Thomas E. Backer, Ph.D.
Thomas E. Backer, Phd. , President of the Human Interaction Research Institute Associate Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology at the UCLA School of Medicine
Thomas Backer, PhD is President of the Human Interaction Research Institute, a Los Angeles- based nonprofit center for research and intervention on innovation and change. He also is Associate Clinical Professor of Medical Psychology at the UCLA School of Medicine, and on adjunct faculty at California State University Northridge, where the Institute maintains offices. Dr. Backer's major professional interests are the human dynamics of change in individuals and organizations, the use of strategic planning and other management approaches to guide innovation and systems change, and the psychology of creativity. The author of more than 400 books, articles and research reports, his most recent books areDissemination and Utilization Strategies for Foundations: Adding Value to Grantmaking, and Reviewing the Behavioral Science Knowledge Base on Technology Transfer, (co-edited wih Susan L. David and Gerald Soucy). He also is the author of two recent books on health communication campaigns, both written with Everett Rogers of the University of New Mexico. Dr. Backer is the winner of the 1989 Mrs. Swanson Award of the Knowledge Utilization Society, for his research and consultation on labor/management responses to the AIDS health crisis. He also won the 1987 Consulting Psychology Research Award of the Division of Consulting Psychology, American Psychological Association. A licensed psychologist in California, Dr. Backer holds a doctorate in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and a member of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Among his voluntary and elected appointments: past-President, Division of Consulting Psychology, APA; Chair, Professional Advisory Board, Entertainment Industry Referral and Assistance Center, and past-President, Knowledge Utilization Society. Dr. Backer is a management consultant and educator whose clients include foundations, nonprofit arts organizations, federal government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and Hollywood film and television organizations. He specializes in the areas of managing innovation and change, strategic planning, developing programs for workers with special needs, and creativity in the workplace. He also is a writer-producer of films and television programs, focusing on topics such as disability, mental illness and aging. Several of his films have won awards in major festivals. He counsels individual clients in the arts and entertainment fields, and has developed programs on creativity for many educational institutions, such as the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Center for Creative Leadership and the Danforth Foundation.
Anthony Broskowski, Ph.D. , President, Managed Care Solutions, West Palm Beach, Florida
Dr. Broskowski comes from a rich background of academics, administration and teaching in mental health care. Through his company MCS he provides consultation on managed care service delivery systems, use of computer simulation models for planning and managing service capacity, utilization, cost and reimbursement within a risk-sharing environment, organizing for HEDIS, MIS functionality for managed care environments, CQI and Business Process Reengineering (BPR), surveys and specialized quality and outcomes research. MCS has provided extensive consultation to state and local level payers and providers. MCS has extensive experience with Medicaid mental health and substance abuse utilization and risk analysis. Dr. Broskowski also has had extensive experience and contacts throughout the United States in the field of mental health and health care services research. He has published over 70 articles, book chapters and one book (Linking Health and Mental Health). He is knowledgeable and experienced in areas of health, mental health, and substance abuse service delivery systems and program models, service utilization and cost information, psychiatric epidemiology, program evaluation, management information systems, organizational design, general management functions (strategic planning, budgeting and accounting, resource control systems, executive decision systems, decision support systems, key performance indicators, personnel, and interorganizational relations - (joint ventures, corporate reorganization, etc.), and the major trends in the area of primary and specialty health care cost containment, employer health coalitions, and managed care strategies.
Joseph R. Calabrese, M.D. , President and CEO University Behavioral Health Care, Cleveland, Ohio
Dr. Calabrese is both a nationally recognized expert in bipolar disorders and an emerging expert in managed behavioral health care in the academic setting. He and his colleagues have developed one of the first "academic managed care" models in the United States. As Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, he is the Principal Investigator of numerous grants and has published over 90 articles related to many aspects of affective illnesses. As Vice Chairman of Clinical Affairs at the University Hospitals of Cleveland, he oversees the clinical programs and directs the Mood Disorder Program.
Daniel J. Conti, Ph.D. Vice President and Director of the Employee Assistance Program of the First Chicago NBD Corporation, Chicago, Illinois
Dr. Conti serves as Vice President and Director of the Employee Assistance Program of the First Chicago NBD Corporation, the seventh largest bank holding company in the U.S. He has developed and implemented innovative programs that address the link between behavioral health status and corporate costs and has published significant research on this subject. He serves on the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Managed Behavioral Health Care Advisory Panel, on the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association of Illinois, and as Adjunct Associate Professor at DePaul University in Chicago. Dr. Conti received his B.A. from John Carroll University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from DePaul University.
Barbara Dickey, Ph.D. , Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Director of Mental Health Services Research, McClean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
As a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Dickey has been the principal investigator of numerous services research studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health since 1975. She has studied public-sector service use, cost and outcome from the perspective of the provider, payer and consumer. Currently, she is analyzing data from the Massachusetts Managed Medicaid Program.
Jack M. Gorman, M.D., Lieber Professor & Vice-chair for Research, Columbia University
Lieber Professor & Vice-chair for Research
Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons
Department of Psychiatry
1051 Riverside Drive - Unit 32
New York, NY 10032
Jack M. Gorman, M.D. is Lieber Professor and Vice-chair for Research of the department of psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University in New York City. He is also the Director of the Mental Health Clinical Research Center for Schizophrenia Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, the Chief Scientist of the Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research at Columbia University, and the Scientific Director of the Phobia, Anxiety, and Stress Disorders Clinic at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
Dr. Gorman earned his medical degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. He then interned in pediatrics at Babies Hospital in New York City, and completed a residency in psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He also completed a fellowship in psychiatric research and psychopharmacology at Columbia University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, President-elect of the American Psychopathological Association, and was named one of the nine best adult psychiatrists in the United States by American Health Magazine.
In addition to his two books both for the general audience (The Essential Guide to Psychiatric Drugs and The Essential Guide to Mental Health, both published by St. Martin's Press), he is the author of more than 300 journal articles and textbook chapters. Dr. Gorman also serves as the Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry, and as editor in chief of CNS Spectrums. Dr. Gorman's research interests include the neuroanatomy and neurotransmitter function in anxiety disorder, the neuroendocrinology of depression, and neuroimmunology of schizophrenia.
Tom Hamilton, Thomas M Hamilton Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer EEX Corporation
Mr. Hamilton was elected to his current position in January 1997. He came to EEX from Pennzoil Company where he was executive vice president, responsible for all Pennzoil operating companies and also served as president of Pennzoil Exploration and Production Company. Prior to his five-year tenure at Pennzoil Company, Mr. Hamilton worked for Exxon, Aminoil and BP in operations, research and management, both domestically and overseas.
He graduated with a BS degree in geology from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio in 1965 and received their distinguished alumni award in 1998. He earned MS and Ph.D. degrees in geology from the University of North Dakota in 1967 and 1970 respectively. In May 1993, the University of North Dakota awarded him an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree.
Mr. Hamilton was a member of the board of directors for the 1987 XII World Petroleum Congress. He is Chairman Emeritus, Advisory Board of the Earth Sciences and Resources Institute at the University of South Carolina and an emeritus member of the Advisory Board of the Earth and Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah. At the University of North Dakota, Tom is a member of the School of Engineering and Mines Advisory Council and also serves on the board of the UND Foundation and Alumni Association. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of Capital University and a member of the Colorado School of Mines Petroleum Engineering Advisory Committee. Tom recently retired as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the AGI (American Geological Institute) Foundation and the AGI Executive Committee. He has memberships in the AAPG (American Association of Petroleum Geologists), SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) and the SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers). He has authored many papers and frequently speaks on organizational change in business.
As a result of his son having been diagnosed with schizophrenia, Tom has become very involved in family education and advocacy on mental health issues. He has been a member of NAMI West Houston for 6 years and was formerly a director. He currently serves as President of NAMI TX and is a member of the board of The Texas Foundation for Psychiatric Education and Research. He is also a director of Tomball Pines, Inc., a HUD section 8 housing project for the mentally ill in the northwest Houston area.
Liz Lipton , medical and legal journalist and researcher, Kingston, New York
Liz Lipton is an award-winning medical and legal freelance writer and
researcher. She writes regularly for Psychiatric News, published by the
American Psychiatric Association. She has written investigative articles
for Psychiatric News on such subjects as the misdiagnosis of
delirium in mental health consumers, the poor medical care that many
mental health consumers receive, and a four-part series examining
Medicaid and access to atypicals antipsychotics.
As an associate of Glazer Medical Solutions, Ms. Lipton has conducted
research, written comprehensive reports, and worked directly on the
production of the website MedAccess.
Ms. Lipton is the winner of the 1999 Sidney Gross Investigative Award
from New York University's journalisms department and the 2000 Print
Media award from the Mental Health Association of Ulster County.
Her byline also appears in State Bar News, published by the New York
State Bar Association, Neuropsychiatry Reviews, and other publications.
John Lovegrove, CEO , Acute Consultation and Treatment Services Inc. (ACTS), Denver, Colorado
Mr. Lovegrove is one of the founding members of ACTS and has served as the CEO and President since its formation in 1989. He brings over 25 years of experience working with chronically mentally ill populations in mental health centers as well as the private sector. He is a nationally known speaker and consultant in the area of acute care and emergency response systems. ACTS has provided services to insurers as well as Colorado employers including Adolph Coors, United Food Service Workers, and the State of Colorado. More recently, ACTS has facilitated and coordinated networks of care for local providers in various locations around the United States.
Jeffrey S. McCombs, Ph.D., , Department of Pharmaceutical Economics & Policy, USC
Area of Expertise:
Health economics, pharmaceutical economics, capitated medical systems,
competitive pricing systems, economic assessment of medical
technologies/interventions.
Professional Biography:
Dr. McCombs joined the Department of Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy in
1987, and holds joint appointments in Gerontology and Public Administration.
Dr. McCombs earned his doctorate in economics at the University of
California-San Diego, specializing in health economics. At UCSD, Dr. McCombs
received cross training at the School of Medicine throughout a National
Center for Health Services Research pre-doctoral traineeship. Previous
positions: Assistant professor with the Department of Mental Hygiene, the
Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (1980-82); Senior Project
Analyst, Applied Management Sciences in Silver Spring, MD (1982-83); and
Social Science Research Analyst, the Office of Research and Demonstrations,
the Health Care Financing Administration (1983-87). Dr. McCombs is an author
or co-author of 35 articles appearing in Journal of Health Economics; Journal
of Health Politics, Policy and Law; Health Care Financing Review; Health
Affairs; Health Services Research; Value in Health; Medical Care; Psychiatric
Services; American Journal of Managed Care; and the American Journal of
Clinical Psychiatry. Dr. McCombs has also authored or co-authored eight book
chapters. He has served as a consultant to the Health Care Financing
Administration and several pharmaceutical companies.
Mary D. Moller, MSN, ARNP, CS , Spokane, WA
Mary is an advanced registered nurse practitioner certified as a clinical specialist in adult psychiatric-mental health nursing. She is Administrator of The Suncrest Wellness Center which was featured with Patty Duke 2/26/93 on Good Morning America. She is also CEO of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Nurses, Inc. and also President of NurSeminars, Inc.. She serves as Adjunct Instructor of Nursing at Washington State University and Gonzaga University, all in Spokane, WA. Her main clinical focus is in the ongoing development and implementation of The Three R's Program: Relapse, Recovery, Rehabilitation: A Wellness Approach to Psychiatric Rehabilitation. She is also producer of the award winning Understanding and Communicating With ... videotape series. The 4th video in the series, Understanding and Communicating With a Person Who Has Delusions received the Silver Telly award as the top medical video for 1996. Mary was the 1991 Dorothy Kent Distinguished Lecturer at Vanderbilt University. She has keynoted conferences for the Menninger Foundation, Ohio State University, the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Univ of Texas, UCLA, Univ of So. Cal, the Mayo Clinic as well as for 36 State Alliance for the Mentally Ill conferences. She has led workshops for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, the Society for Education and Research in Psychiatric Nursing, and numerous national psychiatric nursing meetings. Mary has been annually recognized in Who's Who in American Nursing since 1988. She has made over 750 professional and research presentations in 46 states, Canada, and England since 1980. She is co-author of the Symptom Management Assessment Tool as well as over 35 articles and book chapters both nationally and internationally. In 1992 she was a presenter at the 2nd International Conference on Schizophrenia in Vancouver, BC and also at the Hospital and Community and Psychiatry International Institute in Toronto. She received the 1994 Award for Clinical Excellence from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and the 1996 Professional of the Year Award from The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.. She has served on two task forces at the National Institute of Mental Health. In October of 1995 she chaired the Global Schizophrenia Forum in London, England
Hal Morgenstern, Ph.D. , UCLA School of Public Health
Dr. Morgenstern, Professor of Epidemiology in the UCLA School of Public Health, is a well-known epidemiologist with extensive research experience in a wide range of public-health areas, including musculoskeletal conditions, cancers, neuropsychiatric disorders, nonintentional injuries, cardiovascular disease, psychosocial aspects of disease, occupational and environmental health, research methods, and access to and quality of health care. He is currently the principal investigator of three federally funded projects on medical versus chiropractic care in the treatment of low-back pain, the use of cervical manipulation versus mobilization in the treatment of neck pain, and the effects of marijuana use on the risks of lung and upper-aerodigestive-tract cancers. Other recent projects include studies of the effects of occupational exposures to low- level ionizing radiation and chemicals on cancer mortality in nuclear and aerospace workers, the effects of pool-fencing ordinances and other factors on childhood drowning in Los Angeles County, the impact of a physician-directed intervention on inappropriate prescribing of medications to nursing-home patients, the occurrence of tardive dyskinesia among psychiatric patients treated with antipsychotics, and methods of ecologic analysis in epidemiology. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications in the biomedical literature, including a textbook on Epidemiologic Research, and he has received four teaching awards in the schools of public health at Yale University (1985) and UCLA (1989; 1997; and 1999).
Christine A. Murphy, Ph.D. , West Springfield, Massachusetts
Christine A. Murphy, PhD, has been associated with Glazer Medical Solutions since 1997. In this capacity she assumes responsibility for Key Influencer (KIP) Project management, developing educational content, designing comprehensive evaluation plans, and supervising the activities of site- based educational coordinators. Prior to her association with Glazer Medical Solutions, Dr. Murphy served as a program developer, researcher and evaluator on a variety of projects in health, education and human services. In addition, she has held research positions at The Institute of Community Research, Hartford, CT and The Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at both the Universities of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Dr. Murphy has published and presented her work in a variety of publications and professional forums.
Andrew A. Nierenberg, MD , Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Nierenberg graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, NewYork. He did his residency in psychiatry at New York University/Bellevue Hospital in New York City, where he became a chief resident, and then went on as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Yale University to study clinical epidemiology. He continued his trek north to join the faculty at Harvard, first to direct one of the Affective Disorders Inpatient Units, and then to direct the Affective Disorders Outpatient Unit at McLean Hospital. Dr. Nierenberg then joined the Psychopharmacology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 1992 where he is currently Associate Director of the Depression Clinical and Research Program, Medical Director of the Bipolar Programs, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He has published over 100 original articles, chapters, reviews, and abstracts and has been listed among the best doctors in Boston and North America for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders since 1994. His primary interests are treatment resistant depression, management of antidepressant side effects, the longitudinal course of affective disorders, and pharmacoepidemiology. Dr. Nierenberg lectures extensively, both nationally and internationally, maintains an active clinical practice, and is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the pharmaceutical industry for clinical research studies. Most recently, Dr. Nierenberg is involved in two ground-breaking NIMH contracts to study bipolar and unipolar disorders: he is the Pathway Leader for Treatment Refractory Bipolar Depression on the NIMH sponsored Systematic Treatment Enhancement Project for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD; www.edc.gsph.pitt.edu/STEPBD) and Associate Regional Site Director for the Sequential Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D; www.edc.gsph.pitt.edu/stard).
James M. Oher, CEAP, CSW, NCPsyA , Oher & Associates
Jim Oher is managing director of Oher and Associates, Inc. an international consultancy that assists companies with issues that affect productivity and health. Previously he served as EAP Director at JCPenney and Health Care Manager at Texaco Inc. He is editor of The Employee Assistance Handbook, co-editor of The Comprehensive Guide to Managed Behavioral Healthcare and co-author of The Employee Assistance Treatment Planner.
Jerrold F. Rosenbaum, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Rosenbaum, Chief of Psychiatry (Interim) at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, is recognized as one of the world's foremost authorities on mood and anxiety disorders, with a special emphasis on pharmacotherapy of those conditions. His research contributions include extensive participation in the design and conduct of clinical trials of new therapies, the design and implementation of trials to develop innovative treatments for major depression and panic disorder, studies of psychopathology including comorbidity and subtypes, and studies of longitudinal course and outcomes of those disorders. A particular research has been ongoing studies of children at risk for anxiety disorders and depression which address early temperamental differences, such as the profile known as Behavioral Inhibition to the Unfamiliar, as identifiable early markers of risk for later psychopathology in children at risk. As Chief of Psychiatry at MGH, he directs a department of nearly 600 clinicians and oversees the outpatient division which accomplishes over 60,000 visits annually. His clinical and consulting practice specializes in treatment resistant mood and anxiety disorders, and he consults extensively to colleagues on management of these conditions. He lectures widely on related topics, addressing thousands of practitioners annually in a variety of postgraduate educational venues. Together with his colleagues, he developed the MGH outpatient service into a world leading clinical and clinical research center, with specialty programs including the Depression Clinical and Research Program, the Harvard-MGH Bipolar Program, the Anxiety Disorders Program, the Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry Program, and the Psychiatric Genetics Program in Mood and Anxiety Disorders, each of which has extensive portfolios of funded research.
Robert A. Rosenheck, MD , Veteran Affair's Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Yale University School of Medicine Division of Mental Health Services and Outcomes Research.
Dr. Robert Rosenheck is the Director of VA's Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Director of the Evaluation Division of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); and Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health at Yale where he is also Director of the Division of Mental Health Services and outcomes Research. He is a internationally known mental health service researcher who is leader in cost-effectiveness studies of behavioral health interventions and has recieved several national awards for his work. He is currently responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of several hundred specialized VA programs devoted to the care of homeless veterans, veterans suffering from PTSD, and veterans who suffer from severe and persistent mental illnesses. He has been a prime architect of national VA collaborative programs with both the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration. He also directed the client-level evaluation of the ACCESS program for homeless mentally ill Americans, for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services. He has published more than 150 scientific papers on topics such as performance evaluation of large mental health systems, the causes of homelessness, the organization and financing of mental health services, and the cost-effectiveness of psychosocial and psychopharmacological treatments of serious mental illness, homelessness, and PTSD among Vietnam veterans.
Dr. Donald Royall , University of Texas Health Science Center /San Antonio
Dr. Donald Royall is a Professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center /San Antonio, where he directs the Geriatric Psychiatry Program. He is double boarded in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry, with added qualifications in geriatric psychiatry. Dr. Royall graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University with bachelor of science degrees in both Biology and Psychology. He completed his medical training at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and residency programs at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimote, Maryland. Dr. Royall is listed in the Best Doctors in America, 1998-2000. He is on the Editorial Board of Neuroepidemiology, and an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Dr. Royall's research interests include frontal lobe executive functions and their association with dementia, disability, problem behavior, and functional outcomes. He is the author of several brief executive measures, including the Executive Interview (EXIT25) and CLOX: An Executive Clock Drawing Task.