Brian W. Flynn, Ed.D., Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General in the U.S. Public Health Service, and director of Program Development, Special Populations and Projects Division at the Center for Mental Health Services, has enjoyed a diverse career for over 30 years. He began his career in 1969 as a teaching fellow at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. In 1970, he interned in Clinical Psychology at Wilson-Greene Mental Health Center, Wilson, N.C. From 1979 to 1981 Dr. Flynn was a lecturer at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.

Dr. Flynn served as deputy director and chief Psychologist for the Cuban/Haitian Mental Health Unit at the National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Md. from 1981 until 1984.

From 1984 - 1988, he served as Emergency Operations coordinator at the National Institute of Mental Health. Also at that time, he served as deputy chief of the Emergency Services Branch, and was selected for a special assignment to the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Dr. Flynn served on the Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate and make recommendations following the uprising of Cuban inmates at Atlanta Penitentiary.

Dr. Flynn was a Psychotherapist in private group practice located in Crofton, Md. from 1988 until 1993. In 1992, Dr. Flynn joined the Center for Mental Health Services as chief of the Emergency Services and Disaster Relief Branch.

Since January 1997, Dr. Flynn has served as the Emergency Coordinator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Dr. Flynn is a graduate North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, N.C. and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, Mass. His presentations and publications include articles on the effect disasters and acts of terrorism have on children and adults.