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.