CECMH Staff 

John Gilmore, MD
Director
John_Gilmore@med.unc.edu
Dr. Gilmore is the Thad and Alice Eure Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Scientific Affairs in the Department of Psychiatry at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He is Director of the UNC Schizophrenia Research Center and serves as principal investigator of several grants from the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, including the NIMH-sponsored Silvio O. Conte Center for the Neuroscience of Mental Disorders. He is also the president of the North Carolina Psychiatric Association. Dr. Gilmore's research focuses on early brain development and risk for schizophrenia.

Thava Mahadevan, MS
Director of Operations
thavagunan_mahadevan@med.unc.edu

Mr. Mahadevan is director of operations at the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health and clinical instructor in the UNC Department of Psychiatry. He is the founder and former executive director of XDS, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive care and services to individuals with persistent mental illness and co-occurring additive and intellectual disabilities, and the newly-merged partner of the center. With more than 20 years of experience working in mental health organizations that serve individuals with severe mental illness, Mahadevan has extensive knowledge in designing and implementing innovative treatment programs. He has held program management positions at John Umstead Hospital and Orange, Person, Chatham Mental Health Center. Trained in rehabilitation counseling, he received a master’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill.

Barbara B. Smith, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Director
besmith@med.unc.edu
Ms. Smith is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry. From 1995-2009, she served as Director of Outpatient Services for the Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program (STEP) Clinic. She has been involved in program development since 2004 and collaborated with Diana Perkins, MD and David Penn, PhD on the creation of OASIS. She graduated from Vassar College with a BA in English in 1984, and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work with an MSW in 1993. Her interests include implementing psychosocial treatment programs that will improve quality of life for individuals with psychotic disorders and educating mental health professionals. She provides clinical training for psychiatry residents and graduate students from the fields of social work, nursing, psychology, and rehabilitation psychology and counseling.

Brian Sheitman, MD
Medical Director
brian_sheitman@med.unc.edu
Dr. Sheitman is a clinical professor in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry. He is also Medical Director of the CECMH and an attending psychiatrist at STEP. Prior to working at UNC, Dr. Sheitman worked at Dorothea Dix State Psychiatric Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he held various leadership positions, including clinical director for approximately five years. He has co-authored over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals with a primary emphasis on improving treatment for persons with severe and persistent mental illness.

Selden Holt, MSW, LCSW
Training Coordinator
holts@med.unc.edu
Ms. Holt received an A.B. from Duke University and a Masters in Social Work (MSW) from UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2001, she began working in a local community mental health center providing assessments and child case management. As North Carolina's mental health reform was implemented, she co-led the transition of OPC's Case Management unit to Community Support teams. Simultaneously she served as interim director of OPC's Northside Child Clinic as it was divested to a medium-sized private mental health agency. Once there, she was asked to serve as training coordinator, developing, providing, or arranging new employee orientation, required service definition trainings, and professional development opportunities for staff. She joined CECMH in 2009.

David Penn, PhD
Director of Psychological Services
dpenn@email.unc.edu
Dr. Penn is a professor of psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. He received his PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1994 and subsequently completed his internship at the Medical College of Pennsylvania at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Penn has over 100 publications in the areas of social cognition in schizophrenia, psychosocial treatment of severe mental illness, and stigma. His research has been supported by the National Institutes in Mental Health (NIMH), the Stanley Foundation, and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD).

Robin Reed, MD
Community Psychiatry Fellow
RReed@unch.unc.edu

Christina Patac
Business Officer
patac@med.unc.edu

STEP Clinical Staff

Brian Sheitman, MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Medical Director
brian_sheitman@med.unc.edu

Jenny Edwards, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Instructor, Department of Psychiatry
Director of Outpatient Services
jenny_edwards@med.unc.edu

Kayvon Salimi, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Inpatient Psychiatrist
kayvon_salimi@med.unc.edu

Elena Perea, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Inpatient Psychiatrist
eperea@unch.unc.edu

Catherine Clemmer, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
catherine_clemmer@med.unc.edu

Robin Siska, P-LCSW, CSAC
Clinical Social Worker
robin_siska@med.unc.edu

Shane W. Rau, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Director of Medical Education
Psychiatrist
shane_rau@med.unc.edu

Robert McClure, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Psychiatrist
robert_mcclure@med.unc.edu

Fred Jarskog, MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Psychiatrist
fred_jarskog@med.unc.edu

Julie Pace, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
JPace@unch.unc.edu

OASIS Clinical Staff

Diana Perkins, MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Medical Director
diana_perkins@med.unc.edu

Sylvia Saade, PhD, LCSW
Program Director
sylvia_saade@med.unc.edu

David Penn, PhD
Director of Psychological Services
dpenn@email.unc.edu

Karen Graham, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Psychiatrist
Karen_Graham@med.unc.edu

Lyse DeBourguignon, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
lysed@med.unc.edu

James McCracken, MSW, P-LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
james_mccracken@med.unc.edu

STEP Research Clinic
at the North Carolina Psychiatric Research Center

Shane W. Rau, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Clinical Director
shane_rau@med.unc.edu

Fred Jarskog, MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Research Director
fred_jarskog@med.unc.edu

Kathy Jones, RN
Clinical Manager
kathy.jones@dhhs.nc.gov

Joy W. Smith, RN
Research Nurse
joy.w.smith@dhhs.nc.gov

Shannon Wallace, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
shannon.wallace@dhhs.nc.gov

Sara Smith, MSW, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
sara.smith@dhhs.nc.gov

Diane Cortopassi, HCT
Health Care Technician
cherrel.coropassi@dhhs.nc.gov

Rachel Page, OA-III
Administrative Assistant
cherrel.coropassi@dhhs.nc.gov

Brushes with Life

Julie Pace, MS, OTR/L
Director
JPace@unch.unc.edu

Brushes with Life is supported by volunteers and private donations.

Gallery organizers include hospital staff, patient artists, family members, community volunteers, and mental health professionals. To volunteer, make a donation, or to purchase artwork, contact Brushes with Life at stepart@med.unc.edu.