David Covington

David Covington, LPC, MBA serves as CEO and President of RI International, is a partner in Behavioral Health Link and leads the international initiatives “Crisis Now” and “Zero Suicide.” He is a two-time national winner of the Council of State Governments Innovations Award, in 2008 with the Georgia Crisis & Access Line and again in 2012 with Magellan Health. For five consecutive years, he competed as a national finalist in innovations award competitions, including Harvard University’s Innovations in American Government in 2009, and was featured in Business Week magazine (Innovate Timeline). He is an acclaimed global speaker, with top-ranked TED-style Talks and conference keynotes. Readers of his healthcare innovation blog represent 90 countries. Previously he served as Vice-President at Magellan Health responsible for the administrative, clinical, financial and programmatic operations of the $750 million per year health plan contract with Arizona Medicaid and the Department of Health Services. Mr. Covington has served on the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Executive Committee since it was created in 2010, co-chairing task forces on clinical care and crisis services. In 2016, he became the Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline SAMHSA Steering Committee after serving as Vice-Chair from its creation in 2005. He is also the Clinical Division Chair of the American Association of Suicidology since 2014. He served on the National Council for Behavioral Health Board of Directors from 2011 to 2014 and the Relias Learning Advisory Board from 2014 to 2016. Mr. Covington’s management history also includes CEO of Behavioral Health Link and Director of Public Sector Quality Management at APS Healthcare. He is a licensed professional counselor and has an MBA from Kennesaw State and a Master’s of Science from the University of Memphis. His personal achievements include the 2008 Boston marathon and 2013 Fear Factor.