April 2, 1999

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT: For over 25 years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to assist children and their parents in relieving the pain and suffering of emotional and behavioral problems. I was drawn to medicine by an early interest in biology and the opportunity to help others. Once in medical school, I was drawn to psychiatry, and specifically to child psychiatry, by the influence of several wonderful teachers, particularly Nancy Roeske. These mentors helped me to develop an appreciation of the need to help the whole person.

In 1974 I began my private practice of child and adolescent psychiatry, my primary professional activity. I also began work with a new mental health center that enabled me to develop inpatient and outpatient treatment programs and, later, day therapy programs for children and adolescents. This was also the beginning of my association with the psychiatry department of a large general hospital. I have continued all of these associations. At this point, I direct youth services for the mental health center, and I function as the associate medical director for youth services at the hospital.

My involvement with APA began during my residency, when I was chosen to be a Falk Fellow. This allowed exposure to our organization on a national and district branch level very early in my career. My life has been greatly enriched by my contacts and friendships with numerous committed, dedicated psychiatrists in my district branch, within my Area, and for the last nine years within the Assembly Executive Committee.

Among my joys and accomplishments has been my marriage of over 30 years to my best friend, Judy. Together we have enjoyed family activities and travels with our three sons. Judy has been patient and supportive in all of my pursuits, including my effort to be the next Assembly speaker-elect.

CANDIDACY STATEMENT: During the past year, it has been my privilege to serve as Assembly recorder. As I meet with colleagues in many areas of the country, it is apparent that we all share the same problems and concerns as well as a dedication to continued work to solve these problems. New issues have arisen and old problems continue, but our organization and its leaders remain committed to our primary mission: the advocation and support of quality, ethical, accessible, and nondiscriminatory care for our patients while maintaining support and assistance for our members as they attempt to deliver that care.

Managed care continues to have a major impact on our patients and on our profession. We need to develop and support systems that put the psychiatrist in charge of both the delivery and the management of care in a way that is cost-effective, but that also honestly addresses the quality of care. We need to support initiatives that address managed care abuses that have had an adverse effect on quality of care. These initiatives should include public educational activities, improved contacts with employers, legislative effort, and when necessary, legal action. Our patients continue to suffer from the effects of discrimination in many areas. Our goal is complete parity. We have made progress in the last year, but much work remains to be done.

If our organization is to remain a strong advocate for our patients and our profession, we must retain and expand our numbers and our level of involvement. Renewed concerns have arisen in the past year about falling numbers of members and declining interest in our organization, particularly among our younger members. Efforts are under way to address these concerns. These efforts must continue and must remain a high priority. We must recognize the changing composition of our membership with greater attention to the needs of women, minority members, and IMGs. We need continued focus on the special needs of our early career psychiatrists and our members-in-training. We need to reduce the cost of membership while enhancing the value of membership for all of our members.

Efforts are under way throughout APA's organizational structure to become more streamlined and effective without losing sight of our mission. The Assembly is studying many ideas to improve its overall ability to enhance and maintain its primary function: to generate and move forward ideas and actions from our members at the local level. Changes will occur in a reasoned manner. In order to maintain the Assembly's primary function, these changes will need to foster improved communication between the Assembly and the district branches and continued enhancement of the role of Area Councils. We must also continue to enhance the role of the representatives of allied organizations if we are to be a true voice for all of American psychiatry.

These are exciting times. I have been active in the Assembly for over 20 years, first as a deputy representative and representative, then as an Area deputy representative and representative, and most recently as the recorder. As a member of the Assembly Executive Committee for nine years, I have participated actively in the growth of the Assembly into an increasingly effective and representative body. During the past year, I have worked actively with the speaker and the speaker-elect to assist the Assembly in considering future charges. The successful candidate in this year's election for speaker-elect will become the first speaker of the 21st century. I feel I have the vision, the experience, and the proven record of leadership within the organization to meet that challenge. I welcome your support in the May election.