Levin to Step Down as CEO, Medical Director Next Year

APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., is stepping down from the position effective May 31, 2024.

In a statement to APA members on July 25, the Board of Trustees wrote, “Dr. Levin started his tenure as APA CEO and Medical Director in July of 2013, and since then has led APA with vision and care. Under his leadership, APA has rebranded, moved its headquarters back into the District of Columbia, and purchased its office space. He oversaw the establishment of APA’s PsychPRO mental health registry and the build out of APA’s Communications, Government Relations, Policy, and Diversity and Health Equity teams.

“We will celebrate these and many other of his accomplishments at the 2024 APA Annual Meeting in New York. Dr. Levin plans to remain active in global psychiatry and to become more invested in the World Psychiatric Association.”

In an email message to staff on the same day, Levin noted that he began his affiliation with APA 37 years ago as an APA/APAF Leadership Fellow. “Working with this organization and with the amazing staff has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my professional life,” he said. “Together we have made a difference for our members and for their patients.”

APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A., called Levin’s leadership over the past decade “transformative” and said APA is now a stronger organization. “He has been both visionary and pragmatic, and he leaves our organization with solid achievements,” Levounis said. “We are saddened to see him go, but we know that we can look forward to working with him closely as he becomes more engaged with the World Psychiatric Association.”

In comments to Psychiatric News, Levin reiterated his profound appreciation for the APA staff. “Staff here are truly dedicated to the mission and the vision of APA to take care of everyone who has a mental illness. There is a personal commitment to our mission that is extraordinary.”

He said the commitment of the staff is matched by the passion of APA’s members. “It has been so inspiring to me to work with our members, who are truly tireless in advocating for their patients. I have admired this about APA members since I became a Leadership Fellow in 1986.”

Levin cited the rebranding of APA as the organization dedicated to treating “mind, brain and body” and a new member-driven focus on customer service as among his most important accomplishments over the past decade. The rebranding had its most explicit expression when the image of Benjamin Rush, who is considered the father of American psychiatry and whose image had been associated with APA for decades, was replaced in 2015 by the image of the human brain and the Rod of Asclepius, the ancient Greek symbol of medicine. The rebranding also emphasized integrated care and collaboration with physicians in other disciplines.

“The world had changed, and I saw that APA needed to enter the 21st century with a more business-oriented focus on serving its members,” Levin told Psychiatric News. “And I wanted the public to see that as psychiatrists we are the medical experts in diseases of the brain.”

The purchase in 2018 of the APA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., after years of renting space across the river in Rosslyn, Va., was crucial, Levin said.

“We had enough in reserves to purchase our own office space, but some people said, ‘This is too grand,’ ” Levin said of the buildings’ location at the redeveloped and now fashionable Wharf in Southwest D.C., with the Capitol visible from its windows. “But I came to the job with a commitment to move APA back into Washington.”

He cherishes a memory from shortly after the move of three young adults who stopped by the building to have their picture taken with the APA name and logo in the background. “I knew then we had made the right decision,” Levin said. “Hundreds of thousands of people come through the Wharf every year and see the name of the American Psychiatric Association.”

Finally, Levin cited PsychPRO, APA’s federally qualified clinical data registry, as a landmark achievement of his tenure. “We knew that it would not be easy and would take time to build, and indeed that has been the case,” Levin said. “But we have six major health systems interested in joining, and when they do, they will be contributing enormous amounts of research data that will help psychiatrists and their patients.”

Levin has long been a member of the World Psychiatric Association and plans to be much more involved with the organization in coming years. And he plans to spend time with family in California and in Australia.

“Serving as CEO and Medical Director has been the job of a lifetime, but it’s time for new leadership. I look forward to staying close to APA members and staff and working with the new CEO.” ■