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Chief of Strategic Growth & Special Operations
Horizon Treatment Services
Eliseo Becerra brings over 20 years of leadership experience, including 15 years dedicated to healthcare operations and compliance. His career reflects a deep passion for enhancing patient experiences while fostering workplace practices that promote employee engagement and well-being. Eliseo excels at building infrastructure that empowers organizations to leverage data effectively, ensuring measurable success and the establishment of robust safety standards. His projects have included aligning organizational goals with industry standards and advancing the behavioral health field, notably through the development of patient experience survey tools and tracking Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes against national benchmarks.
Eliseo holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from San Jose State University, with a concentration in organizational behavior, and an MBA in Health Administration from the University of Colorado. He further developed his leadership skills through the CIBHS Behavioral Health Leadership Academy, equipping him to effectively oversee multi-modality service lines for a nonprofit organization.
Driven by a commitment to community improvement, Eliseo strives to create meaningful, lasting impacts in the places where he lives and works, leaving them better than he found them.
Executive Administrator, Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness
City of Albuquerque
Gilbert A. Ramírez, MSW, is a licensed clinical and school social worker with over 25 years of experience in behavioral health, education, and public service. A recognized national expert in gang intervention, he co-authored three Oxford University Press publications on school-based intervention strategies and co-founded a charter school, where he developed student support frameworks that are still in use today. As an advocate for educational equity, he served as a fact witness in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico case, providing critical testimony on the importance of integrating behavioral health services and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) frameworks in schools. Additionally, he spent 16 years as an Adjunct Professor and Field Consultant at New Mexico Highlands University, mentoring future social workers in School Social Work and Family Violence.
In 2018, Mayor Tim Keller appointed Ramírez as Deputy Director for Behavioral Health and Wellness Programs for the City of Albuquerque, where he has played a crucial role in advancing public health initiatives. His leadership has helped establish the Albuquerque Community Safety Department, the Violence Intervention Program (VIP), and New Mexico’s first Medical Sobering Center at the Gateway Center, New Mexico’s first Recovery Housing Pallet Community, and has worked to secure federal, state, and county funding to support these efforts. His expertise has shaped citywide policies, ensuring a comprehensive continuum of care for behavioral health and housing services.
In 2025, Ramírez was appointed as the Executive Administrator of the Department of Health, Housing, and Homelessness, overseeing efforts to address homelessness, housing instability, and public health. A servant leader who embodies social work values, he continues to advocate for innovative, community-centered solutions that uplift vulnerable populations. His dedication to equity, integrity, and systemic change has left a lasting impact on public policy, education, and behavioral health services across New Mexico.
Acting Director, Department of Health, Housing and Homelessness
City of Albuquerque
Ellen Braden is the Acting Director for the Department of Health, Housing, and Homelessness for the City of Albuquerque. With nearly two decades of service in behavioral and public health, she helped launch the City’s first mobile crisis teams, co-defined the Bernalillo County Behavioral Health Tax, was integral in the development and implementation of the Medical Sobering Center, and actively serves on multiple cross-sector collaborations. A founding member of Albuquerque Celebrates Recovery and a graduate of Leadership New Mexico’s Local Government Leadership Program (2024), she is passionate about protecting behavioral health funding and supporting families and children.