Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce
Our Team
Executive Director
Courtney Whitt, PhD
Dr. Courtney Whitt obtained her M.S.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling, followed by her Ph.D., in Counseling Psychology, both from the University of Miami. She completed her APA-accredited predoctoral internship at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Integrated Care Psychology and her postdoctoral fellowship in Integrated Primary Care Psychology at Salud Family Health Centers. She is a Florida licensed clinical psychologist.
Dr. Whitt specializes in integrated primary care psychology for traditionally underserved populations, as well as associated administration, research, and policy. She is interested in developing best practices for creating access, collaboration, and leveraging and expanding the continuum of behavioral health care, while reducing workforce and administrative barriers to this end.
She is the inaugural Executive Director for the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce.
Office Administrator
Alexxis Avalon, PhD
With her research in Interdisciplinary Education focused on Public Health and the Arts, she is interested in promoting well-being for all.鈥� She has taught college courses at USF, the University of Tampa, and The Academy.鈥� She has delved into expressive arts therapy, examining how different art forms like dance, music, drama, poetry, and visual arts can be used for personal growth and emotional healing. 鈥疊ridging mental healthcare with wellness is a key point of the work she assists with at the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. At the FCBHW, she promotes the mission and organization of the center and how it impacts the state, USF, various stakeholders, and the diverse communities that connect and expand Florida鈥檚 behavioral health workforce.
Assistant Research Professor
Jacob Gray, Ph.D
Jacob Gray, PhD is an Assistant Research Professor at 黑料网吃瓜爆料. He has worked on several projects at USF, including the 黑料网吃瓜爆料Rightpath Research and Innovation Center, and most recently, has joined the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce to assist with measuring the behavioral health workforce supply and demand across professions and Florida localities. He brings a wealth of expertise in personality psychology and advanced statistics.
Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, his experiences across various states have shaped his career journey. He holds a Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Psychology from the University of California, Riverside, completing his dissertation at the impressive age of 25.
Prior to joining USF, Dr. Gray served as the Director of Data Analysis at Acadience Learning for over five years, where he developed curriculum-based measures in early literacy and math. In addition to his research contributions, he is an educator himself, teaching graduate-level statistics, including multiple regression, multilevel structural equation modeling, and item response theory.
Beyond academia, Dr. Gray is an enthusiast of Muay Thai and enjoys exploring ancient Mesopotamia history.
Asstistant Director of Education & Professional Development
Emilie A. Ellenberg, PhD, LMHC-QS
Dr. Emilie Ellenberg serves as the Assistant Director of Education and Professional Development at the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce. She earned her M.A. in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling and her PhD in Behavioral and Community Sciences from the 黑料网吃瓜爆料. Dr. Ellenberg has worked across multiple levels of care, including underserved youth, child welfare, state hospital diversion programs, residential treatment of eating disorders and substance misuse, and forensic mental health.
In clinical practice, Dr. Ellenberg specializes in chronic health conditions, with a focus on autoimmune disease and eating disorders. Her experience in community mental health underscored that the future of behavioral health depends on workforce development, as many programs operate with too few staff or with staff at risk of burnout. Her goal is to help build a well-trained, resilient workforce that can strengthen behavioral health systems and expand access to care across Florida.