President
Benjamin R. Lafferty, MD
Dr. Lafferty was born and raised in West Virginia and has lived in Oregon since June 2016. He graduated from West Virginia University School of Medicine in 2004, and then he completed a General Psychiatry residency at WVU Hospitals – Chestnut Ridge Center in Morgantown, WV in 2008 and completed the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship in 2009.
After 9 years of practice in Huntington, WV, at both Marshall University and River Park Hospital, Dr. Lafferty accepted a position with Samaritan Health Services, beginning in late June 2016. In addition to seeing patients in the outpatient clinic and supervising CAP fellows’ clinics at Samaritan Mental Health – Circle Boulevard in Corvallis, he also provides psychiatric consultation for pediatricians at the Mid-Valley Children’s Clinic in Albany, as part of the integrated/collaborative care program in most of the primary care clinics at Samaritan. Also during his time with SHS, he briefly provided outpatient coverage at Linn County Mental Health and Trillium Family Services: North Point day treatment program. Dr. Lafferty has always enjoyed teaching and working with medical students, residents, and fellows, and in December 2018, he was honored to accept the Program Director position for the CAP fellowship training program. Dr. Lafferty has been a member of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry since 2007 and was a member of West Virginia Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry before transitioning to the Oregon Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2017.
Dr. Lafferty and his wife live in Corvallis, with their son and 3 furry little Maltese-poodle dogs, and they are proud to watch their daughter perform in the OSU Marching Band. They enjoy all of the great options for camping and recumbent cycling available across the state of Oregon.
Benjamin R. Lafferty, MD
Dr. Lafferty was born and raised in West Virginia and has lived in Oregon since June 2016. He graduated from West Virginia University School of Medicine in 2004, and then he completed a General Psychiatry residency at WVU Hospitals – Chestnut Ridge Center in Morgantown, WV in 2008 and completed the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship in 2009.
After 9 years of practice in Huntington, WV, at both Marshall University and River Park Hospital, Dr. Lafferty accepted a position with Samaritan Health Services, beginning in late June 2016. In addition to seeing patients in the outpatient clinic and supervising CAP fellows’ clinics at Samaritan Mental Health – Circle Boulevard in Corvallis, he also provides psychiatric consultation for pediatricians at the Mid-Valley Children’s Clinic in Albany, as part of the integrated/collaborative care program in most of the primary care clinics at Samaritan. Also during his time with SHS, he briefly provided outpatient coverage at Linn County Mental Health and Trillium Family Services: North Point day treatment program. Dr. Lafferty has always enjoyed teaching and working with medical students, residents, and fellows, and in December 2018, he was honored to accept the Program Director position for the CAP fellowship training program. Dr. Lafferty has been a member of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry since 2007 and was a member of West Virginia Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry before transitioning to the Oregon Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2017.
Dr. Lafferty and his wife live in Corvallis, with their son and 3 furry little Maltese-poodle dogs, and they are proud to watch their daughter perform in the OSU Marching Band. They enjoy all of the great options for camping and recumbent cycling available across the state of Oregon.
President-Elect / VP
Rebecca Marshall, MD
Dr. Rebecca Marshall grew up in the Buffalo, NY area where she developed a commitment to rooting for the underdog (go Bills!). She obtained a BA in literature at Smith College in Western Massachusetts and an MA in literature at Clare College, Cambridge, UK, before moving to Boston and working for several years in international public health. After deciding to pursue a career in medicine, she and her husband moved cross country to Portland, where she attended Oregon Health & Science University’s joint MD/MPH program, and later completed a psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship.
After training Dr. Marshall joined the faculty at OHSU as a consult-liaison attending psychiatrist. She provides psychiatric care in the Emergency Department and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, as well as partnering with Oregon Health Authority on two statewide projects (Crisis and Transition Services, or CATS, and Intensive In-home Behavioral Health Treatment, or IIBHT), measuring the outcomes and impact of these services and providing technical assistance on program development. She is dedicated to partnering with a broad network of youth, families, advocates, and mental health and medical professionals, bringing to bear her own background in public health, research, and psychiatry to better understand mental health needs of youth and families in Oregon and to improve systems to address these needs. She and her husband have three sons, all born during medical school and psychiatry training. Lately, they spend a lot of time exploring outside, finding new shows on Netflix, and dreaming of trips they will take post-COVID.
Rebecca Marshall, MD
Dr. Rebecca Marshall grew up in the Buffalo, NY area where she developed a commitment to rooting for the underdog (go Bills!). She obtained a BA in literature at Smith College in Western Massachusetts and an MA in literature at Clare College, Cambridge, UK, before moving to Boston and working for several years in international public health. After deciding to pursue a career in medicine, she and her husband moved cross country to Portland, where she attended Oregon Health & Science University’s joint MD/MPH program, and later completed a psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship.
After training Dr. Marshall joined the faculty at OHSU as a consult-liaison attending psychiatrist. She provides psychiatric care in the Emergency Department and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, as well as partnering with Oregon Health Authority on two statewide projects (Crisis and Transition Services, or CATS, and Intensive In-home Behavioral Health Treatment, or IIBHT), measuring the outcomes and impact of these services and providing technical assistance on program development. She is dedicated to partnering with a broad network of youth, families, advocates, and mental health and medical professionals, bringing to bear her own background in public health, research, and psychiatry to better understand mental health needs of youth and families in Oregon and to improve systems to address these needs. She and her husband have three sons, all born during medical school and psychiatry training. Lately, they spend a lot of time exploring outside, finding new shows on Netflix, and dreaming of trips they will take post-COVID.
Immediate Past-President
Cindy Smith, MD, MPH
Dr. Cindy Smith has lived in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 30 years but is originally from Cincinnati with Kentucky roots. She graduated from Purdue University, and completed her medical degree at Wright State University. The North Cascades then exerted their gravitational pull leading to general and child psychiatry training and a master’s degree in public health at the University of Washington.
She has a special interest in suicide and self-injury prevention, is extensively trained in Dialectic Behavior Therapy and co-founded one of the earliest adolescent DBT programs in the country in 1995. Since then, she has constantly trained and led DBT teams and worked with seriously self-harming and suicidal teens. Recently, she has been fired up by the tools the Zero Suicide Project has offered for working at organizational and community levels to prevent suicide.
Dr. Smith has worked for Trillium Family Services since 2003 and is the Regional Medical Director for their Children’s Farm Home and Mid-valley programs. She loves working with interdisciplinary teams and teaching and believes that mostly we learn with a lot of deliberate practice. Trauma is the fault line upon which so much of psychiatric work rests and Dr. Smith continues to be keenly interested in both addressing trauma that clients and families have suffered as well as implementing models to address organizational and care-giver trauma including the Sanctuary Model.
Dr. Smith, her husband and two college-age children all love sci fi and chocolate. Dr. Smith also loves hiking and cross-country skiing and believes poetry and psychotherapy are close cousins. She aspires to someday have a poem published on a billboard or bus.
Cindy Smith, MD, MPH
Dr. Cindy Smith has lived in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 30 years but is originally from Cincinnati with Kentucky roots. She graduated from Purdue University, and completed her medical degree at Wright State University. The North Cascades then exerted their gravitational pull leading to general and child psychiatry training and a master’s degree in public health at the University of Washington.
She has a special interest in suicide and self-injury prevention, is extensively trained in Dialectic Behavior Therapy and co-founded one of the earliest adolescent DBT programs in the country in 1995. Since then, she has constantly trained and led DBT teams and worked with seriously self-harming and suicidal teens. Recently, she has been fired up by the tools the Zero Suicide Project has offered for working at organizational and community levels to prevent suicide.
Dr. Smith has worked for Trillium Family Services since 2003 and is the Regional Medical Director for their Children’s Farm Home and Mid-valley programs. She loves working with interdisciplinary teams and teaching and believes that mostly we learn with a lot of deliberate practice. Trauma is the fault line upon which so much of psychiatric work rests and Dr. Smith continues to be keenly interested in both addressing trauma that clients and families have suffered as well as implementing models to address organizational and care-giver trauma including the Sanctuary Model.
Dr. Smith, her husband and two college-age children all love sci fi and chocolate. Dr. Smith also loves hiking and cross-country skiing and believes poetry and psychotherapy are close cousins. She aspires to someday have a poem published on a billboard or bus.
Secretary/Treasurer
AACAP Delegate Alternate
Kenneth Ensroth, MD
Dr. Ensroth is the Medical Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Providence Willamette Falls. A graduate of Michigan State Medical School, he completed his Residency & Fellowship at the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry.
He has been a member of OCCAP since 2001, and is a past president of the Council (2012-2013).
Dr. Ensroth enjoys triathlons and music (he sings in a choir and plays the trombone!) and has been married to his wife Maryanne for 21 years. They have two sons, Alex & Nick.
AACAP Delegate Alternate
Kenneth Ensroth, MD
Dr. Ensroth is the Medical Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Providence Willamette Falls. A graduate of Michigan State Medical School, he completed his Residency & Fellowship at the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry.
He has been a member of OCCAP since 2001, and is a past president of the Council (2012-2013).
Dr. Ensroth enjoys triathlons and music (he sings in a choir and plays the trombone!) and has been married to his wife Maryanne for 21 years. They have two sons, Alex & Nick.
Executive Committee Members
Stewart Newman, MD
Alternate AACAP delegate
AACAP Distinguished Fellow (Oct 19)
Dr. Stewart S. Newman was born and raised in Ohio, where he received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health in Columbus. He spent the second two years of medical school training at The Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Newman went on to the residency program in Adult Psychiatry, and the fellowship program in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. In June of 2006, Dr. Newman moved to Portland, Oregon, where he graduated from the fellowship program in Forensic Psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). A year later, Dr. Newman began working at Mind Matters, P.C. In October of 2009, Dr. Newman became an owner of the company.
Dr. Newman is a past President of the Oregon Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, as well as an active staff member at OHSU, where he regularly teaches at the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and as Adjunct Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Newman is proud to have worked in collaboration with Jerry Gabay on a Suicide Prevention project that was awarded the Oregon Psychiatric Association's 2013 Access Award. Dr. Newman is also a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Most of his patients know him best for his love of LEGO and Star Wars, and when not at the office, Dr. Newman loves spending time exploring the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughter.
Alternate AACAP delegate
AACAP Distinguished Fellow (Oct 19)
Dr. Stewart S. Newman was born and raised in Ohio, where he received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health in Columbus. He spent the second two years of medical school training at The Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Newman went on to the residency program in Adult Psychiatry, and the fellowship program in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. In June of 2006, Dr. Newman moved to Portland, Oregon, where he graduated from the fellowship program in Forensic Psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). A year later, Dr. Newman began working at Mind Matters, P.C. In October of 2009, Dr. Newman became an owner of the company.
Dr. Newman is a past President of the Oregon Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, as well as an active staff member at OHSU, where he regularly teaches at the School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and as Adjunct Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Newman is proud to have worked in collaboration with Jerry Gabay on a Suicide Prevention project that was awarded the Oregon Psychiatric Association's 2013 Access Award. Dr. Newman is also a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Most of his patients know him best for his love of LEGO and Star Wars, and when not at the office, Dr. Newman loves spending time exploring the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughter.
Mike Franz, MD, DFAACAP, FAPA
OCCAP Delegate to AACAP
Dr. Franz is a board certified child & adolescent and adult psychiatrist who has worked in a variety of clinical and administrative leadership positions throughout Oregon. He is currently Medical Director of Behavioral Health at PacificSource where he oversees all lines of business (2 CCOs, Medicare Advantage and Commercial) across three states. In that role he has made significant progress toward developing sustainable reimbursement of high fidelity behavioral health – physical health integration in medical settings. On Fridays, he works as a clinician providing psychiatric consultation to Intensive Youth Services at Deschutes County Behavioral Health, psychiatric consultation to Collaborative Care models at Central Oregon Pediatric Associates (COPA) and Mosaic Medical pediatrics, and direct psychiatric services via telemedicine to Symmetry Care, a community mental health program (CMHP) in Harney County (Burns, Oregon). Dr. Franz is a past-president of the Oregon Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and continues as an active member of its Executive Council. In 2015 he was recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Dr. Franz lives in Bend, Oregon with his wife and two young daughters where they enjoy skiing, biking, hiking, backpacking, and playing in their backyard.
OCCAP Delegate to AACAP
Dr. Franz is a board certified child & adolescent and adult psychiatrist who has worked in a variety of clinical and administrative leadership positions throughout Oregon. He is currently Medical Director of Behavioral Health at PacificSource where he oversees all lines of business (2 CCOs, Medicare Advantage and Commercial) across three states. In that role he has made significant progress toward developing sustainable reimbursement of high fidelity behavioral health – physical health integration in medical settings. On Fridays, he works as a clinician providing psychiatric consultation to Intensive Youth Services at Deschutes County Behavioral Health, psychiatric consultation to Collaborative Care models at Central Oregon Pediatric Associates (COPA) and Mosaic Medical pediatrics, and direct psychiatric services via telemedicine to Symmetry Care, a community mental health program (CMHP) in Harney County (Burns, Oregon). Dr. Franz is a past-president of the Oregon Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and continues as an active member of its Executive Council. In 2015 he was recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Dr. Franz lives in Bend, Oregon with his wife and two young daughters where they enjoy skiing, biking, hiking, backpacking, and playing in their backyard.
Ajit Jetmalani, MD
Oregon Health & Science University Child Psychiatry Chair
Academic Leadership Representative
AACAP Distinguished Fellow (Oct 19)
Dr. Jetmalani is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at OHSU. After graduating from Willamette University in 1979, he completed medical education at OHSU in 1983, Adult Psychiatry training at UCSF in 1986 and Child Psychiatry Fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center in 1988. He joined the OHSU faculty in 2007 as Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Education after practicing in the Portland area since 1988 and in September of 2010 assumed the position of Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at OHSU. He brings a broad experience in treating children, adolescents and adults in outpatient, day treatment, group home, residential and hospital environments. He has held numerous leadership positions in various health care environments and has served on a number of boards of nonprofit children's mental health programs. He is a consultant to the Oregon Health Authority and DHS Child Welfare. Over the years he has participated in the training of many of today's practicing child and adult psychiatrists.
Dr. Jetmalani grew up in Salem where his father, Narain B. Jetmalani, M.D. was Director of Training and Research at the Oregon State Hospital from 1961-1975.Those early experiences shaped his interest in preventing mental illness and improving the lives of people who face the challenges of chronic mental illness. Comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment combined with well integrated high quality psychotherapy and advances in neuroscience form the basis of his work with children and families, education of residents and public policy endeavors.
Oregon Health & Science University Child Psychiatry Chair
Academic Leadership Representative
AACAP Distinguished Fellow (Oct 19)
Dr. Jetmalani is a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at OHSU. After graduating from Willamette University in 1979, he completed medical education at OHSU in 1983, Adult Psychiatry training at UCSF in 1986 and Child Psychiatry Fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center in 1988. He joined the OHSU faculty in 2007 as Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Education after practicing in the Portland area since 1988 and in September of 2010 assumed the position of Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at OHSU. He brings a broad experience in treating children, adolescents and adults in outpatient, day treatment, group home, residential and hospital environments. He has held numerous leadership positions in various health care environments and has served on a number of boards of nonprofit children's mental health programs. He is a consultant to the Oregon Health Authority and DHS Child Welfare. Over the years he has participated in the training of many of today's practicing child and adult psychiatrists.
Dr. Jetmalani grew up in Salem where his father, Narain B. Jetmalani, M.D. was Director of Training and Research at the Oregon State Hospital from 1961-1975.Those early experiences shaped his interest in preventing mental illness and improving the lives of people who face the challenges of chronic mental illness. Comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment combined with well integrated high quality psychotherapy and advances in neuroscience form the basis of his work with children and families, education of residents and public policy endeavors.
Kirk Wolfe, MD
AACAP Delegate
APA Distinguished Fellow (May '19)
Kirk Wolfe, MD, FAACAP, FAPA serves as a child psychiatric consultant to several school districts and mental health agencies, advocates for Oregon youth and families with an emeritus position with the state's Children's System Advisory Council and Wraparound Committee, the Oregon Psychiatric Physician's Association executive committee, as a Board of Trustee for the Oregon Medical Association, as clinical assistant professor with OHSU and as Oregon's Advocacy Liason and Delegate to AACAP.
He has served on the Oregon Council's executive committee since 2000, including his presidency in 2001-2 and as Oregon delegate to AACAP since 2002. He was the Oregon Council's Child Psychiatrist of the Year in 2003, has been a Distinguished Fellow of AACAP since 2013, and has been a Fellow of the APA since 2011. His youth suicide prevention efforts date back to the Governor's Task Force on Youth Suicide Prevention in 1996; was chairman of Oregon's first Youth Suicide Prevention Conference in 1997; was the physician representative with Oregon's original youth suicide prevention plan, The Oregon Plan for Youth Suicide Prevention: A Call to Action, published in 2000; was co-chairman of Oregon's first Oregon Children's Mental Health Conference in 2001; developed brochures for teachers, and parents of school-age and college students, designed to help recognize when youth are depressed and at risk for suicide; was awarded the state's Mental Health Award for Excellence in 2001 at the State Capitol for his work on youth suicide prevention, helped to develop the state's Youth Suicide Intervention and Prevention Plan published in 2016, and serves on the state's Suicide Prevention Alliance committee. He was honored with YouthMove Oregon's Heart of the Healer award at the State Capitol in 2011.
Dr. Wolfe enjoys time with family and friends, and keeps healthy with skiing, golfing, jogging and biking in the Columbia Gorge, as well as international travel.
AACAP Delegate
APA Distinguished Fellow (May '19)
Kirk Wolfe, MD, FAACAP, FAPA serves as a child psychiatric consultant to several school districts and mental health agencies, advocates for Oregon youth and families with an emeritus position with the state's Children's System Advisory Council and Wraparound Committee, the Oregon Psychiatric Physician's Association executive committee, as a Board of Trustee for the Oregon Medical Association, as clinical assistant professor with OHSU and as Oregon's Advocacy Liason and Delegate to AACAP.
He has served on the Oregon Council's executive committee since 2000, including his presidency in 2001-2 and as Oregon delegate to AACAP since 2002. He was the Oregon Council's Child Psychiatrist of the Year in 2003, has been a Distinguished Fellow of AACAP since 2013, and has been a Fellow of the APA since 2011. His youth suicide prevention efforts date back to the Governor's Task Force on Youth Suicide Prevention in 1996; was chairman of Oregon's first Youth Suicide Prevention Conference in 1997; was the physician representative with Oregon's original youth suicide prevention plan, The Oregon Plan for Youth Suicide Prevention: A Call to Action, published in 2000; was co-chairman of Oregon's first Oregon Children's Mental Health Conference in 2001; developed brochures for teachers, and parents of school-age and college students, designed to help recognize when youth are depressed and at risk for suicide; was awarded the state's Mental Health Award for Excellence in 2001 at the State Capitol for his work on youth suicide prevention, helped to develop the state's Youth Suicide Intervention and Prevention Plan published in 2016, and serves on the state's Suicide Prevention Alliance committee. He was honored with YouthMove Oregon's Heart of the Healer award at the State Capitol in 2011.
Dr. Wolfe enjoys time with family and friends, and keeps healthy with skiing, golfing, jogging and biking in the Columbia Gorge, as well as international travel.
Daniel Nicoli, DO
Program Co-Chair
Daniel Nicoli was born and raised as an Oregonian. He completed his General Psychiatry Residency at Oregon Health & Science University and a Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Colorado Denver. While in Colorado, he got involved with mental health advocacy work. He testified on behalf of the Colorado Psychiatric Society before a Colorado congressional committee on marijuana legislation and met with elected officials in Washington DC to discuss a variety of issues. He also gave multiple talks at schools and community health organizations on the topic of substance abuse and its impact on the developing brain. Following this fellowship, he returned to OHSU and completed a Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship where he began working with the OPPA legislative committee. He currently works as a Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at Unity, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Donald E Long Juvenile Detention Center, and as a private forensic evaluator.
Program Co-Chair
Daniel Nicoli was born and raised as an Oregonian. He completed his General Psychiatry Residency at Oregon Health & Science University and a Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Colorado Denver. While in Colorado, he got involved with mental health advocacy work. He testified on behalf of the Colorado Psychiatric Society before a Colorado congressional committee on marijuana legislation and met with elected officials in Washington DC to discuss a variety of issues. He also gave multiple talks at schools and community health organizations on the topic of substance abuse and its impact on the developing brain. Following this fellowship, he returned to OHSU and completed a Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship where he began working with the OPPA legislative committee. He currently works as a Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at Unity, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Donald E Long Juvenile Detention Center, and as a private forensic evaluator.
Krin Walta, DO
Program Co-Chair
OSHU Child Fellow
Dr. Krin Walta is a current second-year fellow and co-chief fellow at OHSU's Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, Class of 2021. She completed adult psychiatry residency training at OHSU and was one of the Chief Residents for the Class of 2019. She attended medical school at Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, DO Class of 2015. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Pitzer College in 1999, and a Bachelors of Science in General Science from Portland State University in 2010.
Born and raised in Portland, OR, Dr. Walta hopes to remain in Oregon and work locally upon graduation from fellowship. Within the practice of psychiatry, her interests include acute in-patient child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry, reproductive psychiatry, disaster relief mental health, and consult-liaison psychiatry. She also has interest in mental health policy advocacy, was previously the OHSU resident representative for the Oregon Psychiatric Physician's Association Executive Council and on the OPPA Member Assistance Committee, and served a two year term as one of two Area 7 Resident and Fellow Member Representatives to the American Psychiatric Association's Assembly. Since 2018, she has served as Oregon's Disaster Relief Representative to the APA Disaster Relief Psychiatry Committee. In her free time, she enjoys international traveling, learning languages, arts and crafts including jewelry making, gardening, and cooking and enjoying meals with her family who also live locally.
Program Co-Chair
OSHU Child Fellow
Dr. Krin Walta is a current second-year fellow and co-chief fellow at OHSU's Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, Class of 2021. She completed adult psychiatry residency training at OHSU and was one of the Chief Residents for the Class of 2019. She attended medical school at Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, DO Class of 2015. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Pitzer College in 1999, and a Bachelors of Science in General Science from Portland State University in 2010.
Born and raised in Portland, OR, Dr. Walta hopes to remain in Oregon and work locally upon graduation from fellowship. Within the practice of psychiatry, her interests include acute in-patient child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry, reproductive psychiatry, disaster relief mental health, and consult-liaison psychiatry. She also has interest in mental health policy advocacy, was previously the OHSU resident representative for the Oregon Psychiatric Physician's Association Executive Council and on the OPPA Member Assistance Committee, and served a two year term as one of two Area 7 Resident and Fellow Member Representatives to the American Psychiatric Association's Assembly. Since 2018, she has served as Oregon's Disaster Relief Representative to the APA Disaster Relief Psychiatry Committee. In her free time, she enjoys international traveling, learning languages, arts and crafts including jewelry making, gardening, and cooking and enjoying meals with her family who also live locally.
Katie Terry, DO, MPH
Samaritan Child Fellow
Dr. Kathleen Terry is a second-year child and adolescent psychiatry fellow, and chief fellow, with Samaritan Health Services in Corvallis. She grew up in southern Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin, where she was honored as a Wisconsin Idea Fellow by the Morgridge Center for Public Service for engaging a local at-risk urban community in a grassroots health promotion project. She migrated west for medical education, and received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees from Touro University in California before coming to Oregon for residency and fellowship training. She is a 2020 participant in AACAP’s Systems of Care Special Program Clinical Poster Project. Her professional interests include the child welfare system, health policy and administration, neurodevelopmental disorders, and eating disorders. After a childhood of never making it all the way to the Willamette Valley in the Oregon Trail computer game, she enjoys life here now with her young family and spends time hiking, enjoying bounty from farmers’ markets, wild forage, and urban homesteading, and knitting from as many local sheep and alpacas as possible.
Samaritan Child Fellow
Dr. Kathleen Terry is a second-year child and adolescent psychiatry fellow, and chief fellow, with Samaritan Health Services in Corvallis. She grew up in southern Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin, where she was honored as a Wisconsin Idea Fellow by the Morgridge Center for Public Service for engaging a local at-risk urban community in a grassroots health promotion project. She migrated west for medical education, and received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees from Touro University in California before coming to Oregon for residency and fellowship training. She is a 2020 participant in AACAP’s Systems of Care Special Program Clinical Poster Project. Her professional interests include the child welfare system, health policy and administration, neurodevelopmental disorders, and eating disorders. After a childhood of never making it all the way to the Willamette Valley in the Oregon Trail computer game, she enjoys life here now with her young family and spends time hiking, enjoying bounty from farmers’ markets, wild forage, and urban homesteading, and knitting from as many local sheep and alpacas as possible.
Terri Nicely, MD
Early Career Psychiatrist
Dr. Terri Nicely is a child psychiatrist at Samaritan Health in Corvallis, OR. Terri grew up in the Washington DC suburbs before heading off to Pennsylvania for higher education. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Psychology and then worked as a research coordinator for UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic on studies involving pediatric mood and anxiety disorders. She completed medical education at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey PA, where she developed her interest in comorbid medical and psychiatric illness in the pediatric population. She recently completed triple board training (pediatrics/adult psychiatry/child psychiatry) through Mt Sinai in New York, where she developed further interests in teaching at-risk youth and conducting asylum evaluations. She has since traded in her east coast roots for the best coast, and has been enjoying spending time hiking its beautiful forests, spending time with her large extended family here and playing with her new rescue dog.
Early Career Psychiatrist
Dr. Terri Nicely is a child psychiatrist at Samaritan Health in Corvallis, OR. Terri grew up in the Washington DC suburbs before heading off to Pennsylvania for higher education. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Psychology and then worked as a research coordinator for UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic on studies involving pediatric mood and anxiety disorders. She completed medical education at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey PA, where she developed her interest in comorbid medical and psychiatric illness in the pediatric population. She recently completed triple board training (pediatrics/adult psychiatry/child psychiatry) through Mt Sinai in New York, where she developed further interests in teaching at-risk youth and conducting asylum evaluations. She has since traded in her east coast roots for the best coast, and has been enjoying spending time hiking its beautiful forests, spending time with her large extended family here and playing with her new rescue dog.
Nikhil Rao , MD, MSc
Member at Large
Dr. Nik Rao is a recent transplant to Portland, having moved from the opposite corner of the country. A native of Texas, Dr. Rao attended Cornell before pursuing graduate school across the pond at University College London where he studied the evolution of social systems in monkeys, who are not as easy to talk to as kids. While successful in that endeavor, the effort to obtain a posh-sounding British accent was not, so he moved back home. After obtaining an MD from University of Oklahoma and completing general and child psychiatric training at multiple institutions, he earned an additional board certification in obesity medicine.
Dr. Rao has practiced across a range of environments including emergency, consultation, and general and specialty pediatric embedded services. Perhaps the most poignant lesson from these experiences was how ineffectual it can be for mental health practice to be walled off from medical, academic, and community supports for children and teenagers, and how productive collaboration across community systems can be, particularly in the process of demystifying mental health and psychiatry for the general public. When not engaged in outreach and collaboration, he also enjoys small-scale research and giving lectures at all levels of education.
An inveterate sci-fi geek, he misappropriated his MD to sidle closer to his favorite authors as a volunteer ‘medical and science content advisor’. It also gives him an excuse to speak at sci-fi conventions and use it as resume fodder. Some have claimed he picked a pediatric specialty so he could dress up as Batman and claim it is ‘for the children’. He has never denied this claim.
Member at Large
Dr. Nik Rao is a recent transplant to Portland, having moved from the opposite corner of the country. A native of Texas, Dr. Rao attended Cornell before pursuing graduate school across the pond at University College London where he studied the evolution of social systems in monkeys, who are not as easy to talk to as kids. While successful in that endeavor, the effort to obtain a posh-sounding British accent was not, so he moved back home. After obtaining an MD from University of Oklahoma and completing general and child psychiatric training at multiple institutions, he earned an additional board certification in obesity medicine.
Dr. Rao has practiced across a range of environments including emergency, consultation, and general and specialty pediatric embedded services. Perhaps the most poignant lesson from these experiences was how ineffectual it can be for mental health practice to be walled off from medical, academic, and community supports for children and teenagers, and how productive collaboration across community systems can be, particularly in the process of demystifying mental health and psychiatry for the general public. When not engaged in outreach and collaboration, he also enjoys small-scale research and giving lectures at all levels of education.
An inveterate sci-fi geek, he misappropriated his MD to sidle closer to his favorite authors as a volunteer ‘medical and science content advisor’. It also gives him an excuse to speak at sci-fi conventions and use it as resume fodder. Some have claimed he picked a pediatric specialty so he could dress up as Batman and claim it is ‘for the children’. He has never denied this claim.
Orlando Ortiz, MD
Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness Representative
Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness Representative