David C. Nissen, MBA, FACHE – VP and Managing Director

Mr. Nissen received his B.S. in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia and his M.B.A. from Averett College (Virginia). He is Board Certified in Healthcare Management and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Mr. Nissen began his career in the industry in 1986 while working his way through college as a night shift mental health technician at a psychiatric hospital in Athens, GA. Over the years, he has worked in virtually every aspect of hospital operations, both clinical and administrative. His roles have included mental health technician, milieu manager, intake counselor, certified substance abuse counselor, community relations representative, Director of Intake/Admissions, Program Manager, Director of Marketing and Business Development, and Chief Executive Officer.

He has held key leadership or executive roles in hospitals of varying size, in large companies and smaller organizations. Since these leadership roles were in a variety of cities, Mr. Nissen developed critical strategic planning skills required to assess the unique marketplace and implement strategies to improve the landscape of behavioral healthcare within the system. His goal has always been to focus on long term improvement rather than on short term gain.

Prior to co-founding Pasadena Villa®, Mr. Nissen was an independent healthcare consultant, and helped form and start-up a major specialty behavioral healthcare organization in Florida, as well as organized a charter school within that organization. Mr. Nissen is also co-founder of Renaissance Health Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 charitable organization whose mission is to improve access to quality behavioral healthcare services for those in need.