Judy Fitzgerald was appointed Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) in 2016 and served in that position until November 2022. She had been with DBHDD since 2012, previously serving in the roles of Chief of Staff and Deputy Commissioner. Fitzgerald is a social worker with a career-long focus on behavioral health and public service delivery systems. Prior to joining DBHDD, she worked in a variety of health and human service settings. She served as Vice President of Strategy for View Point Health, one of Georgia’s twenty-five community service boards. She has also worked as a consultant on child and adolescent services in several states and was the Executive Director for the Mental Health Association of Georgia. Fitzgerald was privileged to begin her career in the Mental Health Program of The Carter Center, working for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on domestic and international advocacy and policy efforts to promote mental health and reduce the stigma of mental illness. Fitzgerald earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Georgia. She and her husband Tim Gould live in Cobb County with their two children, Abbie and Jack.