Henry Acosta, MA, MSW
President
Mr. Acosta is a Social Worker with more than 25 years of direct service and administrative experience working with children and families in both clinical and social service settings. He is a highly sought after trainer and leader in Hispanic mental health, racial and ethnic minority behavioral health issues, non-profit fundraising, cultural competence, and motivational speaking. As President of Acosta Consulting LLC, Mr. Acosta has worked with numerous organizations across the United States to assist them with strengthening their ability to provide high-quality, culturally competent, effective and efficient services. Mr. Acosta has experienced great success in grant writing, strategic planning, board and staff development, fundraising and event planning with an array of organizations across the nation. In fact, he has also provided assistance to several TV, film and sport celebrities to strengthen their respective organization’s abilities to meet an array of social and human service needs. Mr. Acosta also serves as President of Acosta Advisors, LLC, an entity that focuses on assisting individuals and organizations reach new levels of success through coaching, mentoring, and leadership development activities.
Mr. Acosta has an extensive history of working in the non-profit arena and formerly served as the Executive Director of the highly respected National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health, an outgrowth of the award-winning and nationally and internationally recognized Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics program which Mr. Acosta directed since its inception. In the role of the Founder and Executive Director of the National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health (2006-2012) Mr. Acosta aimed to address the nationwide lack of availability of, access to and the provision of quality mental health services for Hispanics, and to heighten awareness, acceptance and understanding of mental illness among the Hispanic population. Mr. Acosta also served as the Deputy Director of the New Jersey Mental Health Institute, Inc., an organization founded by the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Inc., the parent agency of both aforementioned entities from 2001-2012.
Mr. Acosta holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Montclair State University, a Masters of Arts in Social Sciences with a concentration in Psychology from William Paterson University and a Masters of Social Work in Administration, Planning and Policy with Children and Families from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Mr. Acosta has completed all in-class coursework and internship requirements for a Doctorate in Social Work in Social Policy Analysis and Administration at Rutgers University. Due to his hectic schedule, Mr. Acosta has not completed his qualifying exams and dissertation to date.
Sought nationally and internationally as an expert/leader on Hispanic mental health issues, Mr. Acosta has been involved in numerous private and public advisory groups, boards, task forces, and/or commissions. Mr. Acosta was appointed by former Governor Richard J. Codey to serve as an inaugural member of the New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma, where he served from 2005-2013. Additionally, Mr. Acosta served on the State of New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners for approximately six years – having been appointed to the board by three different NJ Governor’s, and where he served as the Board’s Vice-Chairman for nearly three of his six years of service. In addition, Mr. Acosta was appointed by former New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine to the New Jersey Health Care Access Study Commission. Previously, he served as Chair of former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey’s Hispanic Advisory Council on Policy Development Initiatives’ Health Subcommittee Mental Health Work Group and as Co-Chair of the Health Subcommittee. Mr. Acosta is currently a member of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Multicultural Services Advisory Committee. His work on Hispanic mental health has appeared in numerous professional publications and he is a frequent speaker at local, state, national and international events regarding Hispanic mental health issues, racial and ethnic minority behavioral health, and cultural competence. In addition, he had a column entitled, Point of View, in a quarterly bilingual newspaper on Hispanic mental health titled, Salud Mental, throughout the paper’s existence.
Mr. Acosta serves or has served on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations, and on several statewide advisory committees, including the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) National Board of Directors, where he was elected 2nd Vice-President in July 2011, the Puerto Rican Family Institute, Inc.’s Board of Directors (New York and New Jersey – having served on the executive committee of both boards including President of PRFI New Jersey for nearly five years), the March of Dimes New Jersey Chapter State Board, the March of Dimes New Jersey Chapter’s Statewide Hispanic Advisory Committee and the Central New Jersey Boy Scout Council Board of Directors. He also served as the Chair of the National Hispanic/Latino American Agenda Summit Mental Health Issues and Platforms Committee in 2004, and is the founding Chair of the Alliance for Latino Behavioral Health Workforce Development, a strategic partnership of the leading national Latino behavioral health professional organizations, and other key leaders in the Latino health and behavioral health professions, and workforce development.
Mr. Acosta has also served as a volunteer in many capacities, such as a mentor for a teenage inner city youth, as a Local Coordinator for the 2000 Million Mom March, and as the 2004 Million Mom March Tri-State Captain for Spanish-Speaking Communities. For his work on the 2000 Million Mom March event, Mr. Acosta received a State of New Jersey Senate Resolution recognizing his work, and was invited to the White House for an event recognizing many of the individuals who helped organize the event. A NJ certified firefighter, Mr. Acosta also served as a volunteer firefighter for several years and assisted for nearly a month at Ground Zero with the search and recovery efforts after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
As a result of his personal and professional accomplishments, Mr. Acosta has received numerous awards for local, state and national private and public institutions. His most recent honors include a 2012 United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) VOICE Award for Peer/Consumer Leadership, the 2012 Dr. King Davis Award from ACMHA: The College for Behavioral Health Leadership, The 2012 Leadership in Mental Health Award from the Puerto Rican Family Institute, a 2011 Ann Klein Community Advocate Award from the Community Health Law Project (NJ), a 2010 Maria DeCastro Blake Community Service Award from the New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center at the Newark Public Library, being named one of the “Top 20 Latinos in America 40 and Under” by Latino Leaders Magazine, December 2009/January 2010 Issue, One of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics in America” by Hispanic Business Magazine, October 2008, the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health’s 2009 Minority Health Community Trailblazer Leader Award for the Latino community, a 2008 Eli Lilly and Company Welcome Back Award for Destigmatization, a 2008 Dr. Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Award for Community Service, a 2008 NJBIZ Healthcare Hero Award for Education Efforts as an Individual, a 2007 Advancing Minority Mental Health Award from the American Psychiatric Foundation, a 2007 “Forty Under 40” Award from NJBIZ Magazine, and a national leadership award for Latino Mental Health Advocacy from the Latino Behavioral Health Institute. Additional awards include a Certificate of Recognition Award from the American Psychiatric Foundation in May 2006, a 2006 National Association of Social Workers – New York City Chapter and New York Latino Social Work Task Force Leadership Award, the National Association of Puerto Rican/Hispanic Social Workers’ Leadership Award in November 2004, and the 2004 Rookie of the Year Award from the March of Dimes North Jersey Chapter.
A New Jersey certified firefighter, Mr. Acosta is a graduate of the Middlesex County Fire Academy. Upon graduation from the academy, Mr. Acosta served as a volunteer firefighter for the Keasbey Fire Protection Company #1. He assisted for nearly a month at Ground Zero with the search and recovery efforts after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.