Rebecca W. Brendel, M.D., J.D., 149th President, 2022–2023

Tonight, I have the tremendous honor of introducing my longtime colleague and dear friend APA President Dr. Rebecca Brendel. I have had the privilege of working with Becca for over 15 years: first on the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL) Ethics Committee, and subsequently on both the APA Ethics Task Force and APA Ethics Committee. Over these years, I have come to appreciate Becca’s intellect, industriousness, and commitment to our profession and to our patients. A trusted, gracious, and generous colleague, Becca’s impressive career combines psychiatry and medicine with law, ethics, and human rights in the service of our patients.

In her presidency, Dr. Brendel collaborated with many of our fellow members to develop a road map for the future. She testified before Congress and was repeatedly a vocal advocate for our field, either speaking to news media or in grand rounds and other speeches she presented around the world. Throughout it all, she exhibited the empathy and understanding that make her such an invaluable leader.

A consummate and effective multitasker, Dr. Brendel is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Master’s Degree Program at the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics, Director of Law and Ethics at the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and incoming Director of the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics.

She balances all these commitments with admirable cheerfulness and grace, while practicing clinically, teaching regularly, and raising two sons.

It is with great pleasure that I now welcome to the podium my friend APA President Dr. Rebecca Brendel.