The Maryland Psychiatric Society annual election will be held electronically with a secure ballot link emailed to each member on March 1. The voting deadline is March 31.  This is one of the easiest and most vital ways that members can participate in the organization.  MPS elections are very competitive and every vote counts!!!  Following are the candidates for each position with their information:

President-Elect (1-year term)

Tyler Hightower, M.D., M.P.H.
Current Positions: Springfield Hospital Center – Director of Forensic Services
MPS Positions: 2005-07 Resident and Fellows Committee Co- Chair; 2017 – present Community Psychiatry & Diversity Coalition, MPS Ethics Committee 2021 – Present,  MPS Council 2021-Present (Secretary-Treasurer 2024 -2025)
Personal Statement: To serve is to connect to others, to help build a stronger community.  In my practice as a general and a forensic psychiatrist, I have worked with underserved and underrepresented individuals who require navigation through both the mental health and justice systems.  In these settings, I have observed the impact of advocacy efforts on systemic issues affecting those with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. I believe that these experiences, and my understanding of the need for inclusion and diversity, would make me an asset to the MPS leadership team.  I look forward to continuing to serve, to continue the momentum of advocating for psychiatrists in Maryland and the individuals we serve.

 

Secretary-Treasurer (1-year term)

Michael A. Young, M.D.
Current Positions: Associate Program Director of the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt Psychiatry Residency Program and Medical Director of The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt.
Current Positions: Serving third term on the MPS Council, Co-Chair of MPS Legislative Committee, Corresponding Member of the APA Council for Medical Education and Lifelong Learning.
Personal Statement: Dr. Young’s specific areas of clinical interest include treating complex mood disorders, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders, personality disorders, and substance use disorders.  He also has a strong interest in sports and performance psychiatry.  Dr. Young promotes the power of psychotherapy to play an essential role in both healing from illness and building wellness.  Dr. Young is passionate about patient advocacy, reducing stigma, and medical education.

 

Council (2-year term, four vacancies)

Traci Speed, M.D.
Current Positions: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
MPS Positions: Academic Psychiatry Committee Member since 2020, Academic Psychiatry Co-chair since 2022, and MPS Council Member since 2023
Personal Statement: It has been a pleasure and privilege serving on the MPS Council for the past 2 years. If re-elected to the Council, I hope to continue to advocate for equitable access to high quality psychiatric care in Maryland through patient advocacy initiatives and community outreach and to support the career development of our residents, fellows, and early career psychiatrists. It would be an honor to continue to work with our colleagues in achieving the MPS mission. As a brief summary, as a Pain Psychiatrist I am dedicated to helping our psychiatry patients receive high quality multidisciplinary psychiatric and pain care. My research focuses on the implementation and adaptation of multidisciplinary clinical care models including strategies to improve patient engagement in their care especially for our underserved populations. I thank you for your consideration.

Taylor Scott, M.D.
Current Positions: Chief Medical Officer- Catholic Charities, Private Practice- Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry
MPS Positions: MPS and APA general members
Personal Statement: The needs and interests of a psychiatrist are complex, particularly given the ever-changing landscape of mental health treatment in Maryland.  Since change is inevitable, I want to ensure it benefits our patients and the work we do. As a member of the council, I aim to support initiatives that increase access to care, safeguard telehealth services, and secure financial support for school-based services, amongst other priorities. I am eager to be a part of the conversations that will affect the delivery of mental health treatment. With experience in various leadership roles within community psychiatry, recent experience as a consultant for the Department of Health’s mental health services at a county level, and an active private practice, I am well-positioned to champion the diverse needs of psychiatrists.

Mary Cutler, M.D.
Current Positions: Medical Director, The Children’s Guild; Instructor/Part-time Faculty, Johns Hopkins University; Maryland Regional Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (MRCCAP) Delegate to American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP); MRCCAP Private Practice Ad Hoc Committee Liaison.
MPS Positions: MPS Member, APA Fellow
Personal Statement: In clinical practice, I have worked in a number of different settings, including a hospital-based IOP, solo private practice, a managed care organization, and now a school-based OMHC and a non-public level V school serving students with Autism. Through these positions, I have experienced a broad array of clinical psychiatry through which I have gleaned valuable insights into the needs of our patients and community. I have experienced the power of our profession through psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic cures, but also the limitations. Because so many mental health issues cannot be solved solely through work in the psychiatry office, I have been utilizing support systems in the public and private sectors and want to work to make these resources widely known and easy to access. I am grateful to the profession of psychiatry and would be honored to serve another term as a member of the MPS Council.

Stephanie Knight, M.D.
Current Positions: University of Maryland Medical Center, Chief of Clinical Services for Department of Psychiatry
MPS Positions: Member of APA and MPS, Member of MPS Health Policy Advisory Group
Personal Statement:  I attended McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College) in Westminster, MD and graduated magna cum laude with honors in 2003 with a B.A. in Biology. From there, I moved down to New Orleans to attend medical school at the Tulane University School of Medicine in Louisiana. My experiences during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were formative and lead me to a career in Psychiatry. Following my graduation from Tulane SOM in 2007, I began my Adult Psychiatry residency at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt program here in Baltimore, serving as chief for inpatient and CL psychiatry in my PGY4 year. I joined the faculty at UMSOM immediately after residency and worked as a psych hospitalist on a 16-bed inpatient adult unit at the downtown campus for UMMC for five years before being appointed as Chief of Psychiatry at UMMC-Midtown campus. Over my almost 15 years at UMSOM, I’ve been involved in numerous QI and PI projects, worked to standardize the process of psychiatric admissions, engaged in thousands of hours of medical student- and resident teaching, cosponsored the creation of an NP training program, led UMMC and UMMS through Workplace Violence Reduction efforts, manifested a COVID+ inpatient psychiatric unit in January 2022, engaged with the Consent Decree work with the city and BHSB, and many other projects and efforts. I’ve been very active in the UMMC community at both campuses and hope to expand my experience into the MPS realm with this initial bid.

Haroon Burhanullah, M.D.
Current Positions: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University; Director, Alzheimer’s anti amyloid therapy, Director, Consult Liaison Service/ED at Johns Hopkins Bayview. Memory and Alzheimer’s expert- Memory Clinic at Johns Hopkins; Communications Chair,   of Perioperative cognition and Delirium professional interest areas at Alzheimer’s association ISTAART.
MPS Positions: MPS & APA member, AAGP and ISTAART member
Personal Statement: It will be my pleasure to serve as a Council member at the Maryland Psychiatric Society. I work at the memory center and consult psychiatry at Johns Hopkins.  My research interest is outcomes measure and safety of anti amyloid treatment in Alzheimer’s disease. My other interests are  association of neuropsychiatric syndrome and delirium on cognition. I have previously served as resident chapter president of New Jersey Psychiatric Association for 2 consecutive terms and served on council of Advocacy. I was awarded APA residents recognition award, excellence in leadership award, and more recently received official citation by Maryland State assembly for contribution in geriatric neuropsychiatry during COVID 19. Thank you for your consideration.

Sushma Jani, M.D.
Current Positions: Medical Director, Community Behavioral Health & Maple Shade Youth and Family Services
MPS Positions: None
Personal Statement:  It is my honor to accept this Council nomination. As a child, adolescent, addictions, and forensic trained psychiatrist and pediatrician in the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I practice in 13 clinics in a region spanning 300 miles to serve rural and underserved communities. I oversee multidisciplinary teams to offer a variety of individual, group, family, and couple psychotherapies, TMS, psychiatric rehabilitation programs, addiction services, and resident and student training. Apart from my clinical work, I partner with the University of Maryland and the George Washington University Departments of Psychiatry to implement research interventions in artificial intelligence and telemedicine, have obtained numerous grants to implement trauma informed training and early childhood intervention services, and work with local providers and communities to improve the implementation of evidence based psychiatric care. I am hopeful my contributions to and from the Council will improve rural practice outcomes through the empowerment of more Maryland psychiatrists.

Gulafsheen Quadri, M.D.
Current Positions: Catholic Charities- Outpatient Child, Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist
MPS Positions: Member of APA and MPS: Diversity Committee Member, Collaborative Care Interest Group, MPS Book Cub, Health Policy Advisory Group
Personal Statement: I recently completed my child and adolescent fellowship at the University of Maryland and stayed in Baltimore to follow my passion in community psychiatry.  As an APA Diversity Fellow Alumni, I am passionate about diversity and inclusion and improving access to mental health care.  In residency and fellowship, I served in DEI leadership positions and organized lectures to promote DEI work. I would be honored to serve on the counsel and work collectively with others to support the mission of MPS.  My training and work experience as a therapist and a child and adolescent psychiatrist will add diversity to the Council.

Resident-Fellow Member Councilor (1-year term)

Matthew Brandt, M.D.
Current Positions: PGY3 Resident at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt Residency Program
MPS Positions: MPS and APA General Member
Personal Statement: During medical school, I had the privilege of serving as the student council community service chair, a role that not only allowed me to contribute to positive change within my community but also provided invaluable opportunities for personal and professional growth. Collaborating with fellow students and school administrators was deeply fulfilling, and I learned a great deal from those around me. As I continue my residency, I am eager to carry forward this spirit of learning and collaboration— I would be honored to serve as a go-between for trainees and MPS members to strengthen our collective efforts, foster professional growth, and continue making a meaningful impact on the community we serve.

 

ECP Councilor (2-year term)

Melissa Lavoie, M.D.
Current position: Assistant Professor and Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine
MPS positions: APA and MPS general member
Personal statement: It would be a privilege to serve as the MPS Early Career Psychiatrist Councilor. I completed my residency at Johns Hopkins in 2023, where I served as a Chief Resident. I am passionate about community psychiatry, medical student education, harm reduction, and medical ethics. If elected to the MPS Council, I would be excited to foster meaningful opportunities for early career psychiatrists to connect, support one another, and engage in advocacy work that drives positive change for our patients. Thank you for your consideration.

 

APA Assembly Representative (3-year term, 1 vacancy)

Adefolake Akinsanya , M.D.
Current Positions: Service Chief of the Sheppard Pratt Adolescent Female acute inpatient unit, Interim Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
MPS Positions: Currently Area 3 ECP REP at the APA Assembly, Co-chair of MPS membership commitee. Member of APA and MPS, Member of MPS Legislative Committee.
Personal Statement:  It would be my pleasure to serve as the APA Assembly rep. As I draw closer toward the end of my time as an early career psychiatrist, I have had great opportunities to be involved in impacting positive change through my clinical work as well my service in the APA and MPS. In the last 4 years, I remain an active member of the APA Assembly and MPS. Through my work, I have gained enormous experience in coordinating ECP related matters with the APA on a national level. If elected, I’ll continue to do so in a larger capacity as I represent MPS at the APA Assembly. My priority at the Assembly would be continued engagement and representation of MPS related matters that affect the needs of our profession, daily practice and delivery of quality health care to our patient population. I  am passionate about advocacy which I believe is important to facilitate more community outreach, thereby improving access to care and quality of care. 

Mark Komrad, M.D.
Current Positions: Private practice: Towson; Faculty of Psychiatry: Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Tulane, LSU
MPS Positions: Member:  MPS Council; Member, Board of Directors: Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (nonprofit foundation for MPS); Chair: MPS Public Education Committee; Member: MPS Membership Development Committee
Personal Statement: Like any “legislative” body, the APA Assembly has rather complex processes which take several years to understand and to develop effective “political capital.” Having served in the Assembly for 6 years, representing the Southern Psychiatric Association, I learned to skillfully master those processes, cultivating significant political capital with many Assembly colleagues. This, along with my experience on the APA Ethics Committee, enabled me to successfully develop some major action papers and vital APA position statements.  I would now like to bring that hard-earned experience in service of representing the MPS. As a seasoned rep I will be able to hit the ground running to promote the concerns of our district branch like — scope of practice challenges, protecting our vulnerable patients and profession in the face of daunting political changes, and educating the public about who psychiatrists are and our unique skills among the confusing array of mental health professionals.

 

Nominations & Elections Committee (3-year term, 2 vacancies, 4 nominees)

Carol Vidal, M.D., PhD
Current Positions: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division; Co-Director SMART (School Mental Health Advice and Response Team) Program for Suicide Prevention
MPS Positions: Public Psychiatry and Legislative Committees Member, MPS, Past-President and Council Chair
Personal Statement: Since completing my residency and fellowship at the University of Maryland, I have worked in Baltimore to follow my passion to serve urban communities and children in Baltimore City Schools. I am interested in finding ways to improve access utilizing services beyond the traditional ways of health care delivery, such as through community-based interventions. I believe in systems of care that take into consideration the blend between the biological and social causes of mental disorders, and that integrate mental health and addiction services. If elected to chair the nominations & elections committee, I hope to advocate for the recruitment of members to positions with this perspective. I thank you for your consideration.

Mark J. Ehrenreich, M.D.
Current Positions: Vice Chair of Education, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Director of Residency Training, University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt Psychiatry Residency Training Program
MPS Positions: MPS Peer Review Committee, 2000 – 2002. MPS Council, 2007 – 2011 & 2015 – 2024, MPS Ethics Committee, 2009 – present, MPS Distinguished Fellowship Committee, 2009 – present, Chair of MPS Distinguished Fellowship Committee 2016 – 2020. Board Member, Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, 2011 – 2018. Secretary-Treasurer 2018 – 2019, President-Elect 2019 -2020, President 2020 – 2021, Council Chair 2021 – 2022, Nominations and Elections Committee 2022 – present.
Personal Statement: Since leaving training, I have worked primarily in the field of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry and Psychiatric Education, while also maintaining a small private practice. As someone who has been involved in the training of future psychiatrists, I am deeply committed to the mission of the MPS. The MPS’s advocacy for our patients and our profession is important not only for the present but also for the future of psychiatric practice in our state. I have been a member of the MPS since residency and I have had the pleasure of serving the MPS in a variety of roles. During my time on the MPS Executive Committee I have worked to engage trainees and early career psychiatrists from diverse backgrounds in the work of the MPS. I would be honored to continue to serve the MPS as a member of the Nomination & Elections Committee.

Andrew Angelino, M.D.
Current Positions: Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Chair of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center; Director of Community Division Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Past MPS Positions: Member-in-Training, 1993-1997; Committee Member, Residents and Fellows Committee, 1994-1995; Chair, Residents and Fellows Committee, 1995-1997; General Member, 1999-present; Vice Chair, Legislative Committee, 2001-2003; Early Career Psychiatrist Councilor, 2003-2005; Co-Chair, Legislative Committee, 2003-2009; Councilor, 2005-2009; Vice Chair, Legislative Committee, 2001-2003;  Secretary-Treasurer, 2009-2010; President-Elect, 2010-2011; President, 2011-2012; Council Chair, 2012-2013
Personal statement: I am honored to be nominated to serve on the Nominations Committee of the Maryland Psychiatric Society.  Our strength as a society stems from our outstanding members, incredible executive director and staff, and the robust process of leadership through elected positions to key governance roles.  Having served on the executive team and council, I am qualified to represent you in selecting members to fill these positions for your consideration, and believe I can do so in an impartial way based on the individuals’ merits.

Marsden McGuire, M.D., MBA
Current Positions: Director, Continuum of Care and General Mental Health, Office of Mental Health, Department of Veterans Affairs. Assistant Professor Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
MPS Positions: Previously served as Geriatric Psychiatry Committee Chair, Peer Review Committee Member, Council Member, and President.
Personal Statement: My career in psychiatry (with a specialty in geriatric psychiatry) has bridged three decades (all in Maryland, Delaware and D.C.) and progressed from clinical to research and eventually into a national role in mental health policy and program implementation at the VA. I have been involved with MPS during that time which I have found to be a vital source of information and understanding of how health systems work (or don’t work).  I hope to leverage this experience in guiding the work of the MPS Nominations and Elections Committee. Thank you.