Alumni Profile: Andy Hunt '86

Public Health Advisor
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Mental Health Services
Major at Linfield: Psychology

What are you doing now?
I moved to Maryland in 2006 to serve in a national leadership capacity as a public health advisor at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Mental Health Services after spending 15 years in Oregon and Washington working for the Indian Health Service. I currently manage a portfolio of children's mental health grants that go out to states, counties, cities, tribes and territories. I specialize in working with our tribal grantees and also promote the broader issues of cultural competence and service systems improvement. I am a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service, and hold the rank of Captain. In addition to my regular duties, I have deployed as a mental health provider to several natural disasters over the course of my 22 year Public Health Service career.

Tell us about yourself.
In addition to the professional commitment and wide variety of duties at my job, I have always felt it was important to maintain a balance of work and play. For fun, I write songs, play guitar and sing in a band called The Treading Lemmings. We just released a 5-song EP on vinyl titled Flotsam. I've been playing in bands since my days at Linfield when my band "Reckless Abandon" was a staple at fraternity and sorority parties and the Cedars Lounge in McMinnville from 1984-86. I've also coached and played rec-softball for the past 25 years and this year began playing in an adult baseball league. I have three beautiful daughters. My oldest is currently studying speech pathology at Portland State, my middle daughter is graduating from high school in Maryland this year, and my youngest is finishing her freshman year.

How did Linfield help prepare you for your career?
After I got my degree from Linfield, I started working at an entry level job in the social services field. After two years, I decided that I loved the field, but I needed a graduate degree to go further. I applied to the MSW program at Portland State, and I was accepted. The rigorous work I did in my psychology classes prepared me for the challenge of graduate school better than I ever thought possible. The academic preparation helped me in school. My overall social experience at Linfield helped me to develop as a rounded person. Some of my earliest experiences of learning leadership was in my fraternity. Being a member of Delta Psi Delta and holding several offices in the house provided me with practical leadership and meeting management skills that I have built upon over the years.