Leadership Team

James Button, President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Button is the President and CEO of Citizen Advocates and St. Joseph’s Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers. He has been in his role since 2020. Prior to becoming CEO, Mr. Button held many positions in the agency including counselor, program manager, compliance officer and COO. He also spent time in Albany working closely with New York State government on behavioral health public policy initiatives. Mr. Button has two master’s degrees. His first is in Education; his second is in Social Work. He also holds a healthcare administrators’ certificate from UVM.

Mr. Button is an accomplished public speaker who is focused on improving access and elevating convenience to life-saving addiction and mental health treatments in Northern New York. He is a strong advocate for integrated care, healthcare reimbursement reform, harm-reduction models and sound business management principles. He and his wife, Camelia, reside in Malone with their two sons, Ben and Jacob, and a German Shepherd named Cali. James spends his free time downhill skiing, cooking, attending his son’s activities and listening to music.

Kati Jock, VP of Operations & Finance/Chief Operations Officer
As the Vice President of Operations & Finance/Chief Operations Officer, Kati is responsible for overseeing all financial matters and leading Citizen Advocates’ efforts to strategically align services under three main areas: Behavioral Health, Community Living and Community Supports. This leading-edge, whole health strategy strengthens Citizen Advocates’ position as a leading provider of exceptional, high-quality clinical services, programs and community supports. In addition to her current role, Kati has served as Director of Behavioral Health Services and Director of Population Health and Planning for Citizen Advocates.

Kati has over a decade of experience in Strategic and Business Planning for Hospital Health Systems where she played a key role in affiliations and mergers, designed business plans supporting primary care expansion, and collaborated with system executives to shape organizational vision to drive profitability and sustain growth. With a passion for strategy and analytics, Kati believes strongly in utilizing a data driven approach to transform information into a meaningful resource and tool for the enhancement of health outcomes. Outside of work, Kati volunteers her time as a member of the Board of Directors for United Way of Northern New York.

Jennifer Dishaw, Chief of Staff
As Chief of Staff, Jennifer is directly responsible for managing the day-to-day priorities for the Executive Leadership Team.  In addition to her duties related to the Executive Team, Jennifer has management oversight of Information Technology, Electronic Health Record and Revenue Cycle Management.  Prior to becoming Chief of Staff in 2019, Jennifer led a major initiative to modernize Citizen Advocates’ Electronic Medical Record system, known as NetSmart.  Jennifer is familiar with the billing aspects of healthcare delivery, having managed the Billing Department for 11 years.

Marc Gitlitz, Chair
Dallas Sutton, Treasurer
Felix Tam, Secretary
Nance Arquiett
Nicholas Eells
Loretta Fowler
Paul Goodrow
Rebecca Preve
Susan Lawson (Board Member Emeritus)
Linda Ventura (Board Member Emeritus)