeon General’s Workgroup on Mental Health, Culture, Race, and Ethnicity.
Find out more about the King Davis Award and ACMHA. Find out more information about SAMHSA.