Neal Shifman, former President, CEO, and Founder of AHP

Advocates for Human Potential, Inc.

Founder of National Consulting Firm Made Transformative Changes to Behavioral Health Systems Across the Country

SUDBURY, MA, USA, August 31, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- It is with profound sadness that Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP) announces the passing of its President, CEO, and Founder Neal Shifman. He died of natural causes at his home on August 28, leaving behind an indelible legacy in the fields of behavioral health and human services. He was known for the phrase “you can do well by doing good”—a sentiment he truly embodied in his work and life.

For nearly four decades, Shifman dedicated his life’s work to the mission of AHP—advocating for human potential by transforming systems of care. He maintained a lifelong commitment to justice, equity, and better health outcomes for all people, particularly those who are marginalized or neglected by society.

Neal’s legacy will be carried on by AHP’s new President and CEO Noah Shifman.

“Neal was a visionary and brilliant leader who inspired us to create solutions to our nation’s most pressing behavioral health issues,” said Damien Newman, AHP Chief Financial Officer. “AHP has suffered a profound loss with his passing.”

“Despite our great loss,” Newman continued. “The entire leadership team is confident in Noah’s ability to lead AHP into the future. Noah is dedicated to maintaining the growth, innovation, and mission of AHP that his father fostered for more than 37 years. We are certain that Noah’s experience over the past 15 years at AHP has prepared him for this moment, and we are firmly committed to supporting him during this transition.”

Before founding AHP, Shifman led several nonprofit agencies and served as a family therapist. Intrigued by the idea of expanding individual treatment to reach communities, he took his passion for bettering lives and created AHP. With his belief that “big problems require big solutions,” Shifman collaborated with and recruited the foremost thought leaders from across the behavioral health spectrum. Over time he grew AHP from a small Massachusetts company with headquarters in Sudbury, MA to a national firm, with hundreds of staff and ongoing projects constantly making way for powerful transformation where it matters most.

Shifman never wavered in his belief that change is always possible when people work together. He faced monumental societal challenges— such as the opioid epidemic and homelessness—head-on and sought the most creative, innovative, and effective ways forward. He encouraged every member of AHP to do the same, constantly advocating for the human connection so essential to AHP’s work in the United States and abroad.

As a subject matter expert, Shifman skillfully translated knowledge about behavioral health care and human services to social policy and systems change. He was a nationally and internationally known consultant and facilitator in service system redesign, with special expertise in substance use, mental health, criminal justice, and a variety of at-risk populations and their interface with social service systems.

Neal was also an early pioneer in developing the Continuum of Care (CoC) for substance use prevention and treatment. He worked extensively with federal and state systems on countless substance use and behavioral health projects. He was fond of saying “AHP finds solutions to America’s most vexing social infrastructure challenges.”

Shifman was responsible for the overall direction, vision, and leadership of AHP, a company that nearly quadrupled in size over the last 3 years. He oversaw new business development, resource planning, strategic planning, and directed the corporate-level and senior management staff.

Shifman had long been preparing his son, AHP’s former Chief Operating Officer Noah Shifman, to assume the role of President and CEO.

Noah Shifman brings varied experience in the healthcare consulting field to the arenas of strategic direction and leadership. He previously served as AHP’s Director of Innovation, overseeing and enabling unique, targeted improvements during a period of unprecedented growth for AHP; this included streamlining processes and expanding knowledge management efforts to better leverage the capabilities of AHP’s subject matter experts among other efforts.

As he embarks on this new role, Noah will ensure AHP’s life-changing work continues uninterrupted, and that Neal’s vision carries on.

Sarah Farmer
Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP)
+1 703-508-0624
sfarmer@ahpnet.com
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