Signature keynote
From Assessment to Treatment: What AI Brings to Today's Clinicians
How AI supports — never replaces — clinical judgment across the whole arc of care, from documentation to quality, with the safeguards that earn a clinician's trust.
Keynote speaker · Behavioral health executive · Responsible AI
Dr. Michael
Zelman
Licensed Clinical Psychologist · Executive Vice President, Enki Health
I help behavioral health organizations adopt AI the right way — ethically, safely, and in service of human connection.
“Thoughtful AI doesn't pull us away from people. Used well, it gives us back the time to be with them.”
Pasadena · San Diego · San Francisco · Statewide
Available for keynotes & panels
25+ years in community mental health
OPEN MINDS · CPA · IVYFONE · OCPA keynotes
AI documentation & governance
CalAIM · BHSA · AI
About
Two decades in the room where care and policy meet.
For more than 25 years I've worked in community mental health — first as a clinician and supervisor, and today as Executive Vice President of Enki Health Services, a Los Angeles County DMH contract provider serving children, youth, and adults across eight clinics.
My doctoral research pointed to something I've watched play out ever since: the weight of documentation is among the leading drivers of clinician burnout and turnover. That finding still shapes how I lead — and it's why I've spent recent years helping my field adopt AI in a way that gives clinicians back the most human part of the work.
I work at the intersection of clinical operations, behavioral health policy, and the responsible integration of AI. I led the effort that made Enki the first LA County contract provider to launch LOCUS (adult level-of-care), brought AI-assisted documentation into clinical practice, and helped guide CalAIM and BHSA transformation. I believe psychologists shouldn't sit out the AI conversation — we should help lead it.
Speaking
Talks that make AI in behavioral health concrete — and human.
I speak to clinical teams, executives, associations, and policy audiences. Every talk is grounded in real implementation — what worked, what didn't, and how to keep clients at the center. Below are the sessions I'm invited to give most often.
Ethics & the profession
The Ethical Use of AI in Clinical Practice
A psychologist's moral compass for adopting AI: bias, HIPAA, hallucination, sycophancy, and why the human-in-the-loop is non-negotiable.
For executives & boards
Governance Before Technology
Adopting AI is a governance decision, not a purchasing one. The four pillars, a risk-based frame, and a phased rollout that clinicians actually adopt.
Systems & policy
Leading Systems Transformation: CalAIM, BHSA & LOCUS
Lessons from the front lines of California's behavioral health redesign — level-of-care, funding alignment, and expanding access to care.
Recent & upcoming
August 13, 2026
OPEN MINDS Service Excellence Institute“From Assessment to Treatment: What AI Brings to Today's Clinicians” — core session
San Francisco, CA
September 26, 2026
CPA Division VI — Continuing Education WorkshopAI in Mental Health: Promise, Peril, and the Path Forward
California Psychological Association
Jan 2025
Orange County Psychological Association — Annual DinnerKeynote on the ethical use of AI in clinical work
Orange County, CA
Ongoing
LA County DMH — Countywide MeetingsKeynotes on access to care and ethical use of AI
Los Angeles County
Focus
Where I spend my thinking.
The work behind the talks — the areas where I write, advise, and build.
01
Responsible AI governance
Human-in-the-loop as a first principle; the four governance pillars — transparency, privacy, fairness, accountability — set against NIST's AI Risk Management Framework and California's emerging AI law.
02
AI-assisted clinical documentation
Giving clinicians back the hours that used to disappear into notes after hours — while raising note quality, compliance, and the accuracy of the clinical record.
03
Clinical chatbot safety
The difference between engagement-driven consumer chatbots and clinically supervised tools — and what psychologists owe patients who are already using them.
Co-author, The California Psychologist
04
Behavioral health systems transformation
CalAIM, BHSA, and adult level-of-care (LOCUS) implementation — aligning funding, policy, and clinical operations to expand access to care.
Selected impact
Results, measured.
Funding secured
$4M
Additional contract funding won through sustained advocacy in FY 25/26.
Time returned to care
12,000 hrs/yr
Projected documentation time saved through AI-assisted notes — hours back with clients.
Level-of-care rollout
1st
First LA County contract provider to go live with LOCUS adult level-of-care.
School partnerships
25 → 130
Growth in partner schools for school-linked mental health services.
Telehealth, stood up in 2 weeks
0 → 7k+
Sessions per month launched company-wide at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recognition
3×
“Manager of the Year” — 2007, 2013, and 2021.
Leadership & service
Service beyond the organization.
Much of my work happens through the associations and boards where policy, workforce, and access to care get shaped.
Chair-Elect, Division VI · Past Chair, Division IVGovernance, continuing education, and AI policy
California Psychological Association
Adult Mental Health Policy ChairBoard of Directors
ACHSA
Vice PresidentBoard of Directors
Pasadena Police Foundation
Advisor to the BoardBehavioral health technology startup
LooperRoom
Member & Diversity Institute collaboratorSupporting psychologists in public service
SGVPA
MemberAmerican Psychological Association
APA
Selected publication
How Safe Are AI Chatbots When Used by Patients for Mental Health Support?
Ralph G. Kuechle, Ph.D. & Michael Zelman, Psy.D.
The California Psychologist
On the risks of engagement-driven consumer chatbots — sycophancy, absent guardrails, and real harm — and the human-in-the-loop model that makes clinically supervised tools safe. A call for psychologists to guide patients, and to help shape the law.
“Among the 2,000 managers I have trained and coached, I would put Michael in the top 2.”
Dr. Christopher Amenson · Amenson Consulting
In others' words
A leader staff want to follow.
“He gives a mature, curious, collaborative, solution-focused response to situations that might inflame others. A lifelong learner with the maturity and interpersonal skills to be a leader staff want to follow.
Dr. Christopher AmensonPresident, Amenson Consulting
“Dr. Zelman is dedicated to servant leadership. His vision is empowering providers that empower communities. The world needs visionaries like Dr. Z who care about the wellbeing of providers and the communities they serve.
Neel GhoshalCEO & Founder
Connect
Let's talk.
I'm open to keynote invitations, panels, board and advisory roles, and conversations about executive leadership in behavioral health and responsible AI.
Email
info@DrMichaelZelman.com
Based in
Pasadena & San Diego, California
For
Keynotes · Panels · Advisory · Board service