Anita S. Everett, M.D., D.F.A.P.A., 144th President, 2017–2018

Good afternoon!

I feel honored today to introduce Dr. Anita Everett, President of the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Everett and I have known each other and collaborated together for many years.

I knew Dr. Everett first as an excellent clinician.

She served as the Section Chief of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Community Psychiatry program in Baltimore, Maryland. She was on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. At Hopkins, she directed 22 community psychiatry programs that provided a range of services to individuals from preschool age to older adults and through a range of programs that included intensive acute services as well as recovery support services for people with serious mental illness. She was an excellent advocate for her patients.

In all her leadership positions, she has been a great partner. We began our collaboration through monthly meetings of the Maryland Psychiatric Society, where she was on the executive committee in various positions, including being the president of the Maryland Psychiatric Society, and I was working for state government. Dr. Everett reports that she benefitted greatly from the exposure and experience of working in Maryland in a setting where most people with serious mental illness were able to access psychiatric treatment and recovery support services. However, I would say that Maryland benefited greatly by having Dr. Anita Everett sharing her ideas and working for the benefit of the individuals in the mental health system.

Dr. Everett is an excellent leader and also an excellent listener. She promoted ideas that came from her and from ideas that came from others. I witnessed repeatedly how she was able to get things done and did it with collaboration and dedication to ensure access and quality of services for people with serious mental Illness. These are values she has continued to advocate for throughout all positions across the multiple systems in which she has served, including during her year as the President of the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Everett has an enduring commitment to public psychiatry and leadership in the APA. Over the past year, she has used her presidency to promote improved access to care and increased quality of care for people with serious mental illness. In addition, she has been a champion for full parity. She has also been a champion for increased attention to the needs of transitional aged youth, including emphasizing first-episode psychosis programs. She has promoted the importance of enforcing the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires emergency departments to diagnose and stabilize individuals. She has promoted the use of community options, including crisis services, as an alternative to emergency rooms and inpatient treatment.

Dr. Everett is currently the Chief Medical Officer at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Along with Dr. McCance-Katz, Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Dr. Everett continues to connect with states on the importance of establishing a continuum of care that looks beyond beds and includes a robust set of community services, including crisis services, to divert people with mental illness from jail and unnecessary hospitalization.

Dr. Everett is fantastic in every way: she is a champion for people with serious mental illness, a respected leader, a visionary, a great partner, a consensus builder, and someone who gets things done. Please join me in welcoming, honoring, and thanking Dr. Anita Everett.