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Elayne D. Ansara, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Mental Health
Resident Program Director, PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency
Richard L. Roudebush VAMC
Indianapolis, IN
Dr. Ansara graduated from Purdue University with her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2006. She completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at Clarian Health (now IU Health) and a PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency at Wishard Health Services (now Eskenazi Health) and Purdue University. Upon completion of her residency Dr. Ansara served as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Psychiatry and provided clinical care for all acute care psychiatric services at Eskenazi Health. In 2016, she transitioned to the Richard L. Roudebush VAMC where she now practices in ambulatory care mental health and serves at the Residency Program Director for the PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency Program. |
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Tamara Bystrak, PharmD, BCPS
PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
West Haven, CT
Tamara Bystrak received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Rhode Island. After graduating, she completed her PGY1 pharmacy residency at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. She is currently a PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy resident at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. She is also the Professional Development Subcommittee Lead for the Federal Resident Council. Dr. Bystrak is board certified in pharmacotherapy. After completing her PGY2, she plans on pursuing board certification in psychiatric pharmacy. |
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Benjamin Chavez, PharmD, BCPP, BCACP
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy
Director of Behavioral Health Pharmacy Services
Salud Family Health Center
Aurora, CO
Benjamin Chavez, PharmD, BCPP, BCACP is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2004. He is board certified in both psychiatric pharmacy and ambulatory care pharmacy, and has practiced in a variety of settings, including inpatient and outpatient psychiatry. His current focus is in outpatient primary care and behavioral health, at Salud Family Health Center, where he is the Director of Behavioral Health Pharmacy Services. At Salud he practices under Collaborative Practice Agreements to treat depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, as well as chronic disease states such as diabetes and hypertension. |
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Traci Cole, PharmD, BCPP
Mental Health Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
Chillicothe VA Medical Center
Chillicothe, OH
Dr. Cole graduated from Midwestern University IL in 2012. After completing her PGY-1 and PGY-2 residencies at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center, she began working in the residential substance use disorder and PTSD treatment program at the Salt Lake City VA Healthcare System. In 2015 she returned to the Chillicothe VA. Since that time she has worked in outpatient mental health, primary care mental health integration, and consult liaison psychiatry. Her research interests include substance use disorders, eating disorders, and tracking the expanding role of psychedelics in the treatment of mental health disorders. |
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Erica Davis, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Clinical Psychiatric Pharmacist
Springfield Hospital Center
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Baltimore, MD
Dr. Davis received her BS in Physiology and PharmD from the University of Arizona. She completed a PGY1 residency with Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY and a PGY2 residency with the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and practices as a Clinical Psychiatric Pharmacist at Springfield Hospital Center, a state psychiatric hospital in Sykesville, MD. Dr. Davis is board certified in both pharmacotherapy and psychiatric pharmacy. She has been an active CPNP member since 2009 and is currently on the Mental Health Clinician editorial board. Her interests include schizophrenia, forensic psychiatry, and clozapine. |
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Austin De La Cruz, PharmD, BCPP
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Houston College of Pharmacy
Houston, TX
Dr. Austin De La Cruz is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. Dr. De La Cruz received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy. He then went on to complete a PGY-1 Ambulatory Care Focused Pharmacy Practice Residency and a PGY-2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System in Gainesville, Florida. Dr. De La Cruz is a Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacy Specialist who cares for and treats individuals with mental health disorders in his outpatient psychiatric pharmacy clinic at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. |
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Bethany DiPaula, PharmD, BCPP
Professor
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland
Sykesville, MD
Bethany DiPaula is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Pharmacy. She received her PharmD and completed an ASHP-accredited Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency with the University of Maryland Baltimore. She is Director of the University of Maryland PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency and Director of Pharmacy at Springfield Hospital Center, a state-funded psychiatric hospital. She provides collaborative drug therapy management services for patients with substance use disorders and psychiatric disorders in a Baltimore City clinic. |
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Shannon Eaves, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist-Psychiatry
Eskenazi Health
Indianapolis, IN
Dr. Shannon Eaves earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University in 2014. She completed her PGY1 pharmacy residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL. She then went on to complete a PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy residency at Eskenazi Health/Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Currently, Dr. Eaves is a Psychiatric Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Eskenazi Health and serves as adjunct faculty at Purdue University College of Pharmacy. In this role, Dr. Eaves provides medication therapy management services under a collaborative practice agreement for individuals affected by serious mental illness at her outpatient clinic site. |
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Brittany Sarah Finocchio, PharmD, BCPP
Psychiatric Pharmacy Clinical Practice Specialist
University of Texas Medical Branch Correctional Managed Care
Huntsville, TX
Dr. Brittany Finocchio is a Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacy Clinical Practice Specialist who began working with UTMB CMC in August 2016. Dr. Finocchio received her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree in 2013 at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. Thereafter, she completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Bayhealth in Dover, Delaware, and a PGY-2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency at the University of Texas at Austin. Upon completion of her residencies, she accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Shenandoah University. In her current position at UTMB CMC, Dr. Finocchio assists with psychotropic formulary management, the provision of drug information, and the development of education and clinical resources for healthcare professionals throughout the Texas Departments of Criminal Justice and Juvenile Justice. Dr. Finocchio also provides direct patient care through pharmacist-run mental health clinics at inpatient and outpatient prison units.
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Gkeemia Gibson, PharmD, BCPS
PGY2 Psychiatry Pharmacy Resident
University of North Carolina Medical Center
Chapel Hill, NC
Gkeemia is a current PGY2 Psychiatry Pharmacy Resident at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hil, NC. She attended pharmacy school at Wingate University School of Pharmacy located in Wingate, NC and her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. She is originally is from the small town of Latta, SC. Her dream job would have a component of both inpatient and outpatient pharmacy psychiatry practice. |
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Jessa Koch, PharmD, BCPP
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry & Neurology
Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy
Loma Linda, CA
Dr. Jessa Koch joined Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy as a faculty member in July 2016. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 2014. She completed her first year of residency training at the Chillicothe Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio from 2014-2015, and then completed a PGY2 residency in psychiatry at the same facility from 2015-2016. Dr. Koch is the course coordinator and lecturer for the psychiatry and neurology courses at the school of pharmacy. Dr. Koch practices in the outpatient setting within an academic medical center. She is the psychiatric pharmacist on the Integrated Care team at the Social Action Community Health System (SACHS) clinic in San Bernardino, California. In this multidisciplinary setting, she helps manage behavioral health conditions. Her other practice site is in the Movement Disorders Clinic where she collaborates with a neurologist to provide care to patients with movement disorders with the primary disease state being Parkinson’s Disease. |
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Corey Laskey, PharmD, BCPP
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Western New England University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Springfield, MA
Corey Laskey completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Connecticut and went on to complete a PGY1 Community Pharmacy residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY. She then completed a PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy residency at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, AL. She is currently employed by Western New England University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences as a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice. Initially, she developed a practice site in inpatient mental health and has now been at her second practice site, Trinity Health of New England Medical Group for almost 2 years. At Trinity Health of New England Medical Group, she sees patients for medication management of depression and anxiety as a consultant to the primary care team. |
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Marie Mackowick, PharmD, BCPP
Director of Pharmacy
Clifton T Perkins Hospital
Jessup, MD
Associate Director of the Mental Health Program
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Baltimore, MD
Marie Mackowick, PharmD, BCPP is the Director of Pharmacy at Clifton T Perkins Hospital in Jessup Maryland. She also is the Associate Director of the Mental Health Program for the University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy, Baltimore MD. Dr. Mackowick completed her BS degree in Pharmacy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and completed her Doctorate in Pharmacy at the University Of Maryland School Of Pharmacy, Baltimore. She became a Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist in 1999.
Dr. Mackowick has worked in the Maryland State Hospital System for the past 34 years. She has worked as Director of Pharmacy at both a regional hospital and currently at the state’s maximum security hospital.As Associate Director of the University of Maryland Mental Health Program, Dr. Mackowick provides oversight of the Pharmacy operation at all the Maryland state facilities, serves as co-chair of the Statewide Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and participates in multiple State Medicaid committees.
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Caitlin McCarthy, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, NJ
Caitlin McCarthy is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She maintains a clinical practice site in ambulatory care at Henry J. Austin Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Trenton, New Jersey, where she also serves as the Director of Pharmacy Services. Dr. McCarthy received her PharmD from Rutgers University where she completed a specialty residency in neuropsychopharmacology. Dr. McCarthy has held her clinical appointment at Rutgers University since 2014 where she is a coordinator of the Neuropsychiatric Therapeutics course. Dr. McCarthy’s teaching and research interests include health care delivery, integrated behavioral health, medication therapy management, depressive disorders, and anxiety disorders. She has received a number of grant awards to support research dedicated to assessing the impact of adding a clinical pharmacist to the healthcare team in a Federally Qualified Health Center. Her recent works have been published in Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, the Journal of Pharmacy Practice, and the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Dr. McCarthy was one of the 2016 recipients of the BD Worldwide, Direct Relief and the National Association of Community Health Centers Innovations in Care Award for her work in pharmacist-directed diabetes management. Dr. McCarthy also serves as a Scientific Reviewer and Advisor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Extramural Research Program since April of 2018. Dr. McCarthy is dedicated to the optimization of patient care through innovative care models and education of patients and practitioners alike regarding the relationship between mental and physical health.
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Maren McGurran, PharmD, BCPS
PGY-2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident
Parkland Health & Hospital System
Dallas, TX
Dr. McGurran went to pharmacy school at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. After graduation, she completed her PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, North Dakota. She is currently a PGY-2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident at Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas, Texas. |
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Jennifer Nelson, PharmD, BCPP
Senior Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Psychiatry
Parkland Hospital, Dallas County Jail
Dallas, TX
Dr. Nelson is currently the Senior Clinical Pharmacy Specialist for Parkland Hospital and the Dallas County Jail. She is a psychiatric pharmacy specialist with over 10 years of practice in the public mental health system in correctional mental health services, inpatient psychiatry, and outpatient psychiatry. Dr. Nelson has devoted her career to the services of persons with severe and persistent mental illness, and focusing on women’s psychiatric health. She is Board Certified in Psychiatric Pharmacy and received her undergraduate and graduate training at Texas Tech University. She then completed an ASHP-Accredited Residency in Psychopharmacology at Western Missouri Mental Health Center in Kansas City, Missouri. She serves as an active member of many professional organizations, including the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists, the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists and College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists. |
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Alyssa Peckham, PharmD, BCPP
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Northeastern University
Boston, MA
Dr. Peckham is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pharmacy at Northeastern University and a Clinical Addiction Specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Rhode Island and holds board certification in psychiatric pharmacy (BCPP). Dr. Peckham completed both a PGY1 residency in Pharmacy Practice, and a PGY2 residency in Psychiatry and Addiction at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in West Haven, Connecticut. Her research focuses on use and abuse of prescription medication, with recent publications examining the epidemiology, economics, and policy implications of gabapentin abuse in concert with opioids.
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Jessica Putney, PharmD, BCPP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist - Mental Health
Providence VA Medical Center
Providence, RI
Jessica Putney graduated from the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy in 2014 and completed a PGY1 Pharmacy and PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency at the Providence VA Medical Center (PVAMC). In July 2016, she joined the Trauma Recovery Services and Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Services interdisciplinary teams at the PVAMC as a clinical pharmacy specialist in mental health. She is involved in educating and precepting pharmacy students and residents and psychiatry residents at the PVAMC and is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy. She became a Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) in July 2017.
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Richard Silvia, PharmD, BCPP
Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice
MCPHS University
Boston, MA
Richard J. Silvia is an associate professor of pharmacy practice at the school of pharmacy on the Boston campus of MCPHS University. After completing his Pharm.D. degree from the University of Rhode Island, he completed a 2-year residency/fellowship in psychiatric pharmacy practice through the University of Connecticut and the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. He is currently board certified in psychiatric pharmacotherapy (BCPP). He is an active member of both ACCP and CPNP as well as other local pharmacy initiatives in Massachusetts. In addition to his faculty appointment, he maintains an integrated behavioral health practice within the medical clinics of the Codman Square Health Center, an FQHC in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Within the center, he provides direct patient care to patients with mental illnesses under a CDTM collaborative practice agreement. His current clinical research is measuring outcomes of this collaborative practice on patient care. When not engaged in pharmacy-related work, Silvia enjoys spending his free time with his wife as well as performing music semiprofessionally as a drummer/percussionist and playing softball or doing woodworking.
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Paige Sinclair, PharmD, BCPS
PGY2 Psychiatry Pharmacy Resident
VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System
Cleveland, OH
Paige Sinclair is from Medina, OH. She attended The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a minor in Neuroscience in 2013 and her PharmD in 2017. Paige completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System (formerly known as Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center) and is currently completing her PGY2 in psychiatry at the same facility. In her spare time, Paige enjoys exploring the Cleveland MetroParks with her chocolate Labrador, horseback riding, and spending time with her husband and family.
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Kristin Waters, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Psychiatry
Yale New Haven Health
New Haven, CT
Kristin Waters attended the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and graduated in 2015. She then completed her PGY-1 pharmacy resident at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, NY before moving to New Haven, CT to complete her PGY-2 in psychiatry. Since the completion of her PGY-2, Kristin has been practicing as an inpatient clinical pharmacist in psychiatry. In her current practice, she works with providers to optimize care for patients treated on the geriatric psychiatry unit, the general adult psychiatry unit, and in the psychiatric emergency department.
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Amy Werremeyer, PharmD, BCPP
Associate Professor;
Clinical Specialist in Psychiatry
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND
Dr. Werremeyer graduated from North Dakota State University (NDSU) with a Pharm.D. degree in 2005 and completed her PGY1 residency training at the Fargo VA Medical Center. For the past 12 years, she has been in a faculty role at NDSU being promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor of Practice in 2012. She recently completed a term as the Vice Chair of the Pharmacy Practice Department. Dr. Werremeyer has taught pharmacotherapy of Psychiatric and Neurologic Disease to pharmacy and nurse practitioner students for the past 9 years. She has also practiced on the Inpatient and Partial Hospital Behavioral Health units at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, ND where she provides drug information and consultation services as well as group patient education. Additionally, she precepts pharmacy students on APPEs.
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