Berlina Wallace-Berube, M.A.C.P., M.Ed., LPC

Public Health Advisor in the Office of the Director
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Fellowship Profile

Fellowship Year: 2022-2023
Fellowship Placement: Senator Ed Markey
Sponsoring Institution: Academic
Discipline / Profession: Administration , Public Health , Other (Please specify below): Mental Health Counselor - Licensed Professional Counselor

Biography

Berlina Wallace-Berube is the director of the Primary Care Office at the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Department of Health. In this role, she fosters collaboration across various levels of government, organizations, and communities, coordinates shortage designation by evaluating access to health care, and identifies communities with the greatest needs and health workforce challenges. She works towards solutions that reduce health disparities and increase access to quality health care for residents of the USVI. Wallace-Berube also serves as a member of the USVI ESF-8 COVID-19 Response Team and the Health Planning Team responsible for the USVI Community Health Assessment and USVI Community Health Improvement Plan. She has served as the chair-elect, chair, past-chair, and treasurer of the American Counseling Association, North Atlantic Region, and co-chair of the Association of Virgin Islands Psychologists Education Committee.

Wallace-Berube has been actively involved in policy and advocacy efforts related to behavioral health and juvenile justice matters. She served as a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, the committee that advises the U.S. President, Congress, and OJJDP Administrator on juvenile justice issues and concerns. During her tenure as the director of the USVI Department of Health, Division of Behavioral Health, Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Services, she collaborated with USVI legislators to enact behavioral health legislation and was the president of the American Counseling Association of the Virgin Islands when the USVI enacted the law to license professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and substance abuse counselors. She has also contributed to the American Counseling Association’s national advocacy efforts to increase health equity through increased access to behavioral health services for vulnerable populations.

After receiving her BA in English from the University of the Virgin Islands, Wallace-Berube received a MA in Education and an MA in Psychology from the same university. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC).