2023 Awards - Washington Psychiatric Society

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2023 Member Awards & Recognition

Each year, WPS presents the following awards to members of the Association and the industry in recognition of their outstanding contributions, (unless otherwise indicated) industry leaders are recognized at the annual Awards Dinner.

Our 2023 Awards Dinner was held on October 28th, 2023 at the University Club in Washington DC. Below are our illustrious winners accompanied by remarks from our president Anne Marie Dietrich, who had the honor of presenting the awards.

WELLSTONE MENTAL HEALTH VISIONARY AWARD

Senators Chris Murphy (D) and William Cassidy (R)

They have been nominated for their bipartisan leadership in the Mental Health Reform Reauthorization Act of 2022, reauthorizing the historic federal mental health and substance disorder programs signed into law in 2016 as part of their Mental Health Reform Act, strengthening parity protections and expanding access to pediatric mental health, as the nation faced a mental health crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. The senators solicited the feedback of patients, families, health care providers, advocacy organizations, and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments on the effectiveness of the programs created by the 2016 legislation and areas for improvement to inform the drafting of this legislation. The bill was endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association and many other mental health organizations including:

Senator Murphy is a lawyer and author serving as the junior senator from Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Connecticut's 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2013. Mr. Murphy, has dedicated his career to public service as an advocate fighting for job creation, affordable health care, education, sensible gun laws, and a forward-looking foreign policy.

Senator Cassidy is a gastroenterologist serving as the senior United States senator from Louisiana, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Louisiana State Senate from 2006 to 2009 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2009 to 2015. In 1998, Dr. Cassidy helped found the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic to provide uninsured residents of the greater Baton Rouge area with access to free health care. He has also been involved in setting up the nonprofit Health Centers in Schools, which vaccinates children in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System against hepatitis B and flu. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he led a group of health care volunteers to convert an abandoned K-Mart into an emergency health care facility, providing basic health care to hurricane victims.

ADVOCATES OF THE YEAR
Lee Beers, MD, FAAP and the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Dr. Lee Beers is a professor of pediatrics, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Distinguished Professor of Early Childhood Intervention and Advocacy, and the medical director for Community Health and Advocacy at Children’s National Hospital. She oversees the Child Health Advocacy Institute’s Community Mental Health CORE (Collaboration, Outreach, Research, Equity), which includes initiatives such as the Early Childhood Innovation Network, and serves as a catalyst to elevate the standard of mental healthcare for every young person in Washington, D.C. She is additionally the medical director for behavioral health with the Pediatric Health Network. She was the 2021 president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Prior to joining Children’s National, she was a general pediatrician at the Naval Hospital in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. Her clinical and research interests include adolescent pregnancy and parenting, the integration of mental health and pediatric primary care, the impact of adversity and stress on child well-being and advocacy education.

As the 2021 president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, she helped to create the national state of emergency for child mental health. Her current work focuses on infrastructure building activities and enabling services to connect families to high quality care, and launching innovative models to deliver direct services.

Thank you, Dr. Beers, for your tireless advocacy for young people and their families.

Since 1972, the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has advocated for the civil rights, full inclusion and equality of adults and children with mental disabilities. It was pivotal in expanding the civil rights movement to include fighting discrimination against, and segregation of, people with mental disabilities.

Today, the Bazelon Center accomplishes its goals through a comprehensive approach combining of litigation, public policy advocacy, coalition building and leadership, public education, media outreach and technical assistance.

The Center was instrumental in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990) and played a key role in the historic case of Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), in which the Supreme Court found that needless segregation of people with psychiatric disabilities violates the ADA. The Olmstead settlement agreements have provided thousands of individuals with opportunities to move out of segregated facilities and to live full lives in their communities and have set legal precedents defining a national model of comprehensive community-based disability systems.

The Center envisions a society where Americans with mental disabilities live with autonomy, dignity, and opportunity in welcoming communities, supported by law, policy, and practices that help them reach their full potential.

POLICY MAKER OF THE YEAR

Brooke Pinto | DC Council Ward 2

District of Columbia Councilmember Brooke Pinto is the youngest member elected to the Council in the District’s history and the first woman to represent Ward 2. Ms. Pinto, a graduate of the Georgetown University Law School, is Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. In February 2023, she introduced the “Prior Authorization Reform Amendment Act of 2023” in an attempt to address and reign in requirements that can cause unnecessary and often harmful delays to patients. If passed, this law would set explicit timelines for insurers to respond to prior authorization requests and appeals and establish what qualifications personnel must have to make these determinations. It would also clarify how insurers are to make information on prior authorization determinations available to patients and their medical providers………… prohibit insurers from requiring prior authorization for a treatment based solely on cost, and require employers to provide timely notice to employees of medications and treatments covered under their insurer’s standard health benefit plan. Councilmember Pinto also made the pandemic’s mental health challenges a top priority, bringing together the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health, Children’s National Hospital, advocates and stakeholders.

JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Andrea Patterson | Mental health writer for the Wall Street Journal

Andrea Petersen is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, writing about consumer health with a focus on mental health. Her stories have explored everything from the science of sleep to the hunt for faster-acting antidepressants. She is the author of the book "On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety," a memoir of her chronic 25-year struggle with acute anxiety. Ms. Petersen writes an honest and relatable account of how she came to understand and master her lifelong struggle with anxiety – a journey that took her from therapists’ offices to yoga retreats to the Appalachian Trail. She discusses the biology behind the disorder, and breaks down how anxiety can hurt – and help – in work and personal lives, leaving audiences with a new outlook on how we as a society view and treat disorders of the brain. She is the recipient of a 2007-2008 Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism.

PSYCHIATRIST OF THE YEAR

Farooq Mohyuddin, MD, CGP, FAPA, FAGPA

Dr. Farooq Mohyuddin, MD, CGP, FAPA, FAGPA is a psychiatrist and an educator. A graduate of Sindh Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan, Class of 1989, he completed his neurosurgery training before realizing the errors of his ways. Dr. Mohyuddin completed his training in Psychiatry at Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D.C. in 2003.

He is currently the Chair of Psychiatry Training and Director of Psychiatry Residency Training Program at Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Washington DC and holds academic appointments at George Washington University School of Medicine, and Howard University College of Medicine. Dr. Mohyuddin is a past Chair of National Group Psychotherapy Institute at the Washington School of Psychiatry, and a past president of Washington Psychiatric Society and the Mid-Atlantic Group Psychotherapy Society.

His primary interests include medical education, group psychotherapy, and psychopharmacology and pursues those interests as a member of the Administration and Leadership Committee of the national think tank, Group for Advancement of Psychiatry. VA. In 2021 he was awarded the National Harold Bernard Award for outstanding contributions to Group therapy education and training. In 2021, he was also awarded the Exceptional Leadership award from Washington Psychiatric.

While pursuing his academic and teaching interests, he maintains a private practice in Alexandria. Perhaps the greatest testament to Dr. Mohyuddin’s ability to reach young people and fan their interest in psychiatry is that his eldest daughter, Hira, is in her psychiatry residency at Georgetown and is active in WPS. Thank you, Farooq, for all of your mentoring and outstanding contributions to the WPS and psychiatry.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

Steven Israel, MD, FAPA – Advocacy

Philip J. Candilis, MD, DFAPA – Ethics

Dr. Steve Israel has worked as a psychiatrist in both inpatient and outpatient settings for 30 years, and has practiced in Rockville, Maryland since 1987. He graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University, and earned his medical degree at Hahnemann Medical College. There, he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, before going on to complete his psychiatry training at Yale University.
For nearly a decade, Dr. Israel was on the medical staff of Chestnut Lodge Hospital in Rockville, which was well-known for its comprehensive treatment of patients with severe psychiatric illness. At Chestnut Lodge, he served as medical lead on both adult and adolescent treatment units.

In 1997, Dr. Israel entered private practice and became an attending psychiatrist at Adventist Behavioral Health (formerly Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health), also in Rockville. He was appointed Medical Director of Adventist Behavioral Health in 2006, a position he held until 2015. Most recently, Dr. Israel has served as immediate past president of WPS, but he has worn many other hats in WPS over the years.

I would like to share with you the recommendation written for Dr. Israel:

"He has been instrumental in furthering the advocacy goals of WPS. As president, immediate past president, and advocacy committee member, he has been a vital resource connecting the Board and the Committee. Further, he is actively involved in Maryland state advocacy and crucial for institutional knowledge for the committee. The committee would not be able to succeed without him."

I would like to add that Dr. Israel’s thoughtful approach to advocacy and leadership has earned him the trust and respect of his colleagues. Thank you, Steve, for your ongoing work on behalf of WPS and our patients.

At St. Elizabeths Hospital, Dr. Phil Candilis is director of medical affairs at and director of the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program, which he started after completing his residency and chief residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and his forensic fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also a former fellow in medical ethics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Candilis holds various additional academic appointments as well.

Dr. Candilis started his ethics career as a student at the NIH Office of Bioethics. Over the ensuing years, he has served as a past chair of AAPL’s ethics committee, current chair of Group for Advancement of Psychiatry ethics committee, and member of the APA ethics committee, and past president of the WPS..

Under Dr. Candilis’ mentorship, recent fellows at the Saint Elizabeths program have studied and published on competence restoration, social justice, and feminist theory. A strong advocate for the public sector, Dr. Candilis is responsible for articulating professional standards for physician health, forensic psychiatry, and general psychiatry through a number of medical organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

Projects have included the improvement of competence assessment and restoration in public psychiatry (a SAMHSA Learning Collaborative), a textbook on global mental health, and an analysis of terrorism data from Iraq. His current project is a book on the epistemology of forensic practice.

His varied background allows him to mentor fellows in everything from consent and violence, to corrections and AI. Thank you, Phil, for educating our next generation of ethicists.

LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD

L. Ari Kopolow, MD DLFAPA, ACP, CGP

This year, the WPS Board is giving a lifetime service award to one of its own members. Dr. L. Ari Kopolow, is an undergraduate of Brandeis, a medical school graduate of University of Missouri-Columbia, a former resident of psychiatry at McLean Hospital, and, perhaps most importantly, a mentee of Abraham Maslow. However, what really defines Dr. Kopolow are his 50 plus years dedicated to the well-being of patients.

Dr. Kopolow has served his patients, his profession, public and private institutions, and as a Lt. Commander, the U.S. government. His contributions include the following: organizing and creating the Government's first Mental Health Advocacy Program; writing the first national Mental Health Patients Bill of Rights; Director of Adult Inpatient psychiatric services; an outpatient clinic using a unique patient participatory strategy; Post-Sept 11, 2001 Community Response Team Leader; Principal Investigator for 17 psychopharmacological studies including those leading to FDA approval for Aricept, Cymbalta, Zyprexa, Abilify, and Nuvigil; National Speaker on Neurobiology of Depression; and Director of the Physician Resource Network dedicated to serving Montgomery County Physicians in crisis.

While handling those responsibilities, he also found time to write two dozen articles in professional journals on various subjects, five books on community services and patient rights, and work in public education aimed at helping people in the US and China better understand mental illness, handle stress, and recognize depression and SAD. One article, entitled “Plain Talk on Handling Stress” has been read by millions of people.

He has been an active member of the WPS and served on the WPS Board of Directors for 12 years, as Secretary, Treasurer, and President of the SMPS for eight years. Dr. Kopolow, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA, has recently assumed the presidency for Washington Psychiatric Society Educational Foundation. Dr. Kopolow is now leaving organizational tasks behind and writing a book about the unrecognized scope of Maslow's work on human potential and positive psychology, including his research on non-drug-induced peak experiences. The book, titled Dare to be Extraordinary: Maslow’s Strategy for Learning, Living, Loving Everything You Are will come out after January 2024, and is a practical guide to helping people become everything they have the potential to be. Let’s extend our congratulations and thanks to Ari for his dedication and commitment, and not jostle him too much to get the first edition of his book.

EARLY CAREER PSYCHIATRIST OF THE YEAR

Meghan Schott, DP, FAPA

Dr. Meghan Schott, DO, FAPA attended Oberlin College and University of North Texas-Health Science Center for medical school. She completed residency training at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and Northwestern University/Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago for her child psychiatry fellowship. Currently, she works at Children’s National as the Medical Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services and is an Assistant Professor at the George Washington University Medical School in pediatrics, psychiatry, and emergency medicine.

Dr. Schott has become a vocal advocate in the community serving on committees at local and national levels, including the mayoral appointed Citizen Review Panel, MSDC’s board as the AMA alternative delegate, and AACAP as a regional delegate. She is actively involved in medical education and serves as the psychiatry clerkship site director for Children’s Hospital. In that role, she has endeavored to make psychiatry more accessible to medical students by promoting them at national conferences. Additionally, she routinely gives presentations at national meetings such as AACAP this week. She is actively pursuing a certificate in medical education with the plans of completing a master’s degree in this field in order to be able to better mentor young people.

Dr. Schott has participated actively in WPS, first as the ECP rep, and then on the nominating and advocacy committees. The field of psychiatry is lucky to have such a dynamic and committed early career psychiatrist.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

Marilou Tablang-Jimenez, MD, FAPA

Dr. Tablang-Jimenez, MD, DFAPA is the Chair of the Dept of Psychiatry at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center.
She was born and raised in the Philippines until age 18. Dr. Tablang-Jimenez received her Medical Degree from De La Salle University then completed her General Psychiatry Residency at Georgetown University in 1996, and her Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in 1998.

Dr. Tablang-Jimenez is the current Councilor of the Southern Medical Association, representing both Maryland and DC. Dr. Tablang-Jimenez is a past President of the Suburban Maryland Psychiatric Society and immediate past president of the Washington Psychiatric Society. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Medical Association – Metropolitan Washington, DC for more than a decade and her most recent roles were that of President and of Executive Director. She has received recognitions from professional and community organizations for her work.

Clearly, Dr. Tablang-Jimenez is an active and connected psychiatrist. She brings her energy and compassion to the table in her interactions with patients and colleagues, and is a tremendously valuable, and valued, member of the greater community where she donates her time. Thank you, Marilou, for your devotion to improving your various communities, especially including WPS.

RESIDENT OF THE YEAR

Abidemi Onabadejo, MD

PGY 4, Saint Elizabeths Hospital

Dr. Abidemi Onabadejo, also known as Abi, is a fourth-year psychiatry resident at Saint Elizabeths hospital. She was born in Nigeria and moved to the Netherlands at a young age. She spent the majority of her childhood and adulthood in Canada.
Her interest in the mind started in childhood, after witnessing the challenges of those around her dealing with mental health issues. During residency at Saint Elizabeths Hospital, Dr. Onabadejo continued to be dedicated to building her knowledge base through her studies and focus on psychotherapy and psychopharmacology. She has been involved in research on telepsychiatry and resident education, as well as leadership and advancement of psychiatry as a field.

As one of the chief residents, she has been dedicated to using new learnings in administration to help better the program for current and future residents. She is also involved in the union as a delegate to represent and advocate for her fellow residents. In recent years, she has observed the evolving landscape of psychiatry and is looking forward to a long and fruitful career contributing to furthering the field. She has a keen interest in working with underserved communities, teaching, mentorship, and helping shape the future generations of psychiatrists.

Congratulations Dr. Onabadejo.

RESEARCH PAPER OF THE YEAR

Dr. Michael Dunlap, DO

MedStar Georgetown

Dr. Dunlap, is a graduate of Oklahoma State University Medical School and child psychiatrist, and recently his consult-liaison fellowship training at Georgetown University. He was one of the authors who won a Dorfman Journal Paper award, presented by the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry for the best articles published annually in their journal. He and his co-authors won the award for the best case report article, describing Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome (RCVS) and the potential role of selective serotonergic reuptake inhibitors.

Unfortunately, Dr. Dunlap is not here in person to accept his award as he has returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to open a psychiatric practice.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

Ms. Betsy Early and Ms. Pat Troy

Next Wave Group

Betsy Earley is the NWG Director of Publications and senior graphic designer. In approximately 1997, Betsy joined the staff of Bay Media, Inc. (Ms. Troy’s publishing company that spun off NWG in 2000). In her more than 25 years in this role, Betsy has created extraordinary publications, and has never missed a deliverable deadline. This is a remarkable accomplishment in an industry where deadlines are often compromised. Betsy is deeply committed to providing design excellence for her clients.

Dr. Perman nominated Betsy Earley for Special Recognition for the superb quality of the work she has done in support of the production of Capital Psychiatry: the quarterly e-magazine of the Washington Psychiatric Society. A month prior to the online publication of each issue, Dr. Perman sends Ms. Earley all of its contents. She then expertly formats the table of contents, articles, essays, poetry, short stories, photos, etc. to perfectly fit with one another, adding graphics to complement each submission. The graphics are so expertly chosen that they breathe life into Capital Psychiatry. In addition to her true talent, Ms. Earley responds promptly to all email communications with her, is pleasant, efficient, and her judgment is excellent.

Thank you, Betsy, for making our publications so special.

Ms. Troy, is an entrepreneur, leader, and a woman ahead of her time. She has been handling association management since 1992, and in 2000, founded Next Wave Group. In 2006, Next Wave Group became virtual, and Ms. Troy wrote a book about the advantages of a virtual office.

Ms. Troy was nominated for her help with WPS publications. However, what has been said about her pertains to her overall help with WPS. Pat became executive director in 2007, and has been with WPS since then, minus a 3 year break from 2016-2019. Whenever challenges arise, she has been available with sage advice and guidance, even when she may be overwhelmed in daily life. To her detriment, she promptly replies to emails seven days a week, at all hours of the day. Most recently, she helped shepherd through the nomination of Capital Psychiatry for the APA Best Practices Award that was presented to Capital Psychiatry and Dr. Gerald Perman on May 21, 2023 in San Francisco. Dr. Perman feels that he would not have received this award if not for Ms. Pat Troy.

Thank you, Pat, for shepherding all of WPS.