Levounis Chosen APA’s Next President-Elect
Abstract
APA’s next president-elect has a deep background in administrative leadership roles, understanding of professional organizations, a passion for teaching and mentoring, and personal experience with discrimination and stigma.
Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A. (left), will become president-elect of APA at the end of APA’s Annual Meeting in May, when Rebecca W. Brendel, M.D., J.D., becomes president.
APA’s voting members have elected Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A., of New York City to become APA’s next president-elect. He ran against James B. (“Jimmy”) Potash, M.D., of Baltimore.
Levounis is professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and associate dean for professional development at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He is also the chief of service at University Hospital in Newark, N.J. He came to Rutgers from Columbia University, where he served as director of the Addiction Institute of New York from 2002 to 2013. In addition, he has held numerous leadership positions within APA and other national organizations. He serves on the Psychiatric News Editorial Advisory Board and served as vice chair of the APA Publishing Editorial Board and member and vice chair of the Council on Addiction. In 2017, he was elected as an honorary member of the World Psychiatric Association. Levounis is the author of numerous books, including 11 books published by APA Publishing. He is the first openly gay psychiatrist elected to the APA presidency.
“I am honored and grateful to have been elected by my fellow members to help lead APA,” Levounis said. “I look forward to helping build APA’s leadership role in mental health both within American medicine and in collaboration with our colleagues across the world.”
Among Levounis’ priorities as APA president, is to capitalize on this unique moment when people’s awareness of and interest in mental health is at its highest. To achieve this goal, he plans to do the following:
Expand the workforce through building more residencies and developing innovative career pathways for young psychiatrists.
Fight for parity in reimbursement of clinical services on par with other medical specialties.
Amplify the psychiatrist’s voice on critical social issues, such as systemic racism, homophobia, and climate change.
“Dr. Levounis’ leadership and commitment will greatly benefit APA,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. “APA members and the profession of psychiatry will be well served by his guidance and leadership. I also want to personally congratulate all the winners and to salute the other candidates.”
The race for treasurer, which has a two-year term, was up for election this cycle. Richard F. Summers, M.D., of Bryn Mawr, Pa., defeated C. Freeman, M.D., M.B.A., of Marina Del Rey, Calif.
In the race for trustee-at-large, Michele Reid, M.D., of Novi, Mich., emerged the winner. Her opponent was Samuel O. Okpaku, M.D., Ph.D., of Nashville, Tenn. The term for trustee-at-large is two years.
Two of APA’s seven geographic Areas voted for their trustee in this cycle. Area trustees hold three-year terms.
In the race for Area 3 trustee, Geetha Jayaram, M.B.B.S., M.B.A., of Marriottsville, Md., defeated Kenneth M. Certa, M.D., of Philadelphia and Mark S. Komrad, M.D., of Towson, Md.
The winner of the Area 6 trustee race was Barbara Yates Weissman, M.D., of San Mateo, Calif. She defeated Shannon Suo, M.D., of El Dorado Hills, Calif., and Mary Ann Schaepper, M.D., Med., of Redlands, Calif.
The winner of the race for resident-fellow member trustee was Seth L. Daly Stennis, M.D., of Cambridge, Mass. His opponents were Mary-Anne Hennen, M.D., of Old Bridge, N.J., and Faiz Kidwai, D.O., M.P.H., of Syracuse, N.Y.
Stennis will serve for a year in the RFM trustee-elect position and then rotate into the RFM trustee position.
“Congratulations to Dr. Levounis and the other candidates on their election,” said APA President Vivian B. Pender, M.D. “I look forward to working with these enthusiastic and dedicated newly elected APA leaders in the coming years to advance the important efforts of the APA and its members.”
Election results were approved by the Tellers Committee in February, but the results are not official until after the Board of Trustees reviews them at its meeting this month. All of the winning candidates will assume their positions on the Board at the close of APA’s Annual Meeting in May.
Complete results, including vote counts for each of the races, are posted here. ■
