David W. Covington

David W. Covington, LPC, MBA, is an entrepreneur and storyteller in the behavioral health field. He serves as the CEO and president of Recovery Innovations and is a co-founder and partner at Behavioral Health Link. As the producer of Moving America’s Soul on Suicide, Covington is committed to transforming suicide prevention efforts. He also curates and hosts the weekly “988 Crisis Jam” Learning Community in collaboration with SAMHSA and National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and co-publishes Lifelines: The 988 Podcast alongside Dr. John Draper.

In 2024, Covington received the prestigious Zero Suicide Visionary Award in Liverpool, England. Since 2010, he has been a founding member of the Executive Committee for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, where he co-led key task forces in 2011 and 2016 alongside Dr. Michael Hogan. These efforts resulted in the Zero Suicide and Crisis Now initiatives, which have redefined approaches to suicide prevention and crisis intervention worldwide. To support these initiatives, Covington has hosted eight international convenings, bringing together leaders and experts from over 25 countries to foster global collaboration and innovation.

From 2005 to 2020, Covington served as vice-chair of the SAMHSA National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Steering Committee. In 2018, he emceed the First National Rally to Prevent Suicide on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He continues to serve on the Steering Committee of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

Covington’s leadership extends to his roles as past president of the American Association of Suicidology and former member of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing Board of Directors. A licensed professional counselor, he holds an MBA from Kennesaw State University and an MS from The University of Memphis. Since 2017, he has been a founding member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC), created under the 21st Century Cures Act to advise Congress on behavioral health care.

A two-time national recipient of the Council of State Governments Innovations Award, Covington was also a finalist in the 2009 Harvard Kennedy School Innovations in American Government Awards for his pioneering work on the Georgia Crisis and Access Line, which received national recognition in Businessweek. From 2009 to 2013, he served as vice president at Magellan Health, overseeing a $750 million annual Medicaid contract as part of the Regional Behavioral Health Authority.

Covington’s work has been featured by NPR and USA Today, and he frequently speaks at international conferences.