APA announces new president-elect, other leadership roles

The APA recently announced the appointment of Altha Stewart, MD, of the University of Tennessee, Memphis, as incoming president-elect, making her the first black individual to hold this position.

Stewart’s term as president-elect will begin at the conclusion of the APA annual meeting in May, when current president-elect Anita Everett, MD, will begin her term as APA president.

“I am honored and humbled by my selection by my fellow members,” Stewart said. “The APA and the profession of psychiatry have made great strides in the past several years, but much more work is needed. We have to take a proactive role to ensure that our patients receive the quality psychiatric treatment they deserve. We live in trying times, but I’m excited to take on this leadership role.”

Stewart currently serves as an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She has worked in public sector administration for 3 decades, including director of public behavioral health systems in Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania.

Stewart has held several leadership positions with the APA, including secretary of the Board of Trustees, president of the APA Foundation, chair of the Conflict of Interest Committee and the Minority Fellowship Selection Committee, and member of the Joint Reference Committee and the Council on Advocacy and Government Relations.

She has also served as president of the Association of Women Psychiatrists and president of the Black Psychiatrists of America.

As APA president, Stewart’s priorities will include:

Advocacy for regulatory and fiscal policy realignment and accountable payment structures federally and locally;
Improved communication with APA members and enhanced relationships with medical colleagues to increase access through collaborative care models; and
Promotion of increased APA membership involvement at all levels and expansion of mentoring and leadership opportunities for resident fellow members and early career psychiatrists.

Saul Levin

“This was an historic election for the APA, reflecting the wide diversity of the organization, which is our strength,” Saul Levin, MD, MPA, CEO and medical director of the APA, said in the release. “I look forward to working with Dr. Stewart and want to personally congratulate all the winners. I also want to salute the other candidates.”

Other APA leadership roles that will go into effect in May 2017 include:

Philip Muskin , MD, MA, as Secretary;
Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DMSc , as Minority/Underrepresented Representative trustee;
Vivian Pender, MD, as Area 2 trustee;
Jenny Boyer, MD, PhD, JD, as Area 5 trustee; and
Tanuja Gandhi, MD, as Resident-Fellow Member trustee-elect.