Deputy Director
Niagara County Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
Lockport, New York
In this role, Myrla leads several cornerstone initiatives, including the County’s Suicide Prevention Coalition, the System of Care Network, the Opioid Task Force Public Awareness Advisory Panel, and the cross-county Niagara/Orleans Trauma, Illness, and Grief Consortium comprised of representatives from the Department of Mental Health, Orleans/Niagara BOCES and its 13-component districts. These multidisciplinary efforts reflect Myrla’s dedication to building responsive, trauma-informed systems that meet the evolving needs of youth, adults, families and vulnerable populations.
A champion of creative collaboration, Myrla is instrumental in establishing, maintaining, and expanding local partnerships that bridge sectors and spark innovation. Through strategic planning and resource development, Myrla guides the development, implementation and monitoring of the Niagara County Local Service Plan, ensuring alignment with state mandates and community priorities.
Known for leveraging resources in dynamic and inclusive ways, Myrla along with the local systems of care design public engagement strategies that elevate lived experience and foster meaningful participation—particularly among youth and families. Whether launching awareness campaigns, facilitating cross-agency dialogue, or cultivating grassroots leadership, Myrla consistently centers equity, resilience, and hope in every initiative.
Myrla is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with Diagnostic Privilege and earned a Trauma Counseling Certificate. She has been a dedicated employee of Niagara County Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services since 2008, beginning her career with the Department as a licensed clinician in the Single Point of Access (SPOA) Program, advancing to the Department’s Senior Planner, before promotion to her current position as Deputy Director in 2019. Her employment history includes leadership positions at a local non-profit adolescent residential program and at a for-profit psychiatric inpatient hospital as well as working as a therapist part-time in counseling practice.
E7 - The Power of We: Inspiring Partnerships in a Rural System of Care
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
2:15 PM - 3:15 PM MDT