Gabrielle (Gabby) Richard, MPS, CPP

Gabrielle (Gabby) Richard has served as senior manager for community and health advancement at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) since December 2021. In this role, Ms. Richard manages and oversees the goals of the health advancement department, including working with partners and stakeholders to develop, launch, and execute initiatives and partnerships designed to drive measurable impact and make Arizonans healthier.

Prior to joining BCBSAZ, Ms. Richard was a grants manager for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), charged with overseeing federal block and discretionary funds that support mental health and substance use prevention efforts statewide. In this role, she also served as the National Prevention Network (NPN) representative for the state of Arizona. During her tenure at AHCCCS, Ms. Richard led efforts to transform the organization’s substance abuse prevention system, including the development of new funding structures. She also instituted a statewide process and outcome evaluation, conducted statewide strategic planning, and standardized the use of evidence-based practices to enhance substance abuse prevention outcomes.

Previously, Ms. Richard worked for the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Division of Behavioral Health Services (ADHS/DBHS), assisting with the development and oversight of statewide behavioral health services and projects. She has worked for the states of Texas and Washington, managing federal funding sources for statewide substance abuse and mental health promotion program implementation, and overseeing contracts with community-based organizations, government entities, and substance abuse prevention coalitions. She has served as an expert peer reviewer for federal grant opportunities for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DOJ/OJJDP), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Ms. Richard graduated from the University of South Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in addiction studies, with emphasis in both treatment and prevention. She holds a master’s degree in prevention science from the University of Oklahoma and is also a Certified Prevention Professional (CPP)with the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC).