David W. Covington, LPC, MBA is CEO and President of Recovery Innovations, Inc. (d/b/a RI International). He is a behavioral health innovator, entrepreneur and storyteller. He is also a partner in Behavioral Health Link, and founder of the international innovations "Moving America's Soul on Suicide," "Zero Suicide," "Crisis Now," "Crisis Talk" and "Hope Inc. Stories." 

 

A licensed professional counselor, Mr. Covington received an MBA from Kennesaw State and an MS from the University of Memphis. He previously served as Vice President at Magellan Health responsible for the executive and clinical operations of the $750 million Arizona contract. He is a member of the DHHS Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) established in 2017 in accordance with the 21st Century Cures Act to report to Congress on advances in behavioral health. 

 

Mr. Covington is a two-time national winner of the Council of State Governments Innovations Award (2008 & 2012). He also competed as a finalist in Harvard's Innovations in American Government in 2009 for the Georgia Crisis & Access Line, and the program was featured in Business Week magazine. 

 

Mr. Covington has served on the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Executive Committee since 2010. He was also the Vice-Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline SAMHSA Steering Committee from 2005 until 2020 and served as a former President of the American Association of Suicidology. He has served on numerous committees and task forces on clinical care and crisis services, including the National Council for Behavioral Health Board of Directors.