10/27/2026
We are proud to announce our that Behavioral Health Director, Meghan Fry, MA, CMHC, is this year's recipient of the Leon Povey Lifetime Achievement Award from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services!
For nearly 30 years, Meghan Fry has dedicated her career to serving the underrepresented populations of Salt Lake County, with a particular focus on individuals experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders, severe mental illness, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Throughout her career, she has exemplified compassionate leadership, clinical excellence, unwavering ethical standards, and a steadfast commitment to ensuring every individual has access to high-quality behavioral health and substance use treatment. Her lifelong dedication has improved countless lives while helping shape Utah's public behavioral health system.
Meghan spent the first two decades of her career with Volunteers of America, Utah (VOAUT), where she served in a variety of increasingly responsible clinical and leadership roles. Early in her career, she directed the Center for Women & Children, a social detoxification program that provided a safe environment for women beginning their recovery journey. She later managed the Assertive Community Outreach Team (ACOT), an intensive, multidisciplinary program that delivered wraparound services to individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and complex behavioral health conditions. These experiences reinforced her belief that recovery requires compassionate, person-centered care that addresses the whole individual, not just addiction.
Committed to expanding her clinical expertise, Meghan earned a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Phoenix while continuing her work in the community. After becoming a Clinical Mental Health Counselor, she joined VOAUT's Cornerstone Counseling Center, where she specialized in treating adults with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions. Her exceptional clinical skills and collaborative leadership led to her promotion as Division Director of Treatment Services, overseeing both Cornerstone Counseling Center and Family Counseling Center. In this role, she was responsible for the clinical and operational oversight of comprehensive outpatient behavioral health and substance use treatment services, ensuring thousands of Utahns received coordinated, evidence-based care.
In 2022, Meghan brought her expertise to Fourth Street Clinic as Behavioral Health Director. Today, she leads the clinic's integrated behavioral health program, working alongside primary care providers, psychiatrists, case managers, and outreach teams to ensure patients experiencing homelessness receive seamless, whole-person care. She is passionate about integrating behavioral health into primary care settings, recognizing that individuals living with homelessness often face overlapping challenges of addiction, trauma, chronic disease, and mental illness. Her leadership has strengthened care coordination, expanded access to treatment, and improved outcomes for some of Utah's most vulnerable residents.
Throughout her career, Meghan has been a tireless advocate for populations that have historically experienced barriers to care. She is deeply committed to serving individuals experiencing homelessness, those in recovery from substance use disorders, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. From 2018 through 2024, she also maintained a private psychotherapy practice dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ individuals, creating an affirming environment where clients could receive compassionate, culturally responsive mental health care. In recognition of her impact, she was voted "Most Fabulous Counselor" by the readers of Q Salt Lake Magazine, reflecting the trust and respect she has earned within Utah's LGBTQ+ community.
Equally important is Meghan's commitment to developing others. She is a gifted mentor who invests in emerging clinicians, supervisors, and managers, helping them build confidence, strengthen their clinical judgment, and become compassionate leaders themselves. She believes that strong teams create better outcomes for patients and has spent her career fostering collaborative, trauma-informed workplace cultures grounded in respect, accountability, and continuous learning.
Colleagues consistently describe Meghan as a leader who leads by example. She approaches every patient, employee, and community partner with integrity, humility, and compassion. Whether guiding an individual through recovery, mentoring a new clinician, or leading organizational change, she consistently demonstrates the highest ethical standards and an unwavering commitment to doing what is right for the people she serves.
Few professionals have contributed as broadly or as consistently to Utah's substance use treatment and behavioral health systems. Over the course of nearly 30 years, Meghan has led detoxification services, intensive outreach for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, outpatient substance use treatment programs, integrated behavioral health services, and multidisciplinary clinical teams. Her influence extends far beyond the organizations she has served through the many clinicians she has mentored, the systems she has strengthened, and the thousands of individuals whose lives have been transformed through her care and leadership.
Meghan's enduring commitment to prevention, treatment, recovery, and wellness, her visionary leadership, her uncompromising ethical standards, and her lifelong dedication to Utah's most vulnerable residents have left an indelible mark on the state's behavioral health and substance use treatment community. She is exceptionally deserving of this distinguished recognition.
Congratulations, Meghan!
