Board of Directors

Dr. Wills is passionate about collaboration and innovation in order to deliver patient-centered, high quality, equitable, efficient and affordable care. Most recently, Dr. Wills served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Johns Hopkins Health Plans (JHHP). In her role, Dr. Wills helped JHHP optimize clinical and quality outcomes for health plan members while driving efforts to efficiently manage costs of care. She oversaw the Pharmacy, Utilization Management, Care Management, and Quality Improvement departments, as well as other areas of JHHP’s Health Services division. She also helped set and enforce medical policies and standards for health care services provided to plan members.

Dr. Wills has worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company; was the director of physician affairs at The Medical Center campus of Memorial Hermann Hospital System, where she oversaw the Medical Staff Office and physician recruitment, contracting and onboarding; and served as senior medical director for WellCare Health Plans, leading the population health clinical strategy team responsible for optimizing clinical and quality outcomes for patients as well as the NCQA accreditation team.

Dr. Wills earned her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and completed a residency in adult psychiatry at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital program, serving as chief resident in her last year. She also has a master’s in business administration from The Wharton School at Penn.

She enjoys working out, traveling, the arts, and engaging in community services. An avid meditator, she recently became a certified yoga teacher.

Dr. Taylor-Desir serves as a community psychiatrist for the Olmsted County Assertive Community Treatment Team and as the co-chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic Dr. Taylor-Desir served as a community psychiatrist for tribal communities for 16 years. Dr. Taylor-Desir graduated from the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine. After completing her psychiatry residency and a fellowship in community psychiatry at Emory University, Dr. Taylor-Desir began her career with the Winslow Indian Health Care Center in Winslow, AZ working with a predominantly Navajo population. This work was through her commitment to the National Health Service Corps as a Scholarship recipient. Dr. Taylor-Desir then moved to Phoenix, Arizona to serve the Salt River PimaMaricopa Indian Community for eight years. She was the first tribally hired psychiatrist and provided outpatient psychiatric care to community members, worked with the crisis team, the Salt River Department of Corrections and the community residential treatment center. She also worked to secure psychiatric care between state and tribal jurisdictions. Dr. Taylor-Desir then moved to New Town, North Dakota to serve the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation for three years as their Chief Medical Officer and psychiatrist for the Elbowoods Memorial Health Care Center. She was instrumental in securing SAMHSA grants addressing mental health and substance use in tribal communities. One of her proudest honors is receiving the American Psychiatric Association 2019 Award for Excellence in Service and Advocacy from the Women of the Assembly. Dr. Taylor-Desir also serves as a member of the National Advisory Committee to the National Health Service Corps where she continues advocacy for and service to tribal and rural communities.

In addition to his responsibilities at Children's, he serves as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Hsiao is a former President of the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and received the 2011 American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Leadership Award. He is a current AMA delegate and has helped to start a Paul O’Leary, M.D. (former APA Assembly Speaker) fund through the AMA Foundation. Dr. Hsiao currently serves on the APA Council on Quality Care and is former APA/APAF Minority Fellow (Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship).

Dr. Hsiao received his medical degree from Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. He completed his residency at University of Washington and is triple board certified in psychiatry, addiction psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.

She is from Pakistan and settled in the United States in the year 2000 with her three daughters. In January of 2009, Dr. Abbasi received the American Psychiatric Association SAMSHA Minority Fellowship to create awareness about cultural competency, to redefine it as not just tolerance but acceptance.

Her areas of interest are cultural psychiatry and teaching medical students culturally appropriate care to Muslim patients. She works directly with Muslim American community to encourage integration rather than isolation from mainstream society.

She is the founding director of the Annual Muslim Mental Health Conference. In 2018 the tenth conference was held at the United State Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. In addition, she launched a Global Muslim Mental Health Conference in Malaysia and Jordan. She is also the managing editor of the Journal of Muslim Mental Health and Director of the Muslim Mental Health Consortium, Michigan State University.

Dr. Abbasi has received numerous awards for her service to the community and promoting mental health. Dr. Abbasi was received the Women on the Frontlines Award presented by Health & Human Service Secretary Xavier Becerra in Washington, D.C., was an Honoree of the National Alliance of Mentally Ill, and American Psychiatric Association Foundation Award for Promoting Minority Mental Health.

She has served on many boards and committees including Council on Minority Mental Health and Health Disparities, American Psychiatric Association. She currently chairs the Mental Health Task Force for the Mayor of Lansing, Michigan.

She works relentlessly and tirelessly towards one goal: Learning to coexist and go beyond our differences to reach the common point of peace and prosperity.

From 2005-2016, he was Associate Chair for Education and Academic Affairs for the Department of Psychiatry, from 2006-2007, he was Vice Chair of the department, then served as Interim Chair until his appointment as Chair in 2010.

Dr. Dalack has had research interests in the treatment of chronic and persistent mental illnesses, particularly focusing on schizophrenia. He has conducted studies examining nicotine addiction and smoking cessation interventions in schizophrenia, health behaviors in schizophrenia, and metabolic effects of second-generation antipsychotic medications in severe mental illness. More recently, he has been involved in developing collaborative care programs to provide psychiatric and behavioral health expertise within primary care clinics at UMHS, the local community, and throughout the State of Michigan.

Dr. Dalack received his B.S. in Chemistry at Yale University, and received his medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. He completed his internship in Medicine at the Presbyterian Hospital in the City of New York and his Psychiatry Residency at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). Also at Columbia and NYSPI, he completed a fellowship in Psychopharmacology.

Dr. Dalack previously served on the APA Council on Quality Care, chaired the APA Workgroup to Establish a Psychiatry Registry (2014-2015), and serves on the APA Registry Oversight Committee (2016-present).

Education:

• Yale University, B.S. in Chemistry
• College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, M.D.
• Presbyterian Hospital New York City, Internship in Medicine
• New York State Psychiatric Institute, Residency in Psychiatry
• New York State Psychiatric Institution & Columbia University, Fellowship in Psychopharmacology

Her work has focused on supporting students, faculty, staff, and trainees which includes resident physicians, fellow physicians, and postdoctoral researchers; implementing programs that increase culturally responsive care; and delivering diversity and inclusion educational and enrichment programs and conferences. Her research and health policy efforts have helped to reduce disparities, especially mental health disparities, that prevent underserved populations from receiving needed health services by eliminating the barriers of stigma, enhancing education, and improving access. Since her General Psychiatry Residency and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Iowa (2009-2014), she has been involved in mentoring activities with pre-health and medical students across the country. Dr. Del Castillo is a former APA/APAF SAMHSA Minority Fellow.

Dr. Del Castillo received her B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois and her M.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She also completed a M.P.H. from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University.

She is a Senior Fellow of Child, Adolescent and Family Health at the Meadow Mental Health Policy Institute. Previously, Dr. Durham was the Vice Chair of Education at Boston Medical Center (BMC) Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine where she continues to hold her adjunct faculty appointment. She is also a voluntary Clinical Associate Professor of Clinical Sciences at the University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. Dr. Durham has worked in large public hospital serving individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues. She has experience working in acute psychiatric emergency room settings, outpatient mental health treatment settings as well as providing consultation to primary care doctors and nonmedical agencies around mental health and substance use issues. She has practiced in public and private settings serving both children and adults. Dr. Durham’s federally and privately funded research focused on workforce development that reflects groups historically excluded from medicine, training, and education for both the pediatric workforce and mental health professionals as well as trauma informed clinical services for youth and families. She has expertise in pediatric integrated care, trauma in communities of color, and training and education for the both the pediatric workforce and mental health professionals and has presented nationally and internationally on these topics. She is involved at the state and national level with the American Psychiatric Association and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to improve the standard of care for adults, children, and adolescents. She has testified for the U.S. Senate HELP and Finance Committees to advocate for increase funding, access and parity in mental health and substance use treatment.

She worked briefly as a healthcare investment banking analyst before attending medical school at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, where she received numerous awards for academic excellence. Dr. Jaswa completed her OB/GYN residency at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), followed by her Fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at UCSF, and she now serves on the Faculty at UCSF as an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. Dr. Jaswa has authored numerous research publications and actively presents her work at national and international conferences. Her research interests include mental health, wellness, fertility preservation, polycystic ovary syndrome, oocyte cryopreservation, and fertility biomarkers. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband, and personally enjoys running, travel, drums, biking, and reading about physics and human behavior.

He is Board Certified in Adult and Geriatric Psychiatry and carries certification for Community Psychiatry from American Association of Community Psychiatry.

Dr. Koh graduated from Johns Hopkins University and medical school at UC San Diego. He received Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business. He finished his internship at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, general psychiatry residency at UC San Diego and geriatric psychiatry fellowship at UC San Diego.

At UCSD Department of Psychiatry, he is the Chair of the Compensation Committee, member of the Clinical Council, and oversees its Oncall, Clinical Training, Quality Improvement and Measurement Based Care initiatives. He also serves the wider UCSD community on the Interdisciplinary Practices Council. Dr. Koh has had research support and funding at Johns Hopkins Lipid Research Laboratories, Palo Alto VA Hospital, Intramural Program of NIH at National Institute of Aging, UC San Diego Dept of Psychiatry, Hartford Foundation Center of Excellence, San Diego Hospice and Institute for Palliative Care, and T-32 NIH program. He currently has grants and contract support from HCAI, HRSA, SAMHSA, San Diego County BHS, and Price Philanthropies.

Dr. Koh currently serves on Government Affairs Committee for California State Association of Psychiatrists, President-elect of San Diego County Medical Society, Member of Finance and Audit committee and Social Determinants of Health Committee member of American Psychiatric Association. He is Educational Committee Chair for the San Diego County Alzheimer’s Disease project and member of California Medical Association’s telehealth committee. Dr. Koh is Past President of the San Diego Psychiatric Society, Association of Korean American Psychiatrists, and Board of San Diego NAMI, and Past representative on the Board of American Psychiatric Association, and American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry. Dr Koh has been active on APA Council on Advocacy and Government Relations, Quality Improvement and Political Action Committees, and past Chair of APA Early Career Psychiatrists.

Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A., serves as 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, New Jersey. Dr. Levounis came to Rutgers from Columbia University where he served as director of the Addiction Institute of New York from 2002 to 2013.

Dr. Levounis is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University where he studied chemistry and biophysics before receiving his medical education at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Medical College of Pennsylvania. During medical school, he researched the effects of social class on patient-physician relationships in Oxford, England, and received an MA degree in sociology from Stanford. In 1994, he moved to New York City to train in psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute of Columbia University. He graduated from Columbia earning the National Institute of Mental Health Outstanding Resident Award and went on to complete his fellowship in addiction psychiatry at New York University.

Dr. Levounis has written numerous articles, monographs, and book chapters; has lectured extensively throughout the United States and abroad; and has been interviewed by CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, FOX, The Martha Stewart Radio Show, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, among others, about addiction and other psychiatric matters. Dr. Levounis has served on the boards of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the American Board of Addiction Medicine, and from 2005 to 2009 chaired the national Committee on Addiction Treatment of the APA. Dr. Levounis is a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists, and a distinguished fellow of the APA and ASAM. In 2017, he was elected as an honorary member of the World Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Levounis has published 11 books with the APA, as well the self-help paperback “Sober Siblings: How to Help Your Alcoholic Brother or Sister—and Not Lose Yourself” and the textbook of “Substance Dependence and Co-Occurring Psychiatric Disorders.” Dr. Levounis is currently working on the first book on “Nature Therapy,” which is going to be available by APA Publishing in late 2022. Several of his books have been translated into French, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Dr. Levounis is married to actor Lukas Hassel and lives in New York City.

Dr. Looney was recruited to Duke as Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In that role, he began the development of research in child psychiatry which has expanded into a major enterprise. Dr. Looney is also the Emeritus Director of the Duke Substance Treatment Program for Youth and the Emeritus Director of the Duke Center for Psychiatry and Law. He is Board Certified in many areas: 1) General Psychiatry, 2) Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 3) Addiction Psychiatry, 4) Forensic Psychiatry, and 5) Administrative Psychiatry. Dr. Looney has been selected for Fellowship in the major honorary organizations in American Psychiatry, and is President Elect of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry.

Dr. Looney’s primary interest is in the mental health of college students– helping them develop management skills to be successful in college. Out of that interest he developed the first alcohol and substance abuse program for young people in an academic division of child psychiatry in the United States.

Dr. Looney received Professor Emeritus status in 2015. In 2016, he was elected President of the Southern Psychiatric Association. He remains active at Duke and in the Department with his primary efforts being in the Consortium for the Study of The American College Student and Duke Forensic Psychiatry Associates. He does external consultation in his areas of interest.

Education

• M.D. 1969 - University of Texas at Dallas
• B.M.S. 1966 - Dartmouth College

She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA); active at both regional and national levels in leadership positions including President of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association (2009-2010) and Speaker of the APA Assembly (2017-2018), serving as a member of the APA Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees (2017-2018) and Vice-Chair of the Joint Reference Committee (2016-2017). She chaired the APA Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Workgroup (WG) on Insurance (2019) and contributed to APA Workgroups including the Spanish Language Communications WG (2021), Psychiatrist Well-being and Burnout WG (2017) and lnterprofessional Collaboration WG (2019). She is a member of the American College of Psychiatrists and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Dr. Miskimen centered her public sector clinical practice on improving access and delivery of psychiatric care to bilingual and bicultural communities, developing and implementing intercultural clinical programs, and, most recently, deploying a hybrid model of care during the COVID-pandemic. Her clinical work has informed her research endeavors, resulting in numerous articles and lectures concerning diagnostic challenges and symptom phenomenology when treating racial and ethnically diverse populations, ethical issues affecting psychopharmacological research among ethnic populations, and cultural aspects of patient symptomatology.

Dr. Miskimen has served in numerous community-facing initiatives and appointed positions under three past Governors of the State of New Jersey addressing mental health issues spanning the intersection of technology and the delivery of psychiatric care, mental health in university settings, and youth suicide prevention.

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. She serves as a Delegate of the APA to the American Medical Association Section Council on Psychiatry and is a member of the Steering Committee to the American Academy of Pediatrics Wellness through Equity and Leadership (WEL) program, tasked to develop a training curriculum and leadership experience for woman physicians, mentor participants, and establish principles on equitable work environments.

For over 30 years, Dr. Miskimen has brought forth her passion and expertise to critical roles including psychiatric clinical care, patient advocacy, community outreach, academic endeavors, and organizational leadership, and is committed to continuing her contributions in years to come.

He is also a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at University of California Los Angeles. He previously served as Executive Vice Chair, Associate Chair for Clinical Affairs, and Director of Residency Training Program of the Department of Psychiatry at different medical schools in the U.S. Dr. Pi is certified in the specialty Board of Psychiatry (1980- ) and Psychosomatic Medicine (2008-2018). Dr. Pi is former Medical Director of the Department of Mental Health (DMH), State of California. Professor Pi is an accomplished researcher in the fields of clinical psychiatry and psychopharmacology, particularly ethnic and cross-cultural aspects.

Dr. Pi is a Distinguished Life Fellow of American Psychiatric Association (APA). He has been very active on both the national and international scenes in organized psychiatry in the past 30 years, including President of the Association of Chinese American Psychiatrists, Vice President and Treasurer of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists, Chairperson of the Committee of Asian American Psychiatrists, Chair of the Minority and Underrepresented (M/UR) Groups, and Member of the Executive Committee of the APA Assembly. Also, Dr. Pi served on the Scientific Program Committee (SPC) of the APA during the past 20 year, including Vice Chair of the SPC of APA's 2019 and 2020 Annual Meetings. He received the SPC Overachiever Award, APA Annual Meeting, 2019. Dr. Pi is an Honorary Fellow of WPA. He served as the Representative for Zone 2 – USA within the WPA Board (2014-2020), most recently, elected to the WPA Executive Board as the Secretary for Scientific Meetings (2020- ). Among his many honors, Dr. PI is the recipient of APA's 2009 Kun-po Soo Award and 2021 George Tarjan Award. Dr. Pi is listed among the Best Doctors in America (Psychiatry) and America’s Top Doctors (Psychiatry).

She completed her training in the Harvard Medical School programs, first as a resident at Cambridge Hospital and then at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital as chief resident, followed by a two-year clinical and research fellowship in Women’s Psychiatry. As a part of her role on the President’s Special Advisory Council on Women at Harvard, she founded and directed the Harvard University Center for Parenting.

Dr. Van Niel’s clinical work has been in general psychiatry and all aspects of women’s psychiatry, including as a member of the Brigham staff; as director of psychiatry at a community health center and a day treatment trauma program; and as chief psychiatric consultant to the Diocese of Massachusetts.

Dr. Van Niel was elected president of the APA Women’s Caucus where she served from 2016 through 2021. In 2016 Dr. Van Niel was the first psychiatrist appointed to the Multidisciplinary Steering Committee of the U.S. Dept of HHS Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI). During 2020, Dr. Van Niel was elected chair of the APA Minority and Underrepresented (M/UR) Committee, where she and her colleagues have developed materials to address racial discrimination in all areas of medicine. Dr. Van Niel also has been passionate about the work of the APA Foundation, serving as an ambassador and contributor from 2016 through 2020. Dr. Van Niel also is a prolific writer whose peer-reviewed articles have appeared in media outlets throughout the country.

Zobrist had a successful career at Olivet Nazarene for his first three collegiate years and transferred to Dallas Baptist University for his senior year where he graduated with a degree in Communications. Zobrist has established himself as one of the most versatile players in the league, having started at every position on the field except for pitcher and catcher.

Career highlights:

• 2016 World Series MVP with the Chicago Cubs
• Back-to-back World Series champion (2016, 2015)
• Drove in game-winning run in the 10th inning during Game 7 of the 2016 World Series
• Led the Cubs in hits (10) during 2016 World Series
• Ranked first in 2015 MLB post-season for runs (15)
• Ranked third in the 2015 AL post season for batting average (.303)
• Three-time All-Star (2016. 2013, 2009)
• Selected to play for Team USA in the 2013 World Baseball Classic H
• Ranked top 10 in the American League for doubles during the 2011 and 2012 seasons
• Awarded Player of the Week in May 2011
• Baseball Writers Association of America (Tampa Bay Chapter) named Zobrist as the 2009 MVP of the Rays
• Rays honored Zobrist with the Heart and Hustle award in 2011 and 2012
• Played in his first World Series with the Rays in 2008
• Received INT Player of the Week in August 2008
• Drafted in the 6th round in the 2004 MLB draft by the Houston Astros and was traded to the Rays in July of 2006

Given that Ben Zobrist’s resume reflects his career as a professional baseball player, he also provided this personal statement about his background and interest in mental health awareness:

“Hello, my name is Ben Zobrist. I’m 38 yrs. of age with a wife and three young children and currently unemployed thankfully by choice! I’m known to most people as a former Major League Baseball player, 3x All-Star, 2x World Series Champion, And World Series MVP for the Chicago Cubs in 2016. In the baseball world, people know me as one of the first Super-utility players in the game.

Those who know me personally know that I’m just a small town midwestern kid who had a passion for sports and blue-collar work ethic combined with competitive focus that has driven me to succeed at the highest levels of professional sport. Throughout my playing career, I actively pursued public speaking engagements to youth and faith communities. I have always loved to inspire people toward change in areas of personal and community health, healing and growth. More recently, mental and emotional health have become a research passion of mine due to my own personal struggles with a high-profile career filled with daily performance pressure.

In the last few years of my playing career, I launched a charitable non-profit called Patriot Forward that existed to help young minor league baseball families navigate the pressure of the performance life. We have been helping mentor around 25 young players and their families through a very transitional time of life.

I am entering into my first official year of retirement from baseball since I was 5 years old so I’m in quite the transition myself right now, but so far I’m excited about what’s next! I look forward to becoming more educated in the areas of mental, emotional, and relational health in the near future and I plan to use that education to continue speaking for the purpose of inspiring generations of people toward a more healthy and balanced life! In my downtime, I enjoy working out, reading, listening to podcasts, deep conversations, jumping on the trampoline with my kids, flying my drone, and generally re-organizing my life after being on the road for the last 15 years.”

Twitter: @benzobrist18

Instagram: @benzobrist18

She is in her second year of the APA/APAF’s Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship and was elected by peers to serve as the Chair of this year’s cohort. She also acts as a resident representative on the Oregon Psychiatric Physician’s Association Executive Council and is active on the APA’s Council on Communication.

Dr. Torrise received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and later returned to Charlottesville to complete her medical education at the University of Virginia School of Medicine as a Hook Scholar in Humanities and Ethics. While there, she served as the Professional & Graduate Student Council President and was part of successful campaigns to expand student access to health insurance coverage and to install dedicated psychiatrists within the individual graduate programs. She also co-founded a regional group of Student Clinicians for Climate Action, and acted as the National Communications Chair for the international initiative Planetary Health Report Card.

Dr. Torrise has previously worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, within the Immunology Core, as part of the research team advancing work toward creation of an HIV vaccine. She has also worked in children’s book publishing and was part of the committee responsible for creation of the Young Adult category within the industry standard subject area codes. Her education in the humanities has been foundational to her practice of medicine, and she now enjoys leading medical students through OHSU’s Narrative Medicine curriculum. She is looking forward to training in Child & Adolescent, and then Addiction Psychiatry, and is applying to CAP fellowship this cycle.