The APA BOT Structural Racism Accountability Committee (SRAC) was formed in 2021 to ensure the recommendations of the 2020-2021 APA Presidential Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry (TFSR) are carried out.

APA’s Board of Trustees (BOT) approved 18 actions recommended by the TFSR along with six directives on issues that need to be updated and monitored by the SRAC. The SRAC will evaluate their success, make recommendations for improvements, and accomplish the other objectives that were noted in the final task force report (.pdf).

Charge of the SRAC

On May 17, 2021, The Board of Trustees voted to establish a Board Committee to continue the work of the Task Force on Structural Racism. The committee will consist of Board members that will be initially responsible for ensuring that the Task Force recommendations are carried out, evaluate their success, make recommendations for improvements, and accomplish the other objectives listed at the end of the attached document.

The Committee will report to the Board at each Board meeting and have the ability to reach out to other members who have expertise in the area or consultants as needed to accomplish the objectives.

The Committee’s tasks may expand as the stated objectives are accomplished. The committee is comprised of Board members who can commit the time needed to do the work well and includes members who were not involved in the Task Force or on the Ad Hoc Work Group on Governance so that the entire Board is deeply invested in the projects.

SRAC Membership

Chair

• Kamalika Roy, M.D., M.C.R. – Community Engagement and Access Trustee
  2023–2027

Members

• Amir Ahuja, M.D., FAPA – Chair, Council on Minority Mental Health and Health Disparities 2025–2026
• Oluwole Babatunde, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. – General Member 2025–2028
• Ruby Castilla-Puentes, M.D., Dr.P.H., M.B.A., FAPA – General Member 2023–2026
• Fiona Fonseca, M.D. – General Member (Early-Career Psychiatrist) 2023–2026
• Tanuja Gandhi, M.D., FAPA – Chair, Membership Committee 2025–2026
• R. Gogineni, M.D., DLFAPA – General Member 2025–2028
• Ray C. Hsiao, M.D. – Assembly Speaker-Elect 2025–2026
• Poojajeet Khaira, M.D. – Chair, Assembly Committee on Resident-Fellow 2025-2026
• Mark Rapaport, M.D., DLFAPA – President-Elect 2025–2026
• Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D., D.Sc., DLFAPA – Immediate-Past President 2025–2026
• vacant – General District Branch Executive 2026

Administrative Liaisons

• Regina James, M.D.
• Gabriel Escontrías, Jr., Ed.D.

SRAC Reports

• SRAC Report to the Board of Trustees, March 2024 (.pdf) This document is the SRAC’s report to APA’s Board of Trustees, detailing its work as of March 2024.
• SRAC Report to the Board of Trustees, December 2023 (.pdf) This document is the SRAC’s report to APA’s Board of Trustees, detailing its work as of December 2023.
• SRAC Report to the Board of Trustees, April 24, 2023 (.pdf) This document is the SRAC’s report to APA’s Board of Trustees, detailing its work as of April 2023.
• September 2022 - Action Progress Dashboard (.pdf) This document tracks the progress of the Board of Trustees approved actions, as of September 2022.
• SRAC Report to the Board of Trustees, March 12, 2022 (.pdf) This document is the SRAC’s report to APA’s Board of Trustees, detailing its work as of March 2022.
• SRAC Report to the Board of Trustees, December 11, 2021 (.pdf) This document is the SRAC’s report to APA’s Board of Trustees, detailing its work as of December 2021.
• SRAC Report to the Board of Trustees, October 16, 2021 (.pdf) This document is the SRAC’s report to APA’s Board of Trustees, detailing its work as of October 2021.

Outcomes

• February 2023 - “APA Presidents’ M/UR Workgroup Report” is presented to the Board of Trustees and on March 2023 the Board of Trustees voted to accept the report of the M/UR Definition Workgroup and referred to the SRAC for their follow-up and action/recommendations consistent with its findings.
• October 2021 - Reporting for Incidents of Racism within the APA (Member Login Required) APA/APAF Fellows created an online form for APA members and employees to report incidents of racism or discrimination that they witnessed or were subjected to during an APA event or on APA property. APA will report these events quarterly; reports will not mention names or identifying information, but APA will use the information to create educational materials on racism, discrimination, anti-racism, and professionalism. Access the online reporting form (members login required).
• October 2021 - Online Resources on Structural Racism in Psychiatry for Medical Students & Trainees in Psychiatry Drs. Badr Ratnakaran, (APA/APAF Leadership Fellow), Dhruv Gupta, (APA/APAF Diversity Leadership Fellow), Weei LoAllen, (APA/APAF Public Psychiatry Fellow), and Charles Dike (Member, APA Task Force on Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry) compiled a list of online resources as an introduction to understanding structural racism in psychiatry. To access the Primer, visit the SRTF page and expand the section titled “Online Resources for Medical Students and Trainees."
• June 2021 - Indigenous Peoples Psychiatric News Article Series A workgroup of APA’s Task Force on Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry started an article series in Psychiatric News detailing the impact of structural racism on Indigenous Peoples. The first article of the series, titled “COVID-19 and Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders: A Historical Perspective." This is an ongoing series of four articles.

Psychiatric News Articles

• Board Acts on Busy Agenda (Sept. 17, 2021) Includes news about the formation of the formation of the Structural Racism Accountability Committee.
• COVID-19 and Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders: A Historical Perspective (June 24, 2021) Part of the Indigenous Peoples Psychiatric News article series.