About Us

For decades, mavericks such as Craig Deroche and Ernest Baynard have built and deployed

platforms that transcend traditional political lanes and barriers to achieve positives outcomes that

have a strategic impact for the nation. These efforts include Craig’s work in support of the First

Step Act, which brought together a dynamic chorus of voices from across the political spectrum to

achieve reform of our justice system. Craig also helped create and served on the Charles Colson

Task Force for Criminal Justice Reform created by Congress (Craig was personally hired by Chuck

Colson in 2011). Craig’s influence can also be seen in a recent Washington Post article detailing his

mission and his ministry. Craig’s passion for making meaningful change in behavioral health also

stems from the tragic loss of his brother who died in the care of the Veterans Administration (VA)

due to an overdose at prescribed levels.

The BHRT is also born of Ernest’s work to bring people of divergent political beliefs together to

solve some of our nation’s most challenging and complex issues. This includes his recent work

bipartisan legislation to expand cancer screening in rural and urban areas championed by both

members of the Freedom Caucus and Black Caucus. He has also worked for years, often pro-bono,

to address challenges veterans face in access to care within the VA in the same manner. Ernest’s

passion for transcending the political divide can also be seen when he worked to bring the nation’s

most senior political leaders, on both sides of the aisle, together around faith and prayer on the

National Day of Prayer in May of 2021 and in the many diverse coalitions he has built and leveraged

over the past 23 years.

Their successful efforts to overcome “politics as usual” comes from the adage that “necessity is the

mother of invention” and a deeply held belief, as people of deep faith themselves, that a vast

majority of Americans still share one vital thing in common: their belief in God. This shared faith,

which has been at the center of our nation since its founding, continues to be a driver of

fundamental change in our national politics. It is now primed to be an engine of change on arguably

the most challenging issue we face in the United States today: Behavioral Health. Rooted in the

belief that people from all political and faith backgrounds are avidly seeking new solutions to age-old

behavioral health challenges and wish to be part of that engine— the Behavioral Health Roundtable

(BHRT) was born.

“The Behavioral Health Roundtable was born of the revolutionary and simple idea that in order to

truly break down the silos that have historically barred the entry of new ideas and meaningful change

in behavioral health, we must create an ecosystem where all the key stakeholders and experts can

come together to communicate and collaborate directly. These stakeholders include healthcare

providers, local, state and federal government officials, nonprofits, businesses, faith leaders of all

backgrounds, veterans and host of others. We have made this approach work in a number of areas

and felt it had a natural application on the national scale to affect change in behavioral health

generally,” said Craig Deroche.

The landscape of American politics has shifted. The BHRT seeks to fully open the door to

alternative approaches to behavioral health and new ways of thinking about technology and

disruptive approaches— approaches which heretofore have faced steep barriers to widespread

application due to a variety of factors.

Our Mission:

Our mission is to bring a diverse group of influencers, activists and technologists together to

leverage non-traditional solutions to age-old behavioral health challenges including:

- Behavioral Health and Suicide

- Properly Caring for our Veterans

- Changing outcomes within the Criminal Justice System

- Fully addressing Addiction & Better Enabling Recovery

- Ensuring our children grow and learn in environments that are safe and productive

BHRT believes our nation is strongest, even in the broken places, because of what we still have in

common as human beings and that we are all called to rise above the noise and discord to serve

those who are in crisis and most vulnerable.