Conference Speakers

Deepak D’Souza, MBBS, MD

Deepak Cyril D’Souza, MD is a Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and a staff psychiatrist at VA Connecticut Healthcare System (VACHS). He is an active clinician, teacher and researcher, with more than 25 years of experience.

He directs the Neuropsychiatry Program at VA Connecticut Healthcare System, the clinical service that cares for veterans with serious mental illnesses including psychotic disorders, mood disorders and personality disorders. He also chairs the Research and Development Committee at VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

Dr. D’Souza is actively involved in teaching residents. In recognition of his contributions as a teacher, he received the Yale Psychiatry resident’s teaching award in 2008. He also directs the VA Schizophrenia Research Fellowship program the training ground for a number of current researchers.

He is involved in public outreach – he serves on the Physicians Advisory Board for Connecticut’s Medical Marijuana Program. He is recognized as a leading expert on the relationship between cannabinoids and psychosis, and has been involved educating the general public about the relationship between cannabis and psychosis.

 

Christine Crawford, MD, MPH
Dr. Christine M. Crawford currently serves as the Associate Medical Director for the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).  She is also an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and the Associate Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
She completed her adult psychiatry residency as well as child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital. She received her MD from University of Connecticut and her Masters in Public Health at BU School of Public Health where she concentrated in Social and Behavioral Sciences.
She has been engaged in a number of community outreach initiatives through the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, NAACP and NAMI. She has authored multiple book chapters and peer reviewed publications on mental health disparities, black mental health and sociocultural psychiatry. She has made appearances on numerous media outlets and provides seminars on mental health and racism at various corporate and community-based settings.

 

John Torous, MD

John Torous, MD MBI is director of the digital psychiatry division, in the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School affiliated teaching hospital, where he also serves as a staff psychiatrist and assistant professor. He has a background in electrical engineering and computer sciences and received an undergraduate degree in the field from UC Berkeley before attending medical school at UC San Diego. He completed his psychiatry residency, fellowship in clinical informatics, and master’s degree in biomedical informatics at Harvard. Dr. Torous is active in investigating the potential of mobile mental health technologies for psychiatry and has published over 200 peer reviewed articles and 5 books chapters on the topic. He serves as editor-in-chief for JMIR Mental Health (http://mental.jmir.org/),  web editor for JAMA Psychiatry, currently leads the American Psychiatric Association’s Health IT Committee, and is a senior member in IEEE.

 

MK Moskowitz

MK Moskowitz is a senior at Northeastern University studying Human Services and Political Science. MK has lived experience as a student with mental illness. She is also the current Vice President of Active Minds at Northeastern, a student organization that organizes for improved mental health resources on campus. Upon graduation, MK will be pursuing her Master’s in Social Work at Boston University.

 

 

 

Tasha Ferguson, LMHC

Tasha Ferguson, LMHC is the Senior Emergency Services and Transitional Programs Director at Boston Medical Center; areas of oversight include the Emergency Services Programs covering Boston, Cambridge/Somerville and Fall River, BMC’s Psychiatry Bridge Clinic, the Boston Police Co-Response Program, Boston Assisted Outpatient Treatment (BOAT) program and the Boston Municipal Court’s Mental Health Court program.  Tasha has worked in various capacities in emergency services since 2008; previous clinical experience also includes roles at the Franciscan Hospital for Children Community Based Acute Treatment unit.  In addition to her clinical work, Tasha serves as a Clinical Instructor at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine in the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine Program, where she teaches a course on Psychopathology. 

 

Michelle Durham, MD, MPH

Dr. Michelle P. Durham is the Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center (BMC). She is a board certified physician specializing in pediatric and adult psychiatry with additional board certification in addiction medicine. Her public health and clinical roles have always been in marginalized communities. She is dedicated to health equity and advocacy for equitable mental health treatment globally and locally. Dr. Durham practices clinically at BMC in addition to serving as an Associate Director for the BUSM/BMC Global & Local Center for Mental Health Disparities and a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at BUSM.

 

Dr. Durham’s public health and clinical roles have always been in marginalized communities. She is dedicated to health equity and advocacy for equitable mental health treatment globally and locally. Her research focuses on workforce development that reflects groups historically excluded from medicine, training and education for both the pediatric workforce and mental health professionals. She is the Director of Clinical Training for the BMC Transforming and Expanding Access to Mental Health in Urban Pediatrics (TEAM UP) grant funded Initiative to bring mental health care into the pediatric primary care setting in federally qualified community health centers. Through the TEAM UP initiative she developed an e-course for the pediatric care team to build foundational skills in working with children and adolescents with behavioral health concerns. She is the PI for three federally funded grants: HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) Maternal and Child Health Collaborative Office Rounds, the Achieving Culturally Competent and Equitable Substance use Services (ACCESS) Training Program and SAMHSA Services for Trauma And Resources (STAR) for families.

 Dr. Durham is the Massachusetts representative to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and member of the APA Council on International Psychiatry and Global Health. She is a member of the Collaborative and Integrative Care Committee for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) to improve the standard of care for children and adolescents. For her contributions and dedication to the field of psychiatry, Dr. Durham has been appointed a Fellow of the APA and Distinguished Fellow of AACAP. Dr. Durham’s interests lie in advocacy, mental healthcare integration into the pediatric primary care setting, trauma in young children, training and education, and health inequities among Black and other communities of color.

 

Kevin Simon, MD

Dr. Kevin M. Simon, MD is an Assistant in Psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital, an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and a current Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University. He practices as a Child & Adolescent Addiction Psychiatrist caring for youth & families through the Adolescent Substance Use & Addiction Program “ASAP Clinic” at Boston Children’s Hospital. As a researcher, he is the recipient of the “NIDA – AACAP K award” (National Institute of Drug Abuse – American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Physician-Scientist Career Development award) for work focused on the intersections of substance use, mental health, and justice involvement. Kevin completed clinical fellowships in child & adolescent psychiatry and addiction medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and a residency in adult psychiatry at Grady Hospital | Morehouse School of Medicine. He received his MD from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (Land of Lincoln). Dr. Simon s’ writings on health equity, youth mental health, and substance use are in notable journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, Health Equity, and Health Affairs.

 

Kwame Dance, Psy.D, MBA

Kwame Dance is a 5th year clinical psychology doctoral candidate (Psy.D) at William James College, where his concentration is Children & Families of Adversity and Resilience with emphasis in African & Caribbean Mental Health. He is currently in his final year of predoctoral training at the American Psychological Association accredited Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology. He graduated from Trinity College (CT) with his bachelor’s degree in psychology and holds master’s degrees in professional psychology and business administration. Kwame is also an outpatient behavioral health clinician at Whittier Street Health Center. Kwame is a proud member of the Black Mental Health Graduate Academy at William James College, the Association of Black Psychologists, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

 

Joel Khattar

Joel Khattar is the program manager for the Parent Professional Advocacy League. He holds two bachelor’s degrees, in Education and  Human services, and a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. He is formally a teacher of 15 years.

When he came across PPAL he finally found hope. This hope led him to the human service sector.  His advocacy for his children fueled him to become the parent expert he is today. He is most proud of being a father of two boys with special needs.
He believes that there’s a function to every behavior.  Through education and collaboration we are able to advocate on behalf of all children.

Andrea Spencer, MD

Dr. Andrea Spencer is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center, where she is also Director for Integrated Pediatric Behavioral Healthcare. Dr. Spencer’s clinical research program, REACH for ADHD (Revolutionizing Equal Access to Care and Health for ADHD), currently focuses on developing and testing innovative methods to improve and reduce disparities in ADHD treatment. Dr. Spencer’s research has been supported by multiple grants, including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Charles H. Hood Foundation, and the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Spencer received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Yale College in 2003 and her Medical Degree from Harvard Medical School in 2008. She graduated from the 5-year combined MGH/McLean Adult and Child Psychiatry Residency in 2013 and is Board Certified in both Adult Psychiatry and in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Spencer also plays viola with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra (LSO), the orchestra of Boston’s Medical Community.

 

Oladunni Oluwoye, PhD

Dr. Oluwoye is an assistant professor in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University, Spokane and the Co-Director of the Washington Center of Excellence in Early Psychosis. She received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Alabama A&M University, and her Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Education for the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Oluwoye is the lead evaluator for New Journeys a network of coordinated specialty care programs in Washington State and is supported by multiple grants from NIMH, including a Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01). Dr. Oluwoye’s overarching research focuses on the early onset of serious mental illness, specifically psychosis among racially and ethnically diverse families and the development of strategies to increase engagement and service utilization. Through this work her hope is to improve pathways to care and advance the availability, acceptability, and effectiveness of mental health care among racially and ethnically diverse populations.

 

Emily Kline, PhD

Dr. Kline is an assistant professor psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and the Director of Psychological Services at the Wellness and Recovery After Psychosis Program at Boston Medical Center. She is a licensed psychologist trained in both child and adult intervention. She has published over 30 peer reviewed papers and several book chapters on early psychosis prediction, detection, diagnosis, and treatment.Her current research focuses on increasing access to high-quality first episode psychosis treatment and on family communication in the context of emerging mental health difficulties.

 

 

Nev Jones, PhD

Nev Jones PhD is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, and an affiliate assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry.  Here work focuses on the structural and sociocultural determinants of recovery and disability in psychosis, and strategies for transforming existing systems of care. She is an alumna of specialized early psychosis services, with lengthy experiences of mental health services; in addition to academic roles co-leads the projects Transform Mental Health Research (https://www.transformmhresearch.org/) and Rethink Psychosis (https://rethinkpsychosis.weebly.com/) and has co-founded two regional hearing voices networks.