2023 Annual Meeting Guest Speakers
Awards Dinner Keynote Speaker:
Illinois State Representative, Lindsey LaPointe
Lindsey LaPointe has always been a passionate advocate for the accessibility and affordability of behavioral healthcare. Prior to joining the IL General Assembly, Lindsey earned her BA in Sociology from Grinnell College and her Masters in Social Work from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois Chicago. She worked for several years in direct service social work in Illinois, giving her firsthand experience and knowledge of the mental health crisis that exists today. Now, among other important committee appointments, she has been appointed as Chair of the Mental Health and Addiction in the Illinois House of Representatives where she has worked to advance behavioral health policy in the state including expanding access to behavioral health support for first responders, connecting people struggling with addiction to community-based treatment providers and recovery, building up alternatives to law enforcement and institutional response to behavioral health crises, and raising Medicaid rates.. Her priority as Chair continues to be growing our behavioral healthcare workforce which is paramount to access and fully actualizing the belief that healthcare is a human right and mental health care is healthcare.
Educational Session 1 : Illinois Mental Health Court System Update
Scott A. Block
AOIC Statewide Behavioral Health Administrator
As the AOIC’s Statewide Behavioral Health Administrator, Scott serves as the Illinois Judicial Branch’s dedicated voice and resource, committed to furthering local, state, and national behavioral health and justice initiatives. In this capacity, he is the project director for the Illinois Mental Health Task Force, provides strategic and technical consultation to Illinois Courts, and acts as liaison behavioral health and justice affiliates and organizations. Throughout his career, Scott has served on numerous governmental and not-for-profit boards, committees, and work groups, helping to shape policies and inform best practices in the field. He has a Master’s Degree in Counseling, is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor, Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Professional, and a National Center for State Court’s Certified Court Manager. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Aurora University, teaching Graduate Addictions courses.
Bill Blundell, MPA, LCPC
AOIC Problem Solving Courts Manager
Bill Blundell is the Statewide Problem-Solving Court Manager for the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC). Prior to joining AOIC, Bill was the Problem-Solving Court Coordinator, along with being an Adult Probation Supervisor, in Peoria County. Along with his current role, Bill is also a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in the State of Illinois and prior to his career in Probation and Court Services, was a full-time mental health counselor. Bill remains active in the counseling community and up to date on current trends in mental health and substance use issues. Bill brings a wealth of knowledge in substance use and mental health issues along with best practices in regard to the problem-solving courts. Bill is a certified trainer in both Core Correctional Practices and the SAMHSA’s GAINS Center Trauma Informed training. Bill has a Master of Public Administration from the University of Missouri (Columbia, MO) along with a Masters in Human Development Counseling from Bradley University (Peoria, IL).
Hon. Janet R. Holmgren
17th Circuit Judge
Janet Holmgren is the Presiding Judge of the Problem-solving Courts Division of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Winnebago and Boone Counties. Judge Holmgren’s court assignments include presiding over the Winnebago County Adult Drug Court, the Therapeutic Intervention Program (TIP) Mental Health Court, and Youth Recovery Court, a court program for youth in juvenile delinquency court with mental health or co-occurring disorders, and Boone County juvenile court proceedings. Judge Holmgren was appointed as an Associate Judge in 1995, elected Circuit Judge in 1998 and retained in 2004, 2010, and 2016. From 2007-2012, Judge Holmgren served as the Chief Judge of the 17th Circuit. Judge Holmgren is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Special Advisory Committee on Mental Health and Justice Planning, President of the Illinois Association of Problem-solving Courts (ILAPSC), and the Illinois Juvenile Justice Leadership Council. Judge Holmgren is also involved in many local community initiatives and currently serves as past chairman of the board of the Rockford Regional Health Council and is a member of the governing board of Alignment Rockford, a community organization that works in partnership with Rockford Public School District 205 to improve the quality of education in the region. Past memberships include service as a member of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, the Illinois Children’s Justice Task Force, the Illinois Supreme Court Conference Committee on Criminal Law and Probation, and the Board of Directors of the Illinois Judge’s Association.
Educational Session 2 : Assessing and Treating Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors
Jaclyn Ross, PhD, Clinical Psychologist
Jaclyn Ross is a clinical psychologist who specializes in mood, anxiety, and trauma disorders, as well as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. Dr. Ross has expertise in assessing and treating suicidal thoughts and behaviors. She received her PhD from UCLA and completed her clinical internship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She was a recipient of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Neuroscience of Mental Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where she gained specialized training in reproductive mental health, and, specifically, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. She is the founder of a Chicago-based private practice specializing in evidence-based treatments for mood, anxiety, and trauma disorders as well as premenstrual disorders. This practice also offers telehealth services across 39 US states. She currently serves on the clinical advisory board for the International Association of Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) and remains active in research on the impact of the menstrual cycle on suicidal thoughts and behaviors at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Educational Session 3 : Taking Action on Burnout
Geri S. Fox, MD, MHPE
Geraldine S. Fox, MD, MHPE (“Geri”) is Professor Emerita of Clinical Psychiatry at University of Illinois College of Medicine (UICOM). She currently serves as the Psychiatry Department Chair and Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry on UICOM’s Rockford campus. Dr. Fox’s previous roles at UICOM include serving as Associate Dean for Wellness and Resilience for all campuses. On the Chicago campus, she also served as Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education, as the Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry, and as Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training at UIC's Institute for Juvenile Research.
Dr. Fox's clinical practice philosophy is to be a psychiatrist throughout the life cycle, including family systems in transition. She works with individuals, couples, and families, from infancy through old age, utilizing various therapeutic modalities. She teaches life-span development courses, both locally and nationally. Areas of academic interest include development of innovative multimedia teaching methodology (particularly in psychiatry and life-span development); the use of narrative in teaching to promote empathic understanding; faculty academic advancement; improving child and adolescent psychiatry training in undergraduate medical education; and organizational change and curricular development to promote work-family balance and wellness throughout the life cycle.
From 2006-2017, Dr. Fox served as the Liaison between the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP). She created and chaired ADMSEP's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Medical Education (CAPME) Task Force, resulting in various initiatives, including an on-line resource center of CAP teaching materials for medical educators.
Dr. Fox was a 2014-2015 Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Fellow. Her ELAM Institutional Action Project was a wellness initiative for UICOM. In her role as Associate Dean of Wellness and Resilience, she developed and directed a wellness curriculum for UICOM, and led various initiatives in this area.
Dr. Fox received the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from UICOM-Chicago, and the 2021 Distinguished Teaching Award from UICOM-Rockford. Dr. Fox received the 2022 Fred Sierles MD Leadership and Excellence in Medical Student Psychiatric Education Award from the Association of Directors of Medical Student Educators in Psychiatry. Dr. Fox received the 2020 Distinguished Educator Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Fox received the American Psychiatric Association’s 2015 Vestermark Psychiatric Educator Award. The Association for Academic Psychiatry gave Dr. Fox the 2013 Psychiatric Educator Award, and the 2010 Roberts Award for Inspirational Mentorship in Academic Psychiatry. The Association of Directors of Medical Student Educators in Psychiatry presented Dr. Fox with the 2011 ADMSEP Innovations Award for her Life-Span Development Video Curriculum, which is utilized by the majority of US medical schools as well as abroad. She has won multiple awards for film-making, including two INTERCOM Chicago International Film Festival Certificates of Merit: in 2010, for Normal Development Video Series: A Longitudinal Stimulus Video Curricular Resource for Educators; and in 2013, for Saying Goodbye: A Personal Documentary about Attachment and Loss at End-of-Life.
Joshua B. Nathan, MD, DFAPA
Dr. Nathan is in practice with LifeStance Health, based out of Highland Park, Illinois, conducting telehealth and in-person visits. He is visiting associate professor at University of Illinois College of Medicine -Rockford (UICOM-R) and adjunct faculty Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School. He has previously worked as National Medical Director for a telehealth start-up, as Behavioral Health Medical Director at the Lake County Health Department & Community Health Center. He continues to give an annual lecture about mental health stigma to second year medical students. He has presented at both state and national conferences, including at the NAMI Illinois Annual Meeting in 2019, and at the APA Annual Meeting in 2019.
Dr. Nathan was President of Illinois Psychiatric Society 2018-2019 and is a Government Affairs Committee member since 2014. He was recognized as Distinguished Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 2020. Since 2023, has served as Illinois representative to the APA Assembly, and on the Assembly Communications Workgroup, and as a member of the APA Committee on RBRVS, Coding and Reimbursement. He is especially proud of successful efforts in Illinois to destigmatize the physician licensure application process, and his APA grant-supported Physician Suicide Prevention Project.
Dr. Nathan completed medical school at UIC, and psychiatry residency at Brown University. After residency, he was a clinical assistant professor at Brown University, while working at Rhode Island Hospital. In 2009, Dr. Nathan returned to Chicago, joined Loyola University Chicago faculty, and worked at the Hines VA Hospital. In 2010, Dr. Nathan joined the UIC faculty, rising to Director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and Co-Chair of the hospital’s Clinical Ethics Committee. At UIC, he supervised resident psychotherapy, did other resident teaching, led small group for medical students, and developed a model for teaching empathy to medical students and health professions’ students.