CANDIDATES FOR TRUSTEE-AT-LARGE

Clinical: I oversee a multidisciplinary clinical operation with geropsychiatry outpatient clinics and an inpatient unit. Thanks to my wife, a child psychiatrist, I also have an appreciation of psychiatric issues of children and their parents. I have been listed in “The Best Doctors in America” and have received APA's Jack Weinberg Award for “special leadership in clinical practice, training, or research in geriatric psychiatry.”

Training: I have trained many young psychiatrists and future psychiatrists, from high school students to undergraduate and medical students, residents, and early career psychiatrists.

Research: My research focuses on improving our understanding and treatment of serious mental illnesses, especially schizophrenia. I direct a research center that is based on a partnership with San Diego County's Public Mental Health System, which provides care to 40,000 individuals with serious mental illnesses, including many homeless people and those from ethnic minorities. We focus on pharmacological and psychosocial treatments that can be used in “real world” settings. The NAMI San Diego Chapter named me its first recipient of the Recovery Research Inspiration Award.

Outreach and Advocacy: I give frequent public talks on mental health and promoting healthy aging, including the role of psychosocial support and resilience. As a member of APA's academic consortium, I have regularly visited Capitol Hill to advocate for mental health parity and for greater support of mental health care, training, and research. I have also developed excellent relationships with local and national media representatives.

Leadership: As past president of several organizations, I have demonstrated effective leadership skills including advocacy, fiscal accountability, and professional development of members.

Campaigning, not just for mental health parity, but also for a meaningful“ No Psychiatric Patient Left Behind” act to help ensure access to the best available psychiatric care for all our patients including children, elderly, various minority groups, and the homeless.

Helping the advancement of members-in-training as well as early career psychiatrists—they are the future leaders of APA.

Conducting focus groups of APA members to assess their needs as well as expectations for what APA should do for them.

Assuring that DSM-V will be clinician-friendly, seeking input from the APA membership at every stage of its development.

Promoting the critical role of psychiatry as a vital branch of medicine, through my work with other organizations such as the Institute of Medicine.

Ensuring patient privacy in all communications.

Advocating for adequate reimbursement from managed care and Medicare for psychiatric services.

Developing strong strategic planning and maintaining transparency and accountability.

Working with district branches and state associations to assure their representation in and appropriate support from APA, including revenue sharing.

Increasing opportunities for diversity in APA leadership.

Reaching out to the public and media to enhance psychiatry's image.

90%—Administration, clinical work, research, and teaching

10%—Consultation, lectures, journal editorship

55%—University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (distinguished professor of psychiatry and neurosciences)

35%—Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (staff psychiatrist)

10%—Consultation, lectures, editorship of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry