Denise Sulzbach, JD

Director of the TA Network and Assistant Extension Professor

Innovations Institute


Denise Sulzbach, JD is faculty and Director of the TA Network at Innovations Institute. She has over 25 years of experience providing training and technical assistance in numerous states and territories with expertise in systems of care, data-informed decision-making, care pathway planning, and use of data analytics to inform cross-agency behavioral health system design and implementation. From 2013 to 2020, she provided and oversaw the delivery of high-quality, outcome-based technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, and communities across the nation for two SAMHSA-funded children’s behavioral health technical assistance centers. As a former prosecutor with specialty in child abuse, sexual assault, and juvenile law, she has unique expertise in understanding the unmet cross-system needs of youth with complex behavioral health needs and their families. This expertise was expanded while serving as Deputy Secretary at the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services and other high-level Governor appointed positions, including Director of Systems of Care and Interagency Policy at the Maryland Governor’s Office for Children. She has authored numerous proposals, including successful Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) technical narratives, resulting in hundreds of millions in awards. Denise holds a JD from the University of Baltimore School of Law and a BA in sociology from Fairfield University.

Research Interests:

  • Mobile Response & Stabilization Services
  • 988 Design & Implementation
  • Systems Reform
  • Care Pathways
  • Implementation Science
Denise Sulzbach, JD
Contact Information
EmailDenise.sulzbach@uconn.edu