APA Presidential Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry

Cheryl D. Wills, M.D., DFAPA Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University and Director of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatric Services, University Hospitals of Cleveland Services | Task Force Chair | APA Board Area 4 Trustee

Cheryl D. Wills, M.D., DFAPA, is Director of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatric Services at University Hospitals of Cleveland and is on the faculty at Case Western Reserve University. Her interests include community and correctional psychiatry. She has consulted to the U.S. Department of Justice, Southern Center for Human Rights and other human rights organizations to improve psychiatric service delivery to youths and adults, who are disproportionately racial and ethnic minorities, who are confined in jails and prisons.

She serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and has been appointed to serve on the Finance and Budget Committed by three consecutive APA presidents. She has coauthored treatment guidelines with the APA Guideline Writing Group. She is a member of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law and represented the organization in the APA Assembly. Also, she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Her publications focus on forensic and clinical aspects of psychiatric practice.

Dr. Wills teaches locally and nationally on matters pertaining to mental health and law. Her skillset makes her an effective advocate the profession and an effective consultant to healthcare professionals, medical boards, legislators, and attorneys.

Renée Binder, M.D. Professor and Director of Psychiatry and Law Program and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine | Task Force Member | Past President, American Psychiatric Association

Dr. Renee Binder is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, the Founding Director of the Psychiatry and Law Program and Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. She is also a Past President of the American Psychiatric Association.

During her APA Presidential year, Dr. Binder focused on advocacy for decriminalization of persons with mental illness. She has devoted her career to studying the clinical and legal aspects of the relationship between violence and mental illness and has published over 120 articles on this topic. She also has conducted and published research related to diversion/problem solving courts, homelessness, and CIT training for law enforcement.

Dr. Binder served as an APA Congressional Health Policy Fellow in the U.S. Senate and hopes to be able to be a resource to the task force in the area of effective advocacy. She also has a 2018 certificate from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in "Innovative Health Care Leadership" and hopes to be a resource to the task force in terms of how to effect changes in organizations. Dr. Binder has been an Associate Dean for Affairs at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine since 2004 and has been an active participant in making UCSF one of the most diverse and inclusive medical schools and academic environments in the U.S.

Frank A. Clark, M.D., F.P.A. Medical Director and Division Chief for Adult Inpatient & CL Services, PRISMA-Health | Task Force Member

Dr. Frank Clark is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Prisma Health-Upstate and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Monmouth College in Illinois and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University. He then completed his residency in general psychiatry at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine/Palmetto Richland Hospital in Columbia, SC. He is a former APA/APAF SAMHSA Fellow.

In addition to his psychiatric practice, Dr. Clark has held many leadership positions in national organizations. He served on the American Medical Association (AMA) Minority Affairs Section Governing Council for seven years in multiple roles including chair and on the AMA Health Equity Task Force, which led to the creation of the AMA Center for Health Equity. Dr. Clark authored a book chapter in "Black Mental Health" on workforce diversity and was recently appointed to the Clemson University Center for Research on Health Disparity Executive Advisory Board. Locally, he serves on the board of directors for NAMI and Mental Health America. He has presented on various topics related to health equity, interplay between faith communities and mental health, workforce diversity, micro-aggressions, and the social determinants of mental health.

Dr. Clark has a strong passion for medical missions' work and has traveled to numerous countries including Zambia, Ireland, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Canada, and Haiti to serve others medically and spiritually.

Charles C. Dike, FRCPsych, MBChB, M.P.H. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and Chief Medical Officer, Office of the Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services | Task Force Member | Former Vice Chair, APA Ethics Committee | Member, APA Workgroup on Position Statement Racism in the Psychiatric Workplace

Dr. Charles Dike is founding and current Chair of the Diversity Committee of AAPL, a longstanding member of AAPL's Human Rights and National Security Committee, and a mentor to residents and fellows of color via Yale's Solomon Carter Fuller Association and Minority Organization for Retention and Expansion.

Dr. Dike is a past president of Connecticut Psychiatric Society, a Distinguished Fellow of American Psychiatric Association (DFAPA), a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of England (FRCPsych), and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). He was Vice Chair of the Ethics Committee of the APA, Vice President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), past Editor of the Newsletter of AAPL, former Chair of the Ethics Committee of AAPL and current Chair of Ethics Committee at Connecticut Psychiatric Society and Yale University (Connecticut Mental Health Center).

Dr. Dike completed medical school at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and psychiatry residency at All Birmingham Hospitals Psychiatric Training Scheme in Birmingham, England, University of Illinois at Chicago, and fellowship training in Law and Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. He obtained a Diploma in Clinical Psychiatry (DCP) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ireland and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Mary Jo Fitz-Gerald, M.D., M.B.A., DLFAPA, FACLP, FACP Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Director of Inpatient Services at Louisiana State University Health, Shreveport | Task Force Member | Board of Trustee Member | APA Assembly Speaker-Elect

Dr. Fitz-Gerald is a board-certified psychiatrist, professor of clinical services in psychiatry and anesthesiology and Director of Inpatient Services at Louisiana State University Health, Shreveport. Previously she served as Residency Training Director and Vice-Chair for Psychiatry Education for over 20 years. Dr. Fitz-Gerald is a Distinguished Life Fellow of APA and has been an active member of APA's Assembly for more than 10 years. She has served as the Assembly Representative for the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association and as the Recorder for the Assembly.

Dr. Fitzgerald believes that acknowledgement, awareness, and education are the first steps to take in tackling systemic racism and is especially interested in the effect of racism on our seriously mentally ill patient population. She aims to take action to improve the diversity of APA's Assembly and to understand such issues as drug studies and underserved minorities, inadvertent racism in patient care. Dr. Fitz-Gerald received her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport. Three out of four of Dr. Fitz-Gerald's children are in medicine, of which one is a PGY4 resident in psychiatry.

Danielle Hairston, M.D. Psychiatry Residency Training Director, Howard University School of Medicine | Task Force Member | President, APA Black Caucus

Dr. Hairston was raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She attended Rutgers University for her undergraduate education and earned a degree in Biological Sciences. She earned her medical degree at Howard University College of Medicine. Dr. Hairston was Chief Resident for the Department of Psychiatry at Howard University Hospital, where she completed her general psychiatry residency. She went on to become faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, in Baltimore, Md., where she also completed Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship. In 2018, Dr. Hairston returned to Howard University College of Medicine as faculty and was recently appointed as the Psychiatry Residency Training Director. She is also a member of the department's newly formed Curriculum Task Force.

Dr. Hairston has served as the Black Psychiatrists of America (BPA) Scientific Program Chair since 2016. She is also APA's Black Caucus' Early Career Representative. Dr. Hairston has also had the opportunity to speak nationally and internationally about the impact of racial trauma and culture on mental health. She is a contributing author to the recently published book, Racism and Psychiatry: Contemporary Issues and Interventions. Her interests include consultation-liaison psychiatry, resident education, minority mental health, cultural psychiatry, and collaborative care.

Hunter L. McQuistion, M.D., DLFAPA Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York University Grossman School of Medicine | Task Force Member | APA Distinguished Fellow

Dr. McQuistion is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine and the NYU Langone Health and Director of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at NYC Health+Hospitals. In addition, Dr. McQuistion is Gouverneur of Gotham Health, a flagship facility of one of the largest federally qualified health centers in the country and a center that excels in working with multicultural populations.

Previously, he was Chief of Outpatient and Community Psychiatry at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital, Chief Medical Officer for Mental Hygiene Services at the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, and Medical Director of Project Renewal, Inc., a New York City nonprofit offering comprehensive care for disabled homeless adults.

After receiving psychiatric training at NYU-Bellevue Medical Center, where he was chief resident, he completed the Fellowship in Public Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University. He has published, presented, mentored, and taught on issues in community mental health and the care of underserved populations, especially as they concern advocacy, clinical engagement, psychiatric rehabilitation, substance misuse, and criminal justice. He is a Past President of the American Association or Community Psychiatry, is a recipient of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Exemplary Psychiatrist Award and a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. McQuistion is also the senior editor of The Handbook of Community Psychiatry (Springer, 2012).

Dr. McQuistion has extensive experience as a clinician and in managing systems for people who are mentally ill and have substance abuse problems, practicing in emergency departments, inpatient and outpatient environments, shelter-based therapeutic communities, housing programs, and street outreach. In addition to private practice, he offers educational and program planning consultation in behavioral health system management and clinical technique.

Michele Reid, M.D., DLFAPA, FACPsych Clinical Assistant Professor Wayne State University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences l Chief Medical Officer, CNS Healthcare | Task Force Member | APA Trustee-At-Large Board Member

Dr. Reid is a general adult psychiatrist who has worked with underserved populations in community mental health settings for her entire career. She is Chief Medical Officer at CNS Healthcare, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, and is Vice-Chair of the Board at Northeast Integrated Health, a Community Mental Health Center in Detroit, MI.

Dr. Reid is member of the APA Black Caucus and has previously served as an APA NIMH Minority Fellow, Chair of the APA Committee of Black Psychiatrists and a member of the APA Council on Minority Mental Health and Health Disparities. She has served on the APA Assembly as a Area 4 representative for the Michigan Psychiatric Society and on the Reference Committee on Diversity and Health Disparities. She is a past president of the Michigan Psychiatric Society. Dr. Reid is a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists and is the vice-chair of the Committee on Diversity and Meaningful Inclusion. She is also a member of the Black Psychiatrists of America, Association of Women Psychiatrists, and the American Association of Community Psychiatrists.

Dr. Reid is a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is also a member of the ABPN Ethics and Professionalism Committee. She completed her undergraduate studies at Fisk University and medical school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. Dr. Reid completed her psychiatric residency at Wayne State University at the Detroit Psychiatric Institute where she also served as chief resident.

Dr. Reid's passion and career focus has been providing and improving integrated healthcare services to underserved populations with chronic mental illness, general medical conditions, and substance use disorders.

Steven Starks, M.D., FAPA Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Houston College of Medicine | Task Force Member | Representative to the APA Assembly for the Caucus of Black Psychiatrists | Chair-elect of the Assembly Committee of Representatives of Minority/Underrepresented Groups

Dr. Starks completed formal training in both health equity and health policy. As a 2011-2013 APA Diversity Leadership Fellow, he proposed the resolution which affirmed the Association's commitment to promoting diversity and eliminating disparities in mental health through continued financial support of this fellowship program after it lost external funding. In 2014-2015, he served on the Board of Trustees' Ad Hoc Work Group on Strategic Planning as it sought to prioritize its strategy to engage diverse, underrepresented and underserved populations. As a 2018-2019 Health and Aging Policy Fellow and American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow, he worked in the Office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (116th Congress) and contributed to the design, drafting and roll out of H.R. 3., The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, the first comprehensive policy proposal to empower the Secretary of Health and Human Services to directly negotiate the price of prescription drugs.

Dr. Starks earned his medical degree from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and was recognized with the dean's award at commencement. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine Affiliated Hospitals and clinical fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Medical Center. He is a diplomate of the American Board and Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. with certifications in the specialty of psychiatry and the subspecialty of geriatric psychiatry. Since he joined APA in 2006, some of his various roles have included service as regional Co-Chair of the Psychiatry Student Interest Group Network, advisor for the APA/APAF Fellowship Mentorship Program, advisor and mentor for the Black Men in Psychiatry Early Pipeline Program, facilitator of the National Minority Mentors Network Breakfast and membership and consultative work on our councils.

Richard F. Summers, M.D. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Senior Residency Advisor, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine | Task Force Member | Treasurer, APA Board of Trustees

Dr. Summers is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He served as Trustee-at-Large on the Board of Trustees of APA from 2016-2020. He was Chair of APA's Committee on Psychiatrist Wellbeing and Burnout from 2018-2020, and previously served as Chair of APA's Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning from 2013-2016. He chaired APA's Board of Trustees Ad-Hoc Workgroup on Education and Training in 2014 and the Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Workgroup on Psychiatrist Well-being and Burnout in 2017. He was Chair of APA's Positive Psychiatry Caucus from 2017-2019. He received a Presidential Commendation from the Association in 2018.

Dr. Summers is a nationally recognized educator, author and clinician. He served the on ACGME Psychiatry Residency Review Committee from 2014-2020 and is a Past President of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training (AADPRT). He is a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. Dr. Summers received a B.A. from Harvard College in 1979, graduating magna cum laude in sociology, and an M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Following psychiatry residency at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital, Dr. Summers completed psychoanalytic training at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia, on whose faculty he currently serves.

Sanya Virani, M.D., M.P.H. Addiction Psychiatry Fellow, Yale School of Medicine | Task Force Member | Resident-Fellow Member (RFM) Trustee Elect and Trustee

Dr. Virani is a PGY5 Addiction Psychiatry Fellow at Yale School of Medicine. She served as the Chief Resident of Education and Research at Maimonides Medical Center, NY (2019-2020). Dr. Virani was the APA Area 2 (New York) and Brooklyn Psychiatric Society RFM Representative. Dr. Virani received her Bachelors of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS/MD) from the K.J. Somaiya Medical College and Research Center in Mumbai, India and a Master's in Public Health (MPH), Administration and Policy from the University of Minnesota as a Division Scholar/Aga Khan Foundation International Scholar. Her research interests are in the areas of digital psychiatry, health services and policy research.

Dr. Virani's work has received national acclaim: the five-year Resident Census is on APA's website, and her article on the history and process of legalization of marijuana made its way to the national podcast of Psychiatric Services. She has brought a range of projects to fruition, most notable among which are a simulation training module for all residents to manage agitated patients and "Code White," a Maimonides Medical Center-wide protocol to manage patients presenting to the Emergency Room with different levels and etiologies of agitation. Over the past two years, she acquired research experience in Digital Psychiatry (through apps developed at Harvard University) and also remained involved in the hospital-wide Clinical Informatics Committee. She has taken up several leadership roles: Resident Safety and Quality Council Representative and CIR Delegate and has been awarded by the ASCP, AAAP and Telluride Safety Initiative to attend and participate in workshops and conferences. Dr. Virani will be pursuing a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at Brown University next year (2021-2022).