Miskimen Rivera Chosen APA’s Next President-Elect
Abstract
APA’s next president-elect is a former speaker of the APA Assembly and long-time public sector psychiatrist who has focused on improving access and delivery of psychiatric care to bilingual and bicultural communities.
APA’s voting members have elected Theresa M. Miskimen Rivera, M.D., of Millstone Township, N.J., as APA’s next president-elect. She ran against Michele Reid, M.D., of Novi, Mich., who is currently APA’s trustee-at-large.
Theresa M. Miskimen Rivera, M.D., will become president-elect of APA at the end of APA’s Annual Meeting in May, when Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D., Dr.Med.Sc., becomes president.
Miskimen Rivera is chair and medical director of the Department of Psychiatry at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, N.J. She has worked for over 30 years in public sector clinical practices that have centered on improving access and delivery of psychiatric care to bilingual and bicultural communities and developing and implementing intercultural clinical programs. She has held appointed positions under the three past governors of the state of New Jersey to address mental health issues spanning the intersection of technology and the delivery of psychiatric care, mental health in university settings, and youth suicide prevention.
Miskimen Rivera has been active in regional and national leadership roles within APA, including president of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association, speaker of the APA Assembly, member of the APA Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, and vice chair of the Joint Reference Committee. She chaired the APA Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Workgroup on Insurance and has contributed to many others. She is a past secretary general of the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry and was an advisor and presenter to the internationally recognized “Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics” project.
“Our profession faces multiple challenges,” Miskimen said. “We need a cohesive, actionable, multi-year strategy to enact effective and permanent change. As president, I will focus on the workforce challenges facing psychiatry, with the ultimate goal being to reverse these challenges, enabling greater fulfillment in our practices and achieving better patient outcomes.”
Among Miskimen’s priorities when she assumes the presidency in May 2025 are the following:
Champion psychiatrist-led multidisciplinary team-based care.
Leverage academic centers to explore and improve innovative ways to expand access, including integrated health care models.
Advocate to retain telepsychiatry services.
Promote diversity-enhancing interdisciplinary programs such as the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Women’s Wellness Through Equity and Leadership program.
Other Election Results
The race for treasurer, which has a two-year term, was up for election this cycle. Steve Koh, M.D. M.P.H., M.B.A., of San Diego outpolled Cheryl D. Wills, M.D., of Cleveland. Wills is the current Area 4 trustee.
In the race for trustee-at-large, Patricia Westmoreland, M.D., of Denver emerged the winner. Her opponent was Farha Abbasi, M.D., of Lansing, Mich. The term of office is two years.
Sudhakar K. Shenoy, M.D., of Chicago won the race for early career psychiatrist trustee. He defeated Muhammad Zeshan, M.D., of Princeton, N.J. The term of office is three years.
Three of APA’s seven geographic Areas voted for their trustee in this cycle. Area trustees hold three-year terms.
In the race for Area 1 trustee, John C. Bradley, M.D., of Hingham, Mass., defeated Manuel (Manny) Pacheco, M.D., of West Somerville, Mass. In Area 4 Dionne Hart, M.D., of Rochester, Minn., outpolled Suzanne J. Sampang, M.D., of Cincinnati. In Area 7, Mary Hasbah Roessel, M.D., of Santa Fe, N.M., ran unopposed for a second term.
The winner of the race for resident-fellow member trustee-elect was Nicolas K. Fletcher, M.D., M.H.S.A. of Grand Rapids, Mich. His opponent was Alexander W. Luo, M.D., M.B.S., of West Hartford, Conn.
“Congratulations to everyone who has been elected to APA’s Board of Trustees,” said APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A. “I look forward to working with all of you to lead APA’s critical efforts as we continue to innovate, advocate, and research on behalf of the doctors who serve millions of patients and families with substance use and other psychiatric disorders.”
“I’m so pleased for Dr. Miskimen, a longtime colleague and friend of the APA, to become our president,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A. “With her long track record of leadership throughout the organization and in her home state, she is a proven leader and will bring much experience to her year as president.”
The winning candidates will assume their positions on the Board at the close of APA’s 2024 Annual Meeting in May. ■
