Meet Our Management Team

Deborah L. Stephens is Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Behavioral Health Systems, Inc., in Birmingham. She was the principal founding member of the company in 1989.

Ms. Stephens has over twenty years experience in healthcare finance and administration, and formerly served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of both a 100-bed hospital and its parent holding company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ms. Stephens has achieved national recognition for her work in the areas of multi-corporate planning and reorganization, zero-base budgeting and physical rehabilitation finance. She has been included in the 2003 Birmingham Business Journal Top 100 Healthcare Professionals in Alabama, 2000 edition of Who's Who in the World, 1993-96 editions of Who's Who of American Women, the 1994-95 Who's Who of Science and Engineering, and the 1996-97 edition of Who's Who of Finance and Industry. In 1984, Ms. Stephens was cited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals as one of eleven women nationally to hold a VP or higher status in the hospital field.

Awards include 1995 Small Business Person of the Year (Birmingham Chamber of Commerce), 1995 Small Business of the Year (Business Council of Alabama), 1995 Top 5 Thriving Business Women (Business to Business), 1994 Top 25 Fastest Growing Specialty PPO's in the Nation (Managed Healthcare Magazine), 1996 Top 78 National Entrepreneurs (feature profile - Entrepreneur Magazine 4/96), 1996 feature story in Birmingham Post-Herald, 1995 feature story in Birmingham News, 1995 feature profile in HealthWatch (Alabama Healthcare Council), 1995 feature profile in Open Minds Magazine.

A graduate of the University of Iowa, Ms. Stephens conducted post-graduate work at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, and completed the Western Institute of Healthcare Executives program at the University of California - Berkeley.

Ms. Stephens has been an active director on numerous governing boards, and served on an advisory committee to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on healthcare prospective payment issues.

Since establishing permanent residence in Birmingham in 1988, Ms. Stephens has been active in the Rotary Club of Birmingham, Business Council of Alabama, Venture Club, Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Board of the Applecross Homeowners Association. In her "off" hours, she enjoys jogging, traveling and reading.

MEDICAL DIRECTOR
William M. Patterson, M.D., a graduate of the University of Alabama, completed his medical internship and psychiatric residency program at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and held the rank of Professor while serving as Director of Psychiatry Residency Training at UAB. Dr. Patterson is also currently Director of the Birmingham Research Group and received the 1995 Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for Mentally Ill.

MEDICAL REVIEW OFFICER, SAFETY FIRST
Michael L. Cloyd, M.D., M.P.H. is certified by the American Board of Preventative Medicine for Occupational Medicine. In 1993, he was certified by the MROCC as a qualified Medical Review Officer. Dr. Cloyd presently serves as MRO for many large companies.

PRESIDENT, SAFETY FIRST
Danny Cooner has more than 15 years experience administering a full range of employer-sponsored substance abuse prevention plans. Mr. Cooner has been with the company since 1996. His additional 25 years of experience includes 19 years working for a national reference laboratory in various management-level positions. Most recently, he was the Regional Director for LabCorp America, specializing in medical technology.

Professional activities include membership in the Rotary Club of Birmingham East where Cooner served as 2008 President. He is also active in the National Safety Council and the Knights of Columbus. He maintains several certifications including American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) and the Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) certification for medical technology. He is certified as one of only two Substance Abuse Program Administrators (SAPA) in Alabama.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CQO
Pat Friedley has been with BHS for 17 years. She has 20 years experience in the claims and contract/compliance aspects of group insurance. Prior to BHS, she was Contract Coordinator at Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin where she was responsible for all contracting duties and the HMO, life, and property and casualty subsidiaries. She was also instrumental in the Product Development team at BCBS of Wisconsin.

She has been named a Who’s Who in Managed Health Care and is a member of the National Association of Managed Care Regulators.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CFO
Mark Gordon has over 25 years experience in the accounting and finance field, including 20 years in the managed care industry.

Preceding BHS, Gordon served as CFO at HealthSpring of Alabama and was with CIGNA Healthcare of Virginia and the Carolinas for the 11 years prior.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & MCO
Kyle Strange has been with BHS for almost 15 years and in the field for more than 20 years. Prior to BHS, Strange worked in a variety of direct behavioral health care settings including community mental health, acute psychiatric inpatient and long-term residential treatment.

Strange received his Master’s in Social Work from the University of Alabama. He maintains his LCSW licensure.

VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Judi Braswell has over 15 years experience in EAP management and is a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). She is also qualified as a Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) under Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations.

She has served on the board of the Alabama Chapter of Employee Assistance Professionals Association and is currently the Vice President of the organization.

VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLIC & CORPORATE RELATIONS
Shannon Goff Flanagan joined BHS in 2006 as the Director, Public Relations. Since then she has become very active with current and prospective clients as well as generating BHS' positive community presence. Prior to BHS, she served as Account Executive at Luckie & Company and The Zimmerman Agency working with a variety of corporate clients in the fields of tourism, healthcare and finance.

VICE PRESIDENT, ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Beth Srygley has 20 years experience in administrative services and management. She is solely responsible for the direction of BHS administration including office operations, human resources and clinical support. In addition, Srygley is responsible for BHS’ credentialing department.

Before joining BHS, Srygley worked in brokerage and administration with Signature Homes, Royal Cup Coffee, and Caremark Rx.