06/03/2026
Discovery Behavioral Healthcare Announces Leadership Transition
Board Honors Retiring CEO Jim Novelli and Names Scott Blakley as Successor
Discovery Behavioral Healthcare (DBH), East Jefferson County’s nonprofit community behavioral health agency, today announced a planned leadership transition. After a distinguished tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Jim Novelli MSEd, will be retiring at the end of June. The Board of Directors has named Scott Blakley as incoming CEO, with Blakley transitioning to the CEO position during the month of June and assuming the position upon Novelli’s retirement.
“This transition reflects the strength, and vision Jim has brought to Discovery Behavioral Healthcare,” said Noah Harrison, Board Chair. “Under his leadership, DBH has grown in every meaningful way — in staff, in reach, in programs, and in partnerships. Because of what Jim built, we enter this next chapter with deep roots and genuine momentum.”
Honoring Jim Novelli’s Leadership: 2020–2026
Jim Novelli came to Discovery Behavioral Healthcare with a career shaped by decades of mission-driven community mental health leadership, including CEO roles at Okanogan Behavioral Healthcare and Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center. Over his six years at DBH, he transformed the organization — more than doubling its workforce, expanding to four locations across East Jefferson County, and building a network of community partnerships that significantly broadened access to care.
Among his most significant accomplishments:
• Led DBH through the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining full operations throughout the public health emergency without interruption to community services — a remarkable achievement for a community behavioral health agency navigating unprecedented systemic disruption.
• Grew the DBH workforce from 36.3 to 58.6 FTEs (a total headcount of 63), reflecting a significant expansion in the organization’s capacity to serve Jefferson County residents across clinical, crisis, and recovery services.
• Expanded WISe (Wraparound with Intensive Services) programming, deepening DBH’s commitment to children, youth, and families with complex behavioral health needs across the county.
• Implemented the R.E.A.L. Team in collaboration with the Salish BHASO, bringing a mobile co-responder model to East Jefferson County and connecting individuals in crisis with behavioral health services in the community.
• Launched the Sheriff’s Navigator program in partnership with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO), creating a collaborative bridge between law enforcement and behavioral health services to improve outcomes for individuals cycling through the justice system.
• Opened the Quilcene office, extending DBH’s geographic reach into a historically underserved area of the county and reducing barriers to care for rural residents.
• Acquired Safe Harbor and Beacon of Hope, integrating these valued community programs into DBH’s continuum of care and expanding the organization’s capacity to serve individuals in recovery.
• Initiated development of a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), a significant step toward a more complete local continuum of care that reduces the need for Jefferson County residents to travel out of the area for higher levels of behavioral health treatment.
• Partnered with Bayside Housing to deliver case management services and co-locate space for Jefferson County MASH (Mobile Assistance for the Street and Homeless), connecting housing-unstable individuals with behavioral health and recovery support.
• Launched planning for a Therapeutic Healthcare Facility in collaboration with Bayside Housing, a visionary initiative that would create a purpose-built setting integrating behavioral health care with supportive housing services.
• Expanded to four service locations across Jefferson County: the main clinic at 884 W. Park Avenue; Addiction Recovery Services and WISe programming at 686 Lake Street; a satellite office at 294843 Hwy 101 (Quilcene); and a soon-to-open WISe services and training facility at 2200 W. Sims Way — ensuring that geography is never a barrier to care.
“It has been the honor of my career to serve alongside this team and to work on behalf of the people of East Jefferson County. I am proud of what we built together and I leave with full confidence in what comes next.” said Novelli
Discovery Behavioral Health is pleased to welcome Scott Blakley as its incoming CEO
Scott brings more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in behavioral health and psychiatric healthcare. Throughout his career, he has focused on building and strengthening community-based systems of care, with experience spanning the full continuum of behavioral health services, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, crisis services, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and substance use disorder treatment.
As group CEO of Sundance Behavioral Healthcare Scott oversaw operations across multiple behavioral health facilities and service lines. Previously, as Regional Vice President at Oceans Healthcare, he led eight psychiatric hospitals across Texas representing more than $65 million in annual revenue, and successfully developed and licensed two new freestanding psychiatric hospitals.
Scott also served as the Administrative Director of Behavioral Health for Intermountain Healthcare and Select Health, where he was responsible for behavioral health strategy, provider network development, and expanding community access to care across one of the nation’s largest integrated healthcare systems.
“I am deeply honored to join Discovery Behavioral Healthcare and to help carry forward the extraordinary work that Jim and this team have built over more than 30 years,” said Blakley. “My commitment is to listen first, to learn from the clinicians and staff who know this community and this mission so well, and work alongside them to strengthen the organization’s foundations. Together, we will continue building a system of care that serves our communities with excellence, compassion, and integrity.”
The Board of Directors emphasized that DBH’s clinical leadership team will continue to guide the organization’s practice and standard of care. Blakley’s focus will be on operational excellence, financial sustainability, expanded community partnerships, and ensuring that the programs Jim Novelli built continue to grow and serve East Jefferson County for generations to come.
About Discovery Behavioral Healthcare
Discovery Behavioral Healthcare is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) community behavioral health agency licensed by the State of Washington, serving East Jefferson County for more than 30 years. DBH provides state-of-the-art services to foster recovery and resilience in an accessible, respectful, and caring environment, including crisis and emergency response, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, substance use disorder treatment and medication-assisted treatment, mental health counseling, the R.E.A.L. Team mobile crisis co-responder program, WISe youth and family services, Recovery Navigator services, Sheriff’s Navigator programming, Safe Harbor and Beacon of Hope recovery support, and 24/7 crisis line coverage at 888-910-0416. No person is denied access to services due to inability to pay. DBH serves clients across four locations in Jefferson County.
Media Contact:
Discovery Behavioral Healthcare
360-385-0321 | [email protected]
