![\"Colorado](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TDP-Z-DANNETTESMITH.jpg\")
Colorado Behavioral Health Administration Commissioner Dannette Smith (Photo courtesy of Behavioral Health Administration)<\/p>\nColorado Behavioral Health Administration Commissioner Dannette Smith (Photo courtesy of Behavioral Health Administration)<\/p>\n
At 9 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2024, a group of 25 leaders from Colorado\u2019s Behavioral Health Administration<\/a> gathered in a meeting room at the agency\u2019s headquarters near Cherry Creek for what was billed as a fireside chat.<\/p>\n The division head, Commissioner Dannette Smith, began by instructing everyone in the room to place their phones, computers and notepads to the side so they couldn\u2019t be accessed. She proceeded to read a series of notecards that the employees had written at the start of her tenure as commissioner, listing the goals and values they hoped she would bring to the role.<\/p>\n Smith expressed concern that a BHA calendar had been improperly shared with someone outside the agency, lamenting a violation of trust.<\/p>\n The commissioner then made reference to \u201ccutting their throats,\u201d which multiple attendees later told outside investigators that they interpreted as a direct threat.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like a scare tactic to be honest\u2026 it didn\u2019t feel violent like (she) would actually slit my throat,\u201d an unnamed employee told investigators, according to a report compiled by an outside law group, which detailed the meeting. \u201cIt was a turn of a phrase, but it was \u2018I will destroy you.’\u201d<\/p>\n The 2024 meeting and subsequent investigation, which have not been previously reported, illuminate the intense atmosphere and what many workers say was a toxic and unsafe workplace at the state agency under Smith\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n Nine current and former BHA staffers told The Denver Post that Smith fostered a chaotic and stressful work culture, which forced many people to seek other employment opportunities. The commissioner, several employees said, exhibited paranoid tendencies and managed through fear.<\/p>\n It became a dark, running joke in the office, several said: The state agency responsible for promoting mental well-being was tanking the psychological health\u00a0of many of its workers.<\/p>\n \u201cFor an agency that\u2019s supposed to direct mental health, if we can\u2019t maintain our own mental health, then we can\u2019t do what needs to be done for the citizens of the state,\u201d one current BHA worker told The Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.<\/p>\n As The Post was reporting this story, Gov. Jared Polis\u2019 office on Wednesday announced Smith\u2019s retirement from the cabinet-level position. Her last day is Feb. 27. \u201cShe was not asked to resign,\u201d Shelby Wieman, the governor\u2019s press secretary, said in an email.<\/p>\n Smith, through a BHA spokesperson, declined an interview request and did not address a list of questions from The Post.<\/p>\n In a statement, Smith said she\u2019s confident that her record has \u201creflected the progress achieved by the agencies I have led; the enduring professional relationships I\u2019ve cultivated with current and former staff, colleagues and community members (and) most importantly, the work carried out under my direction that I believe has improved the lives of individuals and families in Colorado and across the nation \u2014 speaks for itself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile no leader will ever please everyone, and public service inevitably brings differing opinions and scrutiny, I have consistently remained focused on acting in the best interests of the communities served and conducting myself with intention, integrity and professionalism,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n \u2018Who are the leaks in the ship?\u2019<\/p>\n The BHA was born out of a behavioral health task force<\/a> commissioned by Polis in 2019. The mission of the group was to evaluate and set the roadmap to improve the current behavioral health system in the state.<\/p>\n In 2021, Polis signed a bill<\/a> establishing the new Behavioral Health Administration. The goal: to streamline, coordinate and integrate mental health and substance use programs and funding under one government entity. The department officially opened its doors in 2022.<\/p>\n But the nascent agency experienced rapid turnover, pushed-back deadlines and a revision of its core mission, The Post reported in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Polis, just 15 months after standing up the department, fired its first commissioner, Dr. Morgan Medlock, without explanation.<\/p>\n Medlock later sued the state and several leaders, including Polis<\/a>, for allegedly firing her because of her race. The former commissioner, who is Black, alleged the head of the Colorado Department of Human Services treated her \u201cless favorably\u201d than non-Black members of the governor\u2019s cabinet, and that she was discriminated and retaliated against.<\/p>\n Following the tenure of an interim leader, Smith took the helm in February 2024 after five years running the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n Quickly, employees say they noticed a shift in work culture.<\/p>\n Smith was demanding from the onset, but workers felt the goalposts were constantly moving, current and former staffers told The Post. Several said leadership would give them projects to do, only to realize that other people had been given the same assignment. Some work would be deemed high priority and staffers would rush to complete it, only to see it languish without any action.<\/p>\n Those who worked closely with Smith came to realize that everything revolved around her whims, staffers said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was always, \u2018I don\u2019t care what you\u2019re doing; you will drop what you\u2019re doing and come talk to me,’\u201d one former employee said, speaking on the condition of anonymity since they still work in the industry.\n<\/p>\n Smith liked to use metaphors, which didn\u2019t always land with her subordinates. Early on, she said the BHA was like a baby in diapers and everyone was crawling around, staffers said. Smith, she said of herself, was the parent who needed to discipline the baby.<\/p>\n Many current and former workers who spoke to The Post said the atmosphere at work was always tense. One person said they could feel the air thicken when they came into the office. Another said they could tell Smith\u2019s mood based on how she walked in the office \u2014 her steps either light and airy or heavy stomps that indicated she was upset with something.<\/p>\n It was hard, staffers said, to get on Smith\u2019s good side.<\/p>\n \u201cI was honestly afraid and lived in fear every day for months,\u201d one former BHA employee said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they still work for the state and fear retribution. \u201cI went through professional hell.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Smith also displayed regular paranoia about her staff leaking information to the governor\u2019s office or the Department of Human Services, workers said. She was constantly worried that she was being recorded, staffers said, and questioned meeting attendees about what they were doing on their phones. \u201cWho are the leaks in the ship?\u201d Smith asked.<\/p>\n She set up meetings in which everyone sat in a half-circle so she could view the whole room at once. Multiple employees said she made people go one by one, verbally confirming to her that nothing said in the meeting would leave the room.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very paranoid, as opposed to building a culture of trust,\u201d one former employee said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they still work for the state and fear retaliation.\n<\/p>\n The fireside chat<\/p>\n These issues reached a boiling point during the November 2024 fireside chat.<\/p>\n After the comment about cutting people\u2019s throats, Smith told the group that they needed to call her the following morning to tell her whether they were \u201cin\u201d or if they were \u201cout,\u201d the investigative report states.<\/p>\n Shortly after the meeting, a worker filed a workplace violence incident report, outlining their concerns with Smith\u2019s language.<\/p>\n