CSAP Leadership
Board Chair - Dr. Cynthia He
It is a privilege to work with the deeply experienced, committed, and principled psychiatrists of CSAP, including my own district branch (the Northern California Psychiatric Society) and our partner district branches across the state. In collaboration with them, and with Mr. Yoder and the SYASL team, I look forward to continuing our mission to improve access to high-quality behavioral health care in California, strengthen the psychiatric profession, and advocate for patient-centered and science-based healthcare policies at the state and national levels. Our ongoing efforts and responsibilities also include fostering communication and consensus across our five district branches to use our collective voice as effectively as possible; coordinating with Area 6, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and allied organizations; and stewarding CSAP’s resources responsibly.
As we confront rapid technological change and a national climate wherein psychiatric paradigms, scientific institutions, and social safety nets face systemic destabilization, CSAP will continue to advocate for our patients, for the core values of our profession, and for patient-centered and science-based healthcare policies at both the state and national levels.
I completed my M.D. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at UC Los Angeles, followed by residency and forensic psychiatry fellowship at UC San Francisco. I am presently a staff psychiatrist in the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Chinatown-North Beach Mental Health Clinic, as well as a Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF. I am the 2026-27 President-Elect of the Northern California Psychiatric Society.
Board Vice Chair - Emily Wood, MD, PhD
As physicians, especially psychiatrists, we are afforded the great privilege to both witness and alleviate suffering in our community. Our professional strength comes through supporting each other and holding ourselves accountable for shaping our health care systems to meet the needs of all patients. I continue to be excited to work with and learn from the like-minded, experienced psychiatrists and advocates at CSAP.
I completed my M.D. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins followed by adult psychiatry residency and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UCLA. Clinically, I specialize in neurodivergent populations across the lifespan and am presently Medical Director of Convergent Minds, a multi-provider psychiatry, psychology, and occupational therapy practice in West Los Angeles. I serve as Co-Chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the Southern California Psychiatric Society and previously served at the CSAP Chair of Government Affairs. I teach mental health to Superior Court judges through the Judicial Council of California’s Center for Judicial Education and Research and hold a Volunteer Clinical Faculty appointment at Charles R. Drew University, where I teach neuroscience to psychiatry residents and fellows.
Governmental Affairs Chair – Dr. Daniel Cho
Dr. Daniel Cho is a physician double board-certified in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. He currently works clinically as a staff psychiatrist at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Academically, sh holds a Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor appointment at UCLA, but his primary academic work is with Charles R. Drew University where he serves as the Vice-Chair of Education and the Residency Training Director.
He has held leadership positions for multiple medical organizations locally and nationally. For the American Psychiatric Association, he has served on the Council of Advocacy and Government Affairs (2018-2020) and sat on the Board of Trustees (2019-2020). He currently serves as the Area 6 Early Career Psychiatrist Representative to the General Assembly and a Corresponding Member to the Council of Medical Education and Lifelong Learning. He has also served as Secretary of the Orange County Psychiatric Society (2024-2026) and is currently the President-Elect. Within the California State Association of Psychiatrists, he served as he served as the Vice Chair for Government Affairs Committee last year and is stepping into the role of Chair this year.
