The Board of Directors of Mental Health News Education (MHNE), the nonprofit organization that publishes Autism Spectrum News and Behavioral Health News, announces important changes in Executive leadership and launches a planning initiative with an eye toward future development. In a move designed to reflect the increase in technology and strengths of the leadership at MHNE, the father and son team of Ira H. Minot, LMSW, and David H. Minot, BA, will assume new titles effective immediately with Ira becoming Founder and David becoming Executive Director.
Ira H. Minot, LMSW, Founder and David H. Minot, BA, Executive Director
Since the creation of MHNE in 1999, Ira Minot, a survivor of mental illness, was the face and sole leadership of the organization. In 2008 Ira’s son David Minot came on board to help launch Autism Spectrum News and develop the organization’s website in its earliest form.
Times have changed and so has the technology driving MHNE and the websites of Autism Spectrum News and Behavioral Health News. At the January 27th meeting, the MHNE Board of Directors conferred on Ira the permanent title of Founder and resolved to redefine Ira’s role so that he would continue as the publisher of Behavioral Health News and continue to contribute his exceptional vision to the organization. Simultaneously, the Board elevated David Minot to the position of Executive Director.
“For the past year I have suggested this change in our titles because David has become the face of the organization and taken on new responsibilities including the redesign of both of our websites, developing our social media strategy, and recently launching webinars, which provide our readership direct access to leaders in the autism and behavioral health communities,” Ira stated. “I am not retiring any time soon and will still be publishing Behavioral Health News while David continues to publish Autism Spectrum News.”
“What most people don’t know is that my father and I make up the entire staff of MHNE. Running this organization is a labor of love, and we couldn’t do it without our wonderful Board of Directors,” acknowledged David Minot. “Over the past few years, it became clear that we needed to modernize our content delivery strategy. Our websites have been completely redesigned from scratch, and now visitors are greeted by a media-rich experience that is much more accessible with thousands of articles now available to read, search and share on social media. We are now also able to publish additional website-only content that can address timely issues such as COVID-19 that can better serve the needs of our readership. I am excited to lead the organization into our next phase as a growing media presence providing vital information and education to the autism and behavioral health communities.”
Debra Pantin, MSW, MS-HCM, MHNE Board Chair and President and CEO of Outreach, remarked, “We applaud Ira for the effort it took to create an organization and run it almost singlehandedly for over 20 years and at the same time recognize David as the new face of the organization to support his new roles in technology and networking.”
About MHNE
Mental Health News Education (MHNE), publisher of Autism Spectrum News and Behavioral Health News, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides a trusted source of education, information and community resources on mental illness, substance use disorders, and autism spectrum disorders to consumers, families, and the professional community. As one of the nation’s leading evidence-based publications for the behavioral health and autism communities, both publications provide an affordable and cost-effective opportunity to reach a large, targeted audience now estimated at over 200,000 readers. For more information, visit AutismSpectrumNews.org and BehavioralHealthNews.org.
