Meet the CARF leadership
Brian J. Boon, Ph.D., President/CEO, joined CARF in 2001 after serving as an at-large trustee on the CARF Board of Trustees between 1998 and 2000 and chairing the board's planning and governance committees. He was also a CARF surveyor for six years and participated in many CARF advisory committees and leadership panels dating back to 1990.
Brian holds a doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Alberta and maintains his professional licenses and affiliations in the psychology profession. Brian's broad professional experiences as a payer, provider, and regulator have contributed to his "systems solution" executive leadership approach.
Amanda E. Birch, Administrator of Operations at CARF-CCAC, has worked in the long-term healthcare management arena for the past 15 years. Amanda was previously Director of Support Services for Westminster Canterbury of Lynchburg, Inc., and an administrator for Sunrise Assisted Living. She is a licensed nursing home administrator and holds a Master’s degree in business administration from Lynchburg College.
Leslie Ellis-Lang, Managing Director of the Child and Youth Services accreditation area, joined CARF in 2009. Leslie's career spans more than 20 years in the behavioral health field with an emphasis on services for children and adolescents. Most recently, she was the behavioral health services administrator for an organization providing services in 32 Florida counties. A licensed marriage and family therapist, Leslie holds a Master of Science degree in counselor education from Northern Illinois University.
Mary Jo Fitzgerald, Account Manager of the Medical Rehabilitation accreditation area, joined CARF in 1999. Mary Jo has professional experience in clinical and rehabilitation program management, risk management, quality improvement and outcomes management, program development, and direct service provision. Mary Jo has a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Iowa and maintains her certification as a speech-language pathologist.
Bettye Harrison, Account Manager of the Opioid Treatment Program accreditation area, has more than 20 years of social work experience in the areas of behavioral health, corrections, and adoptions. She has expertise in program development, consultation and technical assistance, clinical supervision, individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, psychosocial assessment, and field instruction. Bettye earned a Master's degree in social work from the University of South Carolina.
Pete Hathaway, Managing Director of the Employment and Community Services accreditation area, has more than 25 years of experience in the rehabilitation field. Before joining CARF as a full-time staff member in 2006, Pete served as a CARF surveyor for 11 years. He has managed community-based services for adults and children with disabilities and their families and has also been a contract manager for a state governmental agency.
Cindy L. Johnson, CPA, Chief Resource and Strategic Development Officer since 2006, oversees the company's finance, information technology, research and quality improvement, document production, marketing, human resources, and education and training functions. Cindy previously served as CARF's chief financial officer and director of finance and administration from 1999 to 2005.
Michael W. Johnson joined CARF as Managing Director of the Behavioral Health accreditation area in 2013. A Certified Addictions Professional, Michael has more than 30 years of experience as a clinician, manager, and executive working in mental health, substance abuse, and intellectual disabilities. He was a CARF surveyor for 16 years and holds a Master's degree in communications from the University of Central Florida.
Darren M. Lehrfeld, Chief Accreditation Officer and General Counsel, oversees CARF's accreditation operations, including surveyor management, technical assistance to service providers, and survey processing and logistics. Darren also oversees CARF's legal affairs and compliance matters. He earned his juris doctor and business administration degree from the University of Arizona and is an active member of the State Bar of Arizona and Pima County Bar Association.
Christine M. MacDonell, Managing Director of the Medical Rehabilitation accreditation area, has more than 35 years of experience as a provider, administrator, and trainer in the human services field. Since 1991, Chris has represented CARF at international and national meetings, introducing and promoting the concepts of quality oversight and enhancement of human services through the CARF accreditation process in both medical rehabilitation and aging services. In 2003, Chris became responsible for the transition of the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission, which CARF acquired in February 2003.
Susanne Matthiesen, Managing Director of the Aging Services accreditation area (which includes CARF-CCAC), supervises the area's operations and staff and provides leadership for developing standards and improvements in the accreditation processes. Susanne joined CCAC in 2001, two years before CARF acquired the nation's only accreditor of continuing care retirement communities. She earned a Master’s degree in business administration focused on long-term care administration from The George Washington University.
Margaret McHenry joined CARF in 1996 and is the Account Manager of the Employment and Community Services accreditation area. She has more than 30 years of personal and professional experience with individuals who have disabilities, including 10 years in the administration of public and privately funded vocational programs with a private, nonprofit service provider. She has a Master's degree in educational psychology from Duquesne University.
Nikki Migas, Managing Director of the Behavioral Health and the Child and Youth Services accreditation areas, has more than 35 years of experience developing and administering behavioral health and other human services programs. Nikki was also a CARF surveyor for 10 years, and she served on several CARF national advisory committees.
Lisa Palmer, Account Manager, has been with the Behavioral Health accreditation area of CARF since 1999. Before joining CARF, she was the director of HIV prevention for substance abusers at a community service program funded by the New York State Department of Health. She has a background in research and holds a Master's degree in public health from the University of Rochester.
Di Shen, Ph.D., Chief Research Officer, spearheads CARF's Research and Quality Improvement department and performance indicator work and oversees CARF's internal performance improvement systems and research data infrastructure. Prior to coming to the United States, Di was a faculty member at Yangzhou University in China. He has taught courses in psychological measurements and statistics, research methods, and cognitive psychology at the University of Arizona. He has also been published in the areas of psycholinguistics, psychological measurement, linguistics and applied linguistics, and teaching methodology.
Daniel Stavert, Chief Advisor, Accreditation Standards, CARF Canada, has more than 20 years of management experience in the human services profession, including the areas of child welfare, foster care, adoption, persons with developmental disabilities, public guardianship, correctional services, legislation, protocol and policy making, and accreditation standards. He earned a Master's degree in social work from the University of Windsor in Ontario.