Home2025 Speakers

Keynote Speaker: Marketa Wills, MD, MBA

Presentation: APA Update

LPMA and MPA are honored to host APA CEO and Medical Director, Marketa Wills, M.D., M.B.A. Wills has decades of experience in driving innovation and promoting quality mental health care. She was most recently the Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Johns Hopkins Health Plans, has a clinical practice at University of South Florida Student Health Services in Tampa, Florida, sits on for profit and not-for profit boards, and serves as the Chair of the Standards Committee of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Wills was a member of the APA Board of Trustees as an APA SAMHSA Minority Fellow, she recently sat on the Future of Psychiatry Presidential Task Force and is currently a member APA’s Council on Health Care Systems and Finance. On June 1, 2024, she became the eighth Medical Director in APA’s history and will be the first woman and Black American to fill the role.

Thomas Carpenter, JD

Wise Carter

Presentation: Subpoenas & Reducing Risk Through Daily Documentation

Thomas L. Carpenter is a shareholder attorney at Wise Carter. He comes to the firm bringing 30 years of legal litigation experience in the areas of insurance defense, labor and employment, construction, appellate advocacy, bad faith claims, and product liability. Thomas takes great interest and pride in serving his clients and is not limited to specific practice areas as he always looks for ways to better serve and meet the needs of his clients.

Justin Caudle, MB

Johnson & Johnson Innovations

Presentation: Advocacy Update

Mr. Caudle is the Director of Healthcare Policy and Advocacy at Johnson & Johnson. Justin has worked in the pharmaceutical Industry for over 29 years. He has a bachelor of science degree in Zoology from Northeast Louisiana University and completed his Masters of Business Administration degree at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Sam Creekmore, IV

Chair, Public Health & Human Services

Mississippi House of Representatives, District 14

Vanessa de la Cruz, MD

Louisiana Department of Health

Presentation: Bridge Clinics; co-presenter with Melissa Stainback, PhD

Dr. de la Cruz’s career has been devoted to public healthcare systems for 20 years. She served as Medical Director for San Mateo County Behavioral Health Services, as Chief of Psychiatry for Santa Cruz County Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, and as director of Addiction Treatment Services for the Palo Alto VA Health Care System. She became committed to working with medically underserved populations while working at Zaccheaus Free Clinic (now Bread for the City) in Washington, DC through Americorps. She now serves as Statewide Medical Director for the Office of Behavioral Health with the Louisiana Department of Health. Prior to her OBH position, she worked for a Louisiana Medicaid health plan, Louisiana Health Care Connections. She is a clinical assistant professor at LSU School of Medicine, New Orleans.

Dr. de la Cruz earned her medical degree at Tulane Medical School and completed her Psychiatry residency training at UCSF and a Public Psychiatry Fellowship at Columbia University. She is board certified in Adult Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. After living in California for many years, in 2021 Dr. de la Cruz returned to the New Orleans area where she grew up. She and her husband have three children and live in Metairie.

Daphne Glindmeyer, MD

Panel: PyschoTerapy/Trauma; co-presenter with Holly MacKenna, MD

Daphne Glindmeyer, M.D. is a graduate of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, where she completed a residency in Adult Psychiatry, a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, past President of the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association, and past President of the Louisiana Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Glindmeyer is currently in private practice, providing psychiatric evaluation and medication management services to child, adolescent, and adult clients as well as forensic consultation. In addition, Dr. Glindmeyer has an interest in equine assisted psychotherapy.

Jenna Jurecky, MD

Presentation: Is the convenience store clerk acting as an MD? Gas station heroin, Kratom and more; co-presenter with Arwen Podesta, MD

Jenna Jurecky, MD is a second-year psychiatry resident with LSU Baton Rouge. She earned her medical degree from Texas Tech University, where she also pursued a minor in Addiction Studies during her undergraduate years. With a strong interest in addiction medicine, she plans on pursuing an addiction fellowship to expand her knowledge and contribute to the field of psychiatry.

Maddie Landry

Louisiana State Representative, District 91

Holly Mackenna, MD

Dara Wellness

Presentation: Traumatic Brain Injury; Panel: PsychoTherapy/Trauma with Daphne Glindmeyer, MD

As a double board-certified physician, Dr. MacKenna specializes in Integrative Psychiatry. After studying biology and dance at Duke University, she entered Wake Forest Medical School. Upon graduation, she entered Tulane University Pediatrics residency for two years before completing her training in Psychiatry at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Since entering professional practice, Dr. MacKenna has returned to Duke to complete the Leadership Program in Integrative Medicine through Duke Integrative Medicine and Fuqua School of Business. She is a graduate of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine Fellowship and is board-certified in both Psychiatry and Integrative Medicine. Dr. MacKenna holds additional certifications in Helms auricular acupuncture and non-touch and distance Reiki.

Holly Peek, MD

Presentation: Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction & Psychiatry

Dr. Peek is a Harvard trained psychiatrist and is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. She is board certified in both adult and child and adolescent psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Dr. Peek received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in 2012. She also received a dual Master of Public Health degree at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, with a concentration in global community health and behavioral sciences. Her adult psychiatry training was completed at Tulane University School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, with training at both Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital.

Dr. Peek also has a special interest in animal assisted interventions and received a certificate in Animal and Human Health and a Canine Assisted Intervention Specialist certificate from the Institute of Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver. She is currently completing a certificate in Horticultural Therapy through the Horticultural Therapy Institute.

Arwen Podesta, MD

Podesta Wellness

Presentation: Is the convenience store clerk acting as an MD? Gas station heroin, Kratom and more; co-presenter with Jenna Jurecky, MD

Arwen Podesta, MD is a New Orleans based board-certified adult psychiatrist with sub-specializations in addiction medicine, forensic psychiatry, and integrative medicine. Dr. Podesta also offers treatment via telemedicine to patients in North Carolina and Louisiana. A graduate of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Dr. Podesta completed her psychiatry residency at Louisiana State University before pursuing fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at Tulane University.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Podesta became involved in actioning psychiatric care for underserved and disenfranchised populations and was awarded the Gambit’s 40 Under 40 in 2009. Since then she has been an enthusiastic participant in the public sector as Medical Director of multiple addiction treatment centers, and a consultant for the Orleans Criminal Court, Drug Court and Re-entry Services. Additionally, she maintains status as a consulting Addiction Medicine Specialist, and an expert witness. Across all contexts and venues, Dr. Podesta’s primary focus has been and continues to be access to integrative mental health and addiction treatment, and rational prescribing practices.

Mary Jo Ross

Presentation: Surviving a cult and sexual assault; Panel: PsychoTherapy/Trauma

Mary Jo is an accomplished professional who has owned multiple businesses with a history of national accolades and professional success. Her current work as a sought-after speaker, author and advocate arose from her passion to help the most vulnerable avoid/escape from the severe abuse she survived in her formative years. As a lived-experience survivor of familial sex trafficking as well as someone who broke away from a generational satanic cult, Mary Jo today speaks and teaches practical insights on childhood abuse to groups of medical and mental health professionals, law enforcement, and non-profit leaders.

Mary Jo turned her exploitation and abuse into not only living as a thriver but advocating for those who can’t speak for themselves. Initially, she funneled that passion toward individuals struggling with cancer. As a communications professional, Mary Jo created a business that managed several non-profit oncology associations. She advocated for and led initiatives to improve cancer coverage, passing seven state laws that continue to benefit cancer patients today.

Denese Shervington, MD

Institute of Ethnic & Women Studies

Presentation: Disaster Psychiatry

Dr. Denese Shervington has an intersectional career in public health and academic psychiatry. She is the Chair of Psychiatry and Professor at Charles R. Drew University (CDU). Dr. Shervington has held Clinical Professorships in the Departments of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Tulane University. Dr. Shervington is a Health Sciences Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She is Co-PI of the UCLA-CDU Dana Center for Neuroscience and Society. A graduate of New York University School of Medicine, she also received a Master of Public Health in Population Studies and Family Planning from Tulane University School of Public Health. She completed her residency in Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco and is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. A Fellow of the American Psychiatry Association (APA) she is a recipient of the APA’s Award for Excellence in Service and Advocacy; prior to which she received the Jeanne Spurlock Minority award. Dr. Shervington is also a member of the American College of Psychiatrists and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Commission (PRITE). Dr. Shervington testified before the United States Congress on Childhood Trauma and co-chaired the New Orleans City Council Taskforce on Childhood Trauma. She is a member of the Scientific Board of the Centre for Society and Mental Health at Kings College, London.

Melissa Stainback, PhD

Louisiana Department of Public Health

Presentation: Bridge Clinics; co-presenter with Vanessa de la Cruz, MD

Melissa Stainback, PhD, serves as the Southwest Louisiana Opioid Coordinator for Imperial Calcasieu Human Services Authority (ImCal) in collaboration with Region V Office of Public Health. She coordinates Opioid Response in the five parish region. Melissa helps coordinate and implement the LA Bridge program in hospitals in Southwest Louisiana. She promotes community-wide awareness about the local opioid crisis; collects surveillance data from multiple sources to evaluate the local trends in fatal and non-fatal overdose and helps determine and coordinate best practices and interventions for combating the epidemic -including harm reduction, linkage to MAT, and the LA Bridge Program. Finally, Melissa connects partners across many sectors, with the goal of breaking down silos to facilitate low-barrier, seamless access to wrap-around services that save lives. She is especially passionate about making systemic changes that will increase access to care for hard to reach populations.

Melissa received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Millsaps College, her PhD in Sociology from Louisiana State University, and she taught and completed her postdoc at Rice University. She lives in Lake Charles with her husband, three children, and sweet dachshund puppy.

Ashley Weiss, DO, MPH

Tulane University School of Medicine

Presentation: Early Psychosis

Dr. Weiss is a psychiatrist who has a wide range of clinical and academic interests. Clinically, she has focused on developing the only early psychosis intervention service for the New Orleans community, which includes a psychosis treatment arm as well as a community psychosis early detection campaign. Dr. Weiss developed and founded the Early Psychosis Intervention Clinic (EPIC-NOLA) in August 2015, which is focused on providing comprehensive care for adolescents and young adults experiencing their first episode of psychosis associated with emergence of severe mental illnesses, mainly the schizophrenia-spectrum illnesses. In parallel to the EPIC-NOLA clinic, she also launched CALM-Clear Answers to Louisiana Mental Health, in Spring 2016. CALM is a psychosis early detection campaign aimed at increasing community awareness of psychosis, debunking myths surrounding psychosis, and fundraising to enhance activities for those in treatment for first-episode psychosis. Dr. Weiss also provides acute inpatient psychiatric care at the University Medical Center, where she is involved in teaching psychiatry residents and medical students.