Program Staff: Mental Health Program

Mental Health Program Staff

Eve H. Byrd, D.N.P., M.P.H.
Director

Eve Byrd (she/her) became director of the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program in February 2017. Prior to joining The Carter Center, she was a faculty member of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University and served as executive director of the Fuqua Center for Late-Life Depression, Department of Psychiatry at the Emory School of Medicine. 

She has held leadership positions both nationally and locally in work aimed at eliminating stigma and improving access to care for people with behavioral health disorders. She supported the Special Advisor to the Governor on Mental Health, engaging stakeholders in the process that resulted in a settlement agreement between Georgia and the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Samhita Kumar, M.P.H.
Associate Director, Global Mental Health Programs and Liberia

Samhita Kumar is a mental health and development specialist who joined the Mental Health Program in June 2019. Previously, she was with the World Bank Group, where she designed and implemented programs to help address the psychosocial well-being of vulnerable groups and enhance human capital in low- and middle-income countries and fragile and conflict-affected situations. Kumar also supported World Bank efforts to address fragility, conflict, and violence. Prior to joining the World Bank, Kumar conducted research on severe mental disorders among youth and early learning and memory in childhood, working with leading academic and policy institutions. She holds a master’s degree in public health in epidemiology and global health from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in neuroscience from Emory University.

S. Benedict Dossen, M.Sc G.M.H., B.S.W.
Country Program Lead
Mental Health Program – Liberia

S. Benedict Dossen oversees all Carter Center behavioral health initiatives in Liberia. He engages in policy-setting, program-related global initiatives, and information sessions. Dossen represents the program at the national and international levels and makes public speaking appearances on the Center’s behalf. He works closely with Liberian government agencies, universities and other stakeholders in planning and implementing projects related to the national mental health agenda, while at the same time sustaining and strengthening the Carter Center’s initiatives. Dossen previously was director of gender and social inclusion with the Millennium Challenge Account Liberia. He developed the concept for and served as the interim executive director of the country’s national mental health center of excellence, called the Liberia Center for Outcomes Research in Mental Health. He holds a Master of Science in Global Mental Health from King’s College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Stella Maris Polytechnic in Monrovia, Liberia. He serves on two of Liberia’s leading research ethics bodies and is a research ethics fellow with New York University and Western Institutional Review Board’s ethics program.

Michelle Rivera, M.S., B.Sc.
Senior Program Associate

Michelle Rivera is the senior program associate for the Carter Center Mental Health Program. She was previously program coordinator for the Washington Area Community Investment Fund, which promotes equity and economic opportunity in underserved neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., region. She has also served as program manager at Unconventional International. Rivera has conducted field research with rural farmers in Colombia on building peace within their communities, consulted for World Vision International in Amman, Jordan, and worked with students in foster care as a residential case manager in New York City. She holds a master’s degree in peacebuilding and gender studies from New York University’s Center for Global Affairs and a B.Sc. in counseling psychology from Toccoa Falls College.

Terah Kalk, M.P.H.
Senior Program Associate, Public Policy

Terah Kalk (she/they) is a school-based mental health systems specialist who joined the Mental Health Program in October 2022. Previously, she was with the Southeast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), where she led the School Mental Health Initiative to advance comprehensive school-based mental health systems in the Southeastern United States. Kalk provided technical assistance to leaders in the Southeast and developed programming around LGBTQ+ youth mental health, collective trauma, and other school-based mental health topics. She also worked in a national collaboration to create learning collaboratives that support healing racial violence in our communities and to create a mental health literacy training for educators and school staff. She holds a Master of Public Health in global health from Emory University and a bachelor’s in anthropology from the University of Florida.

Sarah Phillips, M.P.A.
Program Associate, Public Policy

Sarah Phillips joined the Mental Health Program in April 2023. Previously, she served as the senior manager of policy and advocacy at Georgia Watch, a consumer advocacy organization; in that role, she identified needs and impacts affecting historically marginalized populations and guided the development and implementation of policies to address disparities. Additionally, she worked at the Georgia State Capitol, conducting policy research for new legislation and analyzing each bill’s impact, tracking legislative priorities, and working with members of the media. She holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in policy analysis and evaluation, as well as a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in public policy, from Georgia State University.

Brianna Poovey, M.P.H.
Program Associate

Brianna Poovey provides programmatic support to the Carter Center Mental Health Program. She joined the Center’s Special Health Programs unit as a graduate research assistant in 2018, having already been a program assistant with the River Blindness, Lymphatic Filariasis, and Schistosomiasis programs and a volunteer and intern for the Trachoma Control Program. Poovey previously worked in Senegal with the World Social Forum, where she helped develop innovative techniques to educate Senegalese youth on STI prevention. She also worked in Togo, where she co-designed and implemented a project to support maternal health and family planning work with Association des Sages-Femmes du Togo. Poovey holds a bachelor’s degree from Emory University in psychology and linguistics, with a minor in global health, cultures, and societies. She earned a master of public health degree with a concentration in health promotion and behavior from Georgia State University.

Tsion Horra
Program Assistant, Global Mental Health Programs and Liberia

Tsion Horra joined the Mental Health Program in January 2019 as the program assistant for the Liberia and Global Mental Health Initiative. In this role, she is responsible for departmental communications, financial processing, and logistical support. Horra previously worked for the Atlanta Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, where she managed a grant project and connected immigrant communities to city services. Horra received her undergraduate degree from Emory University in 2017.