APA Election Season Begins With Announcement of Candidates

Abstract

Back to table of contents Next article Association NewsFull AccessAPA Election Season Begins With Announcement of CandidatesCatherine F. BrownCatherine F. BrownSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:27 Oct 2016https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2016.11a26AbstractAPA members can begin considering whom they want to represent them on the Board of Trustees beginning next May now that the roster of candidates running in the 2017 election is set.The slate of psychiatrists chosen to compete for APA Board of Trustees positions provides members with the opportunity to choose among experienced psychiatrists from a broad range of specialties, practice settings, and geographic areas who have made their mark in the field.Rahn Bailey, M.D., Altha Stewart, M.D.Heading the list for APA’s 2017 election are Rahn Bailey, M.D., of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Altha Stewart, M.D., of Memphis, Tenn., who are seeking to become the next president-elect of APA.Bailey is the executive director and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. He has been highly involved with APA since 1995 and is currently the chair of the Membership Committee. Bailey, who is board certified in general and forensic psychiatry, is widely known for his work in patient care, medical education, research, and forensic psychiatric evaluations. Stewart noted that her involvement with APA spans three decades. She has served on a dozen components and is currently APA secretary. A past president of the APA Foundation, she has held executive level positions in public mental health systems in Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. She is an associate professor in psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, where she heads the Center for Mental Health in justice-involved youth.The secretary’s position, which is for a two-year term, is also up for election this cycle. Vying for the post are Philip Muskin, M.D., M.A., of New York City; Gail Robinson, M.D., of Toronto, Ontario; and Robert Roca, M.D., M.P.H., of Baltimore.Facing off in the race for minority/underrepresented representative (M/UR) trustee are David Scasta, M.D., of Milford, Pa., and Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D., D.Sc., of Brooklyn, N.Y. This position is for a three-year term. Only members of APA’s seven M/UR caucuses may vote for the M/UR trustee, and the deadline to join a caucus for voting eligibility is December 16. To join a caucus or update caucus membership, click here.Two of APA’s seven geographic Areas will vote for a trustee in this cycle.Competing in Area 2 are incumbent Vivian Pender, M.D., of New York City and Ravi N. Shah, M.D., M.B.A., of New York City. The candidates in the Area 5 race are incumbent R. Scott Benson, M.D., of Pensacola, Fla., and Jenny Boyer, M.D., Tulsa, Okla. Only members of respective Areas may vote for their respective Area trustee.Resident-fellow members (RFMs) will also have three of their colleagues from whom to choose as they vote for the Board position of RFM trustee-elect. The candidates are Tanuja Gandhi, M.D., a forensic fellow at Yale University; Sarah Kauffman, M.D., a PGY-2 at Columbia University; and Benjamin Solomon, M.D., M.B.A., a PGY-2 at NYU Langone Medical Center.APA announced the slate of candidates for the 2017 election in mid-October, and while it is considered public, it is not official until the Board of Trustees approves it at its meeting next month. All of the winning candidates will take office at the close of the 2017 APA Annual Meeting in May in San Diego.All members for whom APA has a valid email address on file will receive an electronic ballot. Other members will receive a paper ballot along with instructions on how to vote online. All candidates as well as their supporters are strongly urged to review APA’s recently updated Election Guidelines.Voting will begin on January 3, 2017, at 5 a.m. ET and end on January 31, 2017, at 12:59 p.m. ET. ■Additional election information and a link to APA’s Election Guidelines can be accessed here. ISSUES NewArchived