31st NAMI Massachusetts Annual Convention
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Bios of Keynote Speaker and NAMI Mass Award winners
Keynote Speaker
Dr. David C. Henderson is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an
Associate Psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He serves as Director of The Chester M.
Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry at MGH and Director of the MGH Schizophrenia Clinical &
Research Program. Dr. Henderson’s main research interests are psychopharmacological and
antipsychotic agents in the treatment of schizophrenia, impacts of antipsychotic agents on metabolic
anomalies and glucose metabolism, and ethnic and cultural psychiatry. Dr. Henderson also studies trauma
in areas of mass violence and develops programs to assist vulnerable populations. In addition, he provides
technical assistance to governments and organizations on mental health policy and planning – most
recently, for the Republic of Liberia in collaboration with the Ministry of Health – and builds global
partnerships that increase local clinical, research and training capacity in resource-limited settings. He has
worked in international and conflict-affected areas for the past 18 years in places such as Bosnia,
Cambodia, East Timor, Ethiopia, Haiti (post-earthquake), Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Liberia, New York City (post9/11), New Orleans (post- Hurricane Katrina), Rwanda, Peru and Uganda, among others. Dr. Henderson
has published numerous journal articles in the Archives of General Psychiatry, American Journal of
Psychiatry, British Journal of Psychiatry and Biological Psychiatry. He is editor of the International Journal
of Culture and Mental Health. He has lectured extensively in the United States and internationally on
schizophrenia, treatment-resistant schizophrenia, metabolic disorders and schizophrenia,
psychopharmacology, ethno-psychopharmacology, trauma, and cultural psychiatry. Dr. Henderson
received his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, completed his
residency at MGH, and trained as Chief Resident and Research Fellow of the Freedom Trail Clinic at the
Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center in Boston.
Psychiatrist of the Year
Dr. Alejandro “Danny” Mendoza is Chair, Department of Psychiatry, and Medical Director of the Senior
Behavioral Health Center at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth. Additionally, he is Chief of the Division of
Psychiatry at South Shore Hospital and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School
of Medicine. Dr. Mendoza completed his internship, residency, and fellowships at Harvard Medical
School. He has subspecialty board certifications in Geriatric Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine, and
Addiction Psychiatry through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Peggy Moses is a graduate of Northeastern University’s Boston Bouve College with a B.S. in Ed. with a
specialty in Community Recreation and Recreation Therapy. Boston Bouve College awarded her the
Constance K. Greene Award for Academic Excellence and Sincerity of Purpose.
She became enamored with the purposes and outstanding work of NAMI Mass and joined the Board of
the NAMI Newton Wellesley Affiliate where she served as Secretary (2001-2012), Vice President (20102012), and Facilitator of the NAMI Newton Wellesley Family Support Group (2003-2012). She believes
that her work in NAMI was the best and hardest “job” she ever had. Peggy also serves on several
Committees and Boards for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health including the Northeast
Suburban Area Board (2008-present), and is a member of the Advisory Council for the Depression and
Bipolar Clinic and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital (2005-present).
Karl Ackerman Annual Peer Award
Michael Fetcho is a member the NAMI Mass State Board, the NAMI Boston Board and the NAMI-GBCAN
Board, is an In Our Own Voice Presenter and Co-Chair of the Peer Advisory Council, which is comprised of
leadership members from 10 mental health organizations. He has held executive level positions in both
the Hotel and Non-Profit Industries. He's earned a B.A. in English from Boston University and an M.A. in
Public Administration from Framingham State College. He has lived experience, and is dedicated to
helping his peers, and educating the public on Mental Illness. Michael lives in Canton and has a 13 year
old daughter named Maya, who has participated in the last five NAMIWalks with him. He enjoys reading,
skiing, boating, sports, music and movies. He is grateful for all the mental health advocates who have
come before him to improve conditions, and now lives by the 'pay it forward' mentality.
Volunteer of the Year Award
Hannah A. Martinez currently serves as President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Dorchester/Mattapan/Roxbury Affiliate, reaching out to the minority populations about NAMI and its
education and support services. Hannah also serves on the NAMI Massachusetts Board of Directors. She
is a Master’s Clinician with extensive experience in psychiatric clinical evaluations, counseling and social
services for children and families. Hannah pays a lot of attention to diversity and currently operates her
own workshop on Multicultural Understanding and Mental Health in the active application of the Cultural
Competence Continuum framework. Hannah finds cultural diversity understanding and sensitivity as a
fundamental need for all infrastructures of our American society. With that in mind, and since joining
NAMI in 1994, Ms. Martinez has committed to the mission of NAMI in advocating for good quality life for
clients suffering from mental illness and their families and for diversity outreach. Ms. Martinez has
worked both as a clinician and intercultural specialist creating a cultural bridge for clinicians and clients to
expand their skills to conduct effective assessment and therapy to the growing diverse population that is
utilizing mental health services. Ms. Martinez received her first degree in Biological Sciences from the
University of Southern California and her graduate degree in Counseling and Public Health from Tufts
University. Originally born and raised in Ghana, and having worked with the Lost Boys from Sudan for
many years, Hannah is also researching Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Culture.
Champion of Youth Award
Debra Pacheco has a background of fifteen years in Early Intervention working with all types of disabilities
in children under three. She has experienced mental illness first hand with her own children. Her son,
daughter, and granddaughter have mental health challenges and she has always advocated for them. In
her current vocation as Educational Advocate for children, her name has been widely spread by therapists
and community service agencies as someone who “gets it” and who can advocate successfully for all
children. Ms. Pacheco is both a Family to Family and NAMI Basics teacher. Most recently her work has
been focused on getting a law passed which will regulate the use of restraints and seclusion rooms in
schools. This law, which NAMI also backs, is called The Keeping All Children Safe Act and Ms. Pacheco is a
founding member of KeepingStudentsSafe.com -- a group of national activists that is pushing for this law
to be passed so that there are no more children harmed by the use of restraints or seclusion rooms in
schools.
Jail Diversion Award
Lieutenant Gerald Reardon is a father of four, married to a recently retired Police Lieutenant. He has been
with the Somerville Police Department for 34 years currently working as the Director of Training. He is
a 2011 recipient of the George L. Hanna award for bravery. Lt. Reardon holds a Master’s degree in
Criminal Justice Administration from Western New England University.
Patty Contente is a licensed independent clinical social worker and has been working as the Leadership
Coordinator for the Somerville Police Jail Diversion Program for the past two years. Patty also works with
the Somerville Health Department as the Clinical Youth Specialist, focused on suicide prevention and
trauma response. She has worked in a variety of roles connected to mental health; she is a trained
mediator and is an experienced trainer. She has worked as a clinician with individuals and families with
particular experience related to trauma, sexual abuse and eating disorders. Patty is a certified trainer in
Mental Health First Aid, a community education program that works toward increasing literacy of mental
illness with a primary goal to reduce stigma and encourage early intervention.
Advocate of the Year Award
Since 2001, Dr. Jay Burke has been Chairman and Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge
Health Alliance, and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Burke received his Bachelor's
Degree magna cum laude from Harvard College, where he was a Harvard National Scholar and National
Merit Scholar; his M.D. from Harvard Medical School; and his MPH from the Harvard School of Public
Health. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. He trained as a resident in Psychiatry
at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and as a Fellow in Social and Community Psychiatry at
Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Burke has held multiple academic and research positions during his
career. From 1979 to 1991, he was a research psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH), where he was a principal collaborator on the Epidemiologic Catchment Area program, and
became Director of the Division of Applied and Services Research. From 1991 to 2001, he served as the
Department Head for Texas A&M University System’s College of Medicine and as Chairman and Chief of
the Department of Psychiatry at Scott and White Clinic and Hospital.
Dr. Burke is a member of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), Association for Academic Psychiatry,
and American College of Psychiatrists and has received numerous awards from the United States Public
Health Service (USPHS), American Public Health Association (APHA), and the National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NAMI). In 2005 he was designated an ISI Highly Cited researcher in Psychiatry and Neuroscience,
and he served on the APA's Task Force for DSM-5.