County of San Luis Obispo Behavioral Health Director Announces Retirement

Author: Behavioral Health
Date: 1/20/2026 8:40 AM

Dr. Star Graber, Ph.D., LMFT, will be retiring this Spring after serving SLO County for 39 years.

Dr. Graber has served the County of San Luis Obispo for 39 years and held her current role as Behavioral Health Director since August 2023. In her role as Director, Graber oversees nearly 300 staff within six divisions across twelve regional clinics that provide services for uninsured and Medi-Cal beneficiaries with behavioral health conditions.Under Graber's direction she has helped navigate SLO County through the State's Behavioral Health Transformation as well as changes to the departments' policies, programs, and nearly $125M annual budget which supports numerous local non-profits and services both in-County and throughout the State of California.

Dr. Graber is responsible for developing and implementing Behavioral Health's Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System, the County's Medication Assisted Treatment program, and the Adult and Family Drug Treatment Court programs that have led hundreds of community members and their families with fresh starts and recovery. She also serves as an Addiction Studies instructor at Cuesta College and is well known across the state and federal levels as a leading Drug and Alcohol Treatment expert.

"Dr. Graber's leadership and expertise have been instrumental in strengthening and expanding behavioral health services throughout San Luis Obispo County," said Nick Drews, Health Agency Director. "Her work has always been rooted in compassion, and her legacy is one of healing, trust, and genuine care. We're incredibly grateful for her nearly four decades of service."

Graber's time at Behavioral Health started in 1986 when she served as an Alcohol Services Counselor conducting treatment, classes, and training with adults, children and families affected by substance use disorders. From there she spent several years as a Drug and Alcohol Services Program Coordinator, overseeing the Department's Driving Under the Influence program before promoting to Drug and Alcohol Services Prevention Program Supervisor, then Clinical Program Supervisor. Soon after Graber began her role as Behavioral Health Division Manager, she spent nearly 40 years procuring millions of dollars in grant funding (both at the federal and state levels) to support innovative substance use prevention, treatment, and co-occurring disorder treatment programs in SLO County. Her mantras for continued quality improvements for the County's Behavioral Health Department as the Director has been "beds, beds, beds" and a passion for integrated co-occurring disorders treatment, providing both mental health and substance use disorder care concurrently for the benefit of the individuals.

Dr. Graber earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from University of Oregon and holds both a Master's of Counseling from Cal Poly and a Ph.D. in Psychology from California Coast University. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist.