Dr. Jessica Thackaberry (SDPS), Chairwoman
I am honored to be appointed as the new Chair of the CSAP Board for the coming year. I have been a member of the San Diego Psychiatric Society (SDPS) since 2012 when I moved to San Diego for Psychiatry residency at UCSD, and have been actively
involved at county, state and federal levels of the APA ever since. As the current President of SDPS, I am focusing this year on representing Psychiatry in our community, and making APA visible in Post-COVID San Diego, partnering with local business and services to be a resource to our colleagues. My day job is at UCSD, as the clinic medical director of our outpatient training clinic in Hillcrest, lead for TeleMental Health and for Psychiatry Informatics. I focus my time largely on training residents and medical students, improving the EHR experience for my colleagues and of course, seeing patients. I feel strongly that CSAP provides a necessary voice for psychiatrists and our patients in Sacramento, and look forward to continuing the excellent work of my predecessors in the coming year.
Dr. Rod Shaner (SCPS), Vice-Chair
I am grateful to SCPS and CSAP for the opportunity to serve as the Vice-Chair of the CSAP Board for the coming year, and excited to work under the leadership of Jessica Thackaberry, our new Board Chair. As a current CSAP Board me
mber and a current co-chair of the SCPS GAC, it has been a delight to see true APA member-directed and reunified state advocacy restored and flourishing in all the California District Branches (DB). CSAP has re-energized meaningful APA member participation in state legislative work and effectively influenced new California regulations. CSAP has also deepened our DB connections with each other and with APA and boosted recruitment of early career psychiatrists into advocacy work. This year promises to be even more significant, with greatly needed changes to LPS, health financing, insurance parity, and health records. My own participation in APA psychiatric advocacy has been shaped by the time I’ve served in several capacities at SCPS, CPA, and APA levels. My chief focus for many of those years was public sector psychiatry based on my past work as a director of LAC+USC Psychiatric Emergency Services and medical director of LA County DMH. I also maintained a private practice and served on the faculty at USC. My more recent focus is promoting psychiatric legislative advocacy in which all APA psychiatrists have a strong and directive voice in shaping legislation and policy through organizations privileged to speak on our behalf. I enthusiastically look forward to participating as vice-chair of the CSAP Board and working with all APA psychiatrists in California to improve patient care, strengthen our profession, and support the health of our diverse communities.
