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)

Michael A. Young, M.D.
Current Positions: Attending Psychiatrist, Sheppard Pratt; Medical Director, The Retreat by Sheppard Pratt; Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine
MPS Positions: Former MPS Council Member, current Co-Chair MPS Legislative Committee, current MPS Secretary-Treasurer
Personal Statement: Dr. Young is passionate about practicing and teaching psychiatry as well as advocacy for patients and families.  He believes in the mantra “cura personalis”, which translates to “care for the whole person”, and an integrated approach to wellness, recognizing that cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and physical health are all essential components of overall wellness and thriving.   Dr. Young’s special areas of interest include caring for patients with complex and co-occurring disorders, providing neurodivergent affirming care, medical ethics, psychiatric resident education, psychotherapy as a foundational component of care, and sports psychiatry.  Advocacy on behalf of MPS, in the interest of our patients and profession, has been a truly rewarding aspect of my career.  I look forward to participating in MPS for many years to come.

 

Secretary-Treasurer (1-year term)

Rachna Raisinghani, M.D.
Current Positions: Chair, Department of Psychiatry at Greater Baltimore Medical Center;
Medical Director, Division of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Sheppard Pratt;
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine;
Distinguished Fellow American Psychiatric Association;
Fellow: Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Member: Annual Meeting Committee (Oral Papers and Posters Subcommittee)
Member: Indo-American Psychiatric Association
MPS Positions:  Councilor 2021-2023 and 2024 to present; Legislative Committee member 2023-2024. Member MPS Editorial Advisory Board and Program Committee 2025- present
Personal Statement: I am honored to run for the position of Secretary-Treasurer of the Maryland Psychiatric Society. I have had the privilege of serving on the MPS Council since 2021 and, more recently, on the Editorial Advisory Board. Through these roles, I have gained a deep appreciation for the Society’s commitment to advocacy, professional development, and collegial engagement across our state. My experiences have strengthened my desire to contribute more meaningfully to the organization’s leadership and long-term sustainability.

To me, MPS is an exceptional platform for networking, advocacy, continuing education, and mentorship, particularly for trainees and early-career psychiatrists who are shaping the future of our field. As Secretary-Treasurer, I would bring organizational diligence, fiscal responsibility, and a collaborative spirit to support the Society’s mission. I am committed to ensuring transparency, thoughtful stewardship of resources, and continued growth of opportunities that strengthen our psychiatric community in Maryland.

 

Council (two-year term, four vacancies)

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.

 
Mohammed Akbar, M.D.
Current Position(s): Medical Director – Emergency Psychiatry Service at GBMC; Maryland Regional Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Chair (2025-present)
MPS Positions:  2025 – Community Psychiatry and Diversity Committee Member; 2023 – MPS Member
Personal Statement: “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort, but where they stand at times of challenge.” During a time of change in healthcare and other sectors of Maryland, I hope to join the committee to stand along leaders in Psychiatry. My background in community care, volunteering in underserved communities, and currently leading the emergency department for psychiatric care, allows me to bring a collaborative approach for community and state leaders. I will dedicate my time to continue to advocate for high-quality and culturally sensitive care for all state residents. Although some of the changes may be challenging to accept, I will work to help psychiatrists and community members navigate these challenges. My current position in the ED as a leader, and having a leadership role with MRCCAP, it would be an honour to continue to work with my colleagues in both of these capacities to push for the MPS mission.

 
Contance Lacap, M.D.
Current Positions:  Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine; Assistant Dean for Assessment;  Adult Psychiatrist at Carruthers Clinic
MPS Positions:  Distinguished Fellow APA, MPS general member, previous Chair of Membership Committee, Resident/Fellow Representative
Personal Statement: I have been a proud member of the Maryland Psychiatric Society since my time as a Psychiatry resident in the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt residency program. My clinical work is grounded in the Division of Community Psychiatry, where I am a dedicated advocate for my patients and their families. Throughout my career, I have also been deeply committed to psychiatric education at all levels and have had the privilege of teaching both residents and medical students.
As a member of the MPS Councill, I hope to continue advancing equitable access to high‑quality, community‑based mental health care. I am equally committed to supporting the growth and future of our profession in Maryland. It would be an honor to contribute my experience, passion, and service to the Council and to the broader psychiatric community.

 
Robert Herman, M.D.
Current Positions: Staff Psychiatrist, Lifestance Health (outpatient psychiatry)
MPS Positions: Chair Political Action Committee.  Legislative Committee,  CME Committee, Membership Committee.
Personal Statement: As a fourth-generation physician and second-generation psychiatrist psychiatry and medicine is in my blood. My principal identity is that of a clinician, having worked in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings both in academia and in private practice settings in New York and Maryland.  I have employed a wide variety of treatments from Freudian psychoanalysis to Vagal Nerve Stimulation. I have taught and mentored psychiatric residents and early career psychiatrists. In my work on the legislative committee, I was part of a group that drafted a bill regulating pharmacy benefit managers that after many revisions were passed into law by our legislature. It was this work and my work on the political action committee that gave me understanding of the legislative process and how it affects our profession. As a seasoned clinical psychiatrist with 38 years of experience in our profession I believe I am well qualified to help guide MPS in its mission to support the professional needs of our members, to ensure quality mental health resources, and to combat stigma against our patients and our profession.

 
Idris Leppla, M.D.
Current Positions:  Johns Hopkins Bayview faculty
MPS Positions:  Legislative Committee 2017; Residents and Fellows Committee 2018-19; Early Career Psychiatrists 2019; Academic Psychiatry 2018-present;
Personal Statement: I am interested in being an MPS council member to engage in advocacy for psychiatrists and sound policy for patients. I am currently a faculty member at Johns Hopkins Bayview and run an inpatient consultation liaison service.  I am also active in teaching residents and fellows and have a small practice in community psychiatry and consult to 4 primary care clinics through the Johns Hopkins collaborative care model. I believe that people with mental health challenges face certain barriers in life that only dedicated and seasoned advocates can truly understand. These advocates should be tireless in their pursuing of the good for their patients and members of their community. I am familiar with these challenges and ready to partner with patients and advocates to promote the interest of Marylanders with these concerns.

 
Cynthia Lewis, M.D.
Current Positions: Assistant Professor, Director Adult Psychiatric Emergency Services, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
MPS Positions:  Legislative Committee Member, Community Psychiatry & Diversity Coalition Member
Personal Statement: My work as a community psychiatrist has afforded me the ability to work in many diverse settings.  My passion is working with our most vulnerable and disenfranchised population.  In 2019, when I was named the Director of Adult Psychiatry Emergency Services at Johns Hopkins Hospital, I was introduced to a population of patients who were being failed by our mental health system.  These patients, most with Severe Mental Illness (SMI), were utilizing acute psychiatric services at an alarming rate.  Despite this utilization, they were failing treatment and had an increased risk of homelessness, incarceration, victimization, and hospitalizations.  During that time, Maryland was one of three states who did not have Assisted Outpatient Treatment. 

In 2021, I set out on an advocacy journey. I joined the MPS Legislative Committee and provided oral and written testimony which eventually led to Governor Wes Moore’s signing Maryland’s first Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program into law. This was May 2024.  I was honored to receive the MPS Presidential Award of Excellence in 2024 and further honored to be inducted as a Distinguished Fellow of the APA in 2025. I was the MPS representative for the APA’s Federal Advocacy Conference in 2023 and 2025. Remaining on the council will allow me to continue advocating for those who remain our most vulnerable. I feel deeply responsible for advocating for those who are unable to advocate for themselves. It is my mission to make sure all our patients are provided quality care and the opportunity to live fulfilling, productive and dignified lives.   

 
Cynthia Fields, M.D.
Current Positions:  Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University; Associate Director, Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at JHU SOM
MPS Positions: APA and MPS general member, AAGP member
Personal Statement: I am a Geriatric Psychiatrist who specializes in the psychiatric complications of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as well as Parkinson’s disease.  I especially enjoy teaching and mentoring the Hopkins’ residents and fellows.  Some MPS members reading this post may have attended my Parkinson’s talk at the MPS Psychopharmacology CME last November.  As a Baltimore City native, I am passionate about providing equitable, high quality psychiatric care for all Marylanders.  I am the Medical Co-director of the new Johns Hopkins GUIDE (GUiding an Improved Dementia Experience) program, which provides care navigation for qualified Medicare beneficiaries living with dementia and their care partners.  I continue to serve on the State of Maryland’s Virginia I. Jones Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Council.  I would be honored to serve on the MPS Council, where I could continue my advocacy work in a more impactful way.

 

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

Mark S. Komrad, M.D.
Current Positions: Solo Private Practice; Assistant Professor – University of Maryland; Instructor in Psychiatry – Johns Hopkins; Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry – Tulane; Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry – Louisiana State University
MPS Positions: MPS Council (2024-Present); Board of Directors Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (non-profit arm of MPS) (1997-Present); Secretary/Treasurer Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (2024-Present); Past Chair – MPS Public Affairs/Education Committee
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: I have been an inpatient and private practice psychiatrist for 39 years in Maryland. I served 6 years in the APA Assembly as the representative for the Southern Psychiatric Association (which has a sizable proportion of MPS members). I was instrumental in introducing a number of action papers, crafting position statements, and building important political capital in the Assembly, which is critical for influence and leadership in that body. I’ve had an additional career as a medical ethicist — consulting, lecturing, and advising policy makers facing ethical dilemmas in psychiatry throughout the U.S. and worldwide. I served on the APA Ethics Committee for 8 years. My ethics background enables me to bring moral clarity regarding the direction of our profession in ethically incoherent times. This, along with my Assembly experience, political seasoning, and connections with the APA leadership will enable me to thoughtfully and effectively represent Maryland psychiatrists to the APA.

 
Marsden McGuire, M.D.
Current Positions:  (Recently retired) National Director, Continuum of Care and General Mental Health,  Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington DC; Assistant Professor Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
MPS Positions:  Previous service as Geriatric Psychiatry Committee Chair, Peer Review Committee Member, Council Member, and President.
Personal Statement: Over the years, I have been privileged to work within many of Maryland’s major psychiatric organizations in clinical, research and administrative roles. Having recently retired from the VA (4 years in Baltimore and 11 the national level), I am eager to put my experience to good use on behalf of the MPS.  One of my major VA responsibilities was to advocate for evidence-based, efficient, and compassionate national mental health policies by obtaining stakeholder input, implementing and evaluating the policies in local settings, and encouraging stakeholder feedback. I believe this blend of local, regional, and national experience prepares me well for service as an Area 3 representative. I am honored to be nominated and look forward to engaging with you in this capacity if elected. Thank you.

 

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

Ann L. Hackman, M.D.
Current positions: I am currently a Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry.  I serve as Division Director for Community Psychiatry and am a career long Assertive Community Treatment Psychiatrist.
MPS Positions: I have served as a Council Member and I co-chair the Community Psychiatry and Diversity Coalition along with Doris Balis.  I am currently on the Nominations and Elections Committee.
Personal Statement: I am a longstanding member of MPS and am deeply committed to our membership.  I enjoy being a member of the active Community Psychiatry and Diversity Coalition and am proud to work with wonderful members of this group in activities including bringing relevant CME events to MPS.   I have served as Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee for the past three years and if re-elected will continue to work to enhance the diversity of the Council.

 
Theodora Balis, M.D.
Current Positions: Associate Professor Clinical Educator, Georgetown University. Vice-Chair Education MedStar Health North and Residency Program Director for MedStar Health Georgetown University Baltimore Residency Program in Psychiatry. Community Psychiatrist in the mobile multidisciplinary collaborative care HEART program.
MPS Positions: Current: Past President MPS, Executive Committee member, Co-Chairman of the Community Psychiatry & Diversity Coalition. Past: Secretary-Treasurer, President-elect, President of MPS, Counsil member, Co-Chair and member of the Diversity Committee, Member of the Public Psychiatry Committee, Member of the Committee for Disaster Psychiatry, Member of the Committee for International Medical Graduates, Member of the Committee for Continuing Medical Education, Chairman of Diversity Committee
Personal Statement: I have been an active member of MPS for over 30 years. I have focused my career on public sector psychiatry and cultural issues that affect treatment as well as in the education of various trainees in psychiatry from Social Work, Nurse, Medical students and Residents. I am passionate about the importance of equitable high quality mental health services for underrepresented people in our community, destigmatizing mental illness, improving somatic care for our patients, and fair treatment by law enforcement and the legal system. This has been a focus of mine in my clinical work, training future physicians and psychiatrists, and in my work at MPS. I want to include multiple diverse perspectives in our organization so that we can continue to be a support, place of discussion, and advocacy for psychiatrists in the community and the people we treat. I would be honored to be able to continue this work as a member of the Nominations and Election Committee.

 
Virginia Ashley, M.D.
Current Positions:  I currently have a private practice which I have built since 1989.
University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopedic Institute from 1992 to 2017.
MPS Positions:  MPS Executive Committee 2019 to 2023. MPS President 2022. 2 terms on MPS Council prior to the Executive Committee. Currently on the membership committee. Currently active in Book Club.
Personal Statement: I have been a member of Maryland Psychiatric Society since 1986 when I joined as a resident at Sheppard Pratt.  I would be honored to continue on the Nominations & Elections Committee, which is important for the future of our organization.  I look forward to our continuing work with an organization that benefits psychiatrists and their patients. 

 
Brian Zimnitzky, M.D.
Current Position: Private Practice – Annapolis, MD; Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
MPS Positions: Area 3 Representative; Legislative Committee.
Personal Statement: After I joined the Maryland Psychiatric Society, I became a member of the Legislative Committee, where I learned the critical role our organization serves in reviewing legislation pertaining to psychiatrists and our patients.  I subsequently served on the MPS Council and Executive Committee.  I am proud to have had the privilege of serving as MPS President.  For the past nine years, I have represented the MPS in the APA Assembly, where we address critical issues pertaining to APA members, our patients and mental health.  I would be happy to serve on the Nominations & Elections committee.