For more than 13 years, Dr. Preston Adams, D. P. Th., has dedicated his time and energy to supporting, advocating, and working for the mental well-being of others. Called by his faith, Dr. Adams joined the Board of Directors of Seminole Behavioral Healthcare in 2009. In 2014, Seminole Behavioral Healthcare, Lakeside Behavioral Healthcare, and The Center for Drug-Free Living merged to create Aspire Health Partners, Inc. Dr. Adams continued his faithful service as a member of the Board of Directors of the newly formed organization, now one of the largest behavioral health care companies in the Southeast. Since 2020, Dr. Adams has served as Aspire Health Partners’ – Board Chair, helping to lead it through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Dr. Adams is the first Black man to Chair the Aspire Health Partners Board of Directors. His insight into the personal challenges faced by individuals of color has helped Dr. Adams work to increase diversity among the members of the organization’s Board of Directors. This includes personally coordinating training and presentations for the company’s professional leaders in order to foster cultural competency.
Throughout this chapter of his personal and professional career, Dr. Adams has given unselfishly of his time and talents, sharing his knowledge, experience, and leadership with organizations dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with mental health, substance use and co-occurring disorders. Dr. Adams describes his leadership style as one of optimism of faith that leads to achievement.
In March of 2020, Aspire Health Partners confronted the same dilemma so many other health providers faced: How to continue providing essential health services during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when all healthcare providers faced rising costs and potentially huge reductions in revenue, Dr. Adams’s leadership set the tone for Aspire’s response to these obstacles. Instead of advocating for a conservative approach, Dr. Adams and the Board of Directors supported the organization’s investment in technology that would allow it to transition the company’s outpatient services to virtual tele-health platforms. As a result, the company went from providing 146 tele-health services in February 2020, to more than 4,426 in March 2020. At its peak, during the early months of the pandemic, Aspire Health Partners provided more than 23,490 tele-health services in one month. Dr. Adams and the Board of Directors also supported the agency and its commitment to keeping all acute care, in-patient, and residential services open throughout the pandemic. This ensured that essential, life-saving services remained open to those in need. By acknowledging and balancing both the risks presented by potential COVID-19 infections, and the need to continue providing critical services for those acute mental health and substance use disorders, Dr. Adams and the Board of Directors made sure that Aspire Health Partners exemplified the organization’s vision: Saving Lives. Transforming Communities. Changing the World.
In supporting Aspire Health Partners’ rapid development of a comprehensive tele-health delivery platform, Dr. Adams recognized the importance of innovation and flexibility amid challenging and uncertain times. His immediate actions were cautious regarding the unknown potential risks of the pandemic but enthusiastic and direct when pursuing new avenues to maintain Aspire’s response to the needs of the community. This kept Aspire Health Partners on the cutting edge of both pandemic response and excellent services. Dr. Adams lack of hesitation and willingness to explore new methods of delivering care encouraged Aspire to maintain swift action in the face of constantly changing community needs, allowing Aspire to emerge as a leader in pandemic response in both the local community and the larger community of behavioral health providers faced with the same complex choices.
In addition to his work at Aspire, Dr. Adams is the Founder and CEO of PAJ Help Ministries Inc., an online ministry in Lake Mary, Florida, and General Diversity Enterprises, LLC, providing diversity and marketing consultation for small businesses. Prior to starting his own ministry and consulting firm, Dr. Adams served as a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator in Family and Civil Court.
Dr. Adams also has an extensive background in Finance, Real Estate, Property Management and Construction. He has held multiple Finance positions in private business, local government and as a Professor at the University of Central Florida. His Real Estate, Property Management and Construction career has included work on multiple Pavilions at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center, as well as training and consulting with the Florida Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the City of Orlando.
Dr. Adams is and HBCU graduate from North Carolina Central University with a BS in Accounting and Economics. He holds an MBA from the University of Miami, where he was a Rockefeller Fellow, and a Doctorate of Practical Theology from Master’s International University of Divinity.
