LaMar Henderson

Commander LaMar Henderson, MSW, LICSW, BCD, currently serves as the Suicide Prevention and Behavioral Health Program Manager for all of the United States Coast Guard. Prior to transitioning to the Coast Guard, CDR Henderson was Branch Chief of the Northeast Central Services branch for the Division of State HIV/AIDS Programs in the HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is one of the Operating Divisions under HHS. Along with his colleagues, he would work with state HIV/AIDS Ryan White recipients to further the goal of reducing and eliminating HIV/AIDS throughout the nation. Before joining HAB, CDR Henderson was a program management officer for Region IX in the Western Branch of the Division of State and Community Health (DSCH) for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau also at HRSA. He was also the Contracting Officer Representative (Level II) for both divisions mentioned above. Since being commissioned in 2010, CDR Henderson has been deployed over 17 times as a mental health clinician, most recently to combat COVID-19 in California and Louisiana.

Prior to joining HRSA, CDR Henderson served as a program management officer in the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA). Additionally, while at SAMHSA, CDR Henderson was a public health advisor in the Division of State and Community Systems Development Branch in the Center for Mental Health Service, providing federal oversight for the Mental Health Block Grants and Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Grants for various states and jurisdictions. Before joining federal service and the USPHS Commissioned Corps, CDR Henderson established and ran his own private practice and was a forensic interviewer/evaluator for the DC Children’s Advocacy Center. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in biology from Syracuse University and a Master’s in Social Work from the Howard University, School of Social Work in Human Service Management and Program Evaluation. He completed his clinical training at Yale University School of Medicine, Child Study Center.

Additionally, Henderson conducted trainings for the Anti-Defamation League on bullying, anti-bias in addition to echoes and reflections of the holocaust. Additionally, he provides trainings with family welfare organizations on domestic violence, family dynamics with a special focus on males and emotional accountability. He is the author of the soon to be published book Accountability of Love.