Meet The Officers

Bios Board Of Directors:

Our board has provided us with a short Bio about themselves, please, get to know them a little better.

Giselle Plata, DO

Giselle Plata, DO, MPH is a first generation Bolivian American born and raised in the Virginia suburbs of DC. After graduating from the University of Virginia, she completed her MPH at Tulane University with a U.S. Peace Corps service practicum on health education and youth development in Albania. On returning to the U.S. and prior to medical school, she gained more experience working in the federal and nonprofit sectors in public health policy, health education lobbying and advocacy serving minoritized communities. She subsequently completed her adult psychiatry residency at Garnet Health Medical Center in NY and CAP Fellowship at MedStar Georgetown Univ. Hospital in DC. She currently serves as a Medical Officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and Attending Psychiatrist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Plata also enjoys teaching and mentoring URiM medical students and psychiatry trainees.

Interest in pediatric psychiatry allows me to combine my passions in collaborating with and empowering underserved families to improve overall community health. It also allows me to not only address medical factors impacting individual and community mental health, but also the social, environmental and economic factors.

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/in/giselle-p-15954745

Hector Colón-Rivera, MD

Dr. Colón-Rivera is a distinguished quadruple board-certified adolescent, adult, and addiction psychiatrist of the Pennsylvania medical community. He has broad experience in community-based programs, emphasizing those that help increase access to severe mental illness and substance use disorder treatments.  He is the Medical Director of the Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha, Inc. Behavioral Health Program (APM), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of Hispanic communities in the Philadelphia region through direct behavior and substance use disorder services. APM has functions related to education, health, human services, community, foster homes, and economic development. Dr. Colon Rivera is also an attending physician at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and UPMC through their telemedicine services. He has participated in over 95 national and international presentations/workshops/ writings on substance use and related disorders, social determinants, the technology used to expand mental health treatments, and mental health in adults and adolescents.

Interest: addiction, adolescent, and sport psychiatry 

Social Media: @colonriveramd

Gerardo Villarreal, MD

Dr. Villarreal attended  medical school at the Universidad  La Salle in his native Mexico City. He completed a   psychiatric residency at the Institute of Living/University of Connecticut program in Harford, CT and a  research fellowship in anxiety disorders at the Medical University of South Carolina  in Charleston SC.  Dr. Villarreal pursued additional training in  cognitive behavioral therapy at  the Beck Institute and has taught and supervise residents on this topic.  Dr. Villarreal  is professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Neuroscience at University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and   attending psychiatrist the  at the  Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical  Center in Albuquerque, N.M. Dr. Villarreal’s  areas of clinical and research interest include  neurobiology and treatment of PTSD, psychopharmacology and CBT.   Dr. Villarreal  is  also interested  in aspects of philosophy  of mind,  agency and  consciousness.     He has been a long term member of American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry and has served as both treasurer and secretary of the association.

Fructuoso Irigoyen Rascón, MD

Dr. Irigoyen is a practicing psychiatrist in McAllen and a Physician Advisor for the Behavioral Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg, both in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. He was born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico where he attended medical school. After graduation, for 10 years he worked as a physician with the Tarahumara Indians. From 1983 to 1987 he completed his residency at the Psychiatry Residency Program of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He then moved to McAllen. As a member of the APA he advocated the International Medical Graduates’ voice in the Assembly Caucus of which he was Deputy Representative to the Assembly, Rep, and President of the Caucus. For this work, he obtained the 2018 George Tarjan MD Memorial Award. The following year, TSPP conferred him the Distinguished Service to Psychiatry. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA and a Board member of ASHP. Doctor Irigoyen has published extensively on the Tarahumara Indians and in psychiatry on PTSD, Alzheimer’s disease and depression. 

Nathaly Rubio-Torio, LMSW

Originally from Peru, is the Founder and CEO of Voces Latinas, a 21-year-old culturally responsive HIV/STI and violence prevention agency in Jackson Heights Queens serving over 8000 immigrant Latines annually. Voces Latinas provides health literacy and connection to services, regardless of immigration status. Nathaly is a licensed social worker. She received her MSW from Columbia University, and she is committed to addressing social determinants of health affecting immigrant Latines. Her background in community organizing, youth development, and criminal justice has equipped her with the tools and knowledge needed to guide and navigate new immigrant/migrants through the complex NYC systems. Nathaly currently serves on the NYC Mayors Office Ending Gender Based Violence Advisory Board, she was appointed to serve as a member of the Mayors Office Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, is a board member of Apicha Health Clinic, and is a member of the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatrists. 

Mauricio Tohen, MD

Mauricio Tohen, MD, DrPH, MBA is University Distinguished Professor and the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque NM, USA. Dr. Tohen was born and raised in Mexico City. He earned his medical degree from the National University of Mexico (UNAM) and his Doctorate in Public Health (Epidemiology) from Harvard University (1988). His postdoctoral training included a residency in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto (1979-1982) where he also obtained a DPsych (Diploma) in Psychiatric Research, and a fellowship at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Psychopharmacology (1982-1985). Dr. Tohen also obtained an MBA degree from the Indiana University Kelly School of Business. Dr. Tohen has received numerous awards, including the NIMH National Service Award, the APA’s Simon Bolivar Award, and the Mogens Schou Award for Education. His research, largely focused on bipolar and psychotic disorders, has resulted in over 370 publications and over 40,000 citations, ranking him among the top experts in psychiatry. In 2014, he was listed among “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” by Thomson Reuters. His expertise is recognized by Expertscape, which ranked him in the top 0.12% in bipolar disorder research worldwide.

Daniel Castellanos, MD

Daniel (dr. c.) Castellanos, MD is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with extensive clinical, academic, leadership and administrative experience. His career has been dedicated to the education and training of students, residents, and fellows. He has received several awards for outstanding teaching and has served as a mentor for numerous practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists. He is the recipient of the prestigious American Psychiatric Association’s Simon Bolivar Award and the Florida Psychiatric Society Practitioner of the Year award.  Dr Castellanos was born in Havana, Cuba and earned his medical degree at the Pontifica Universidad Madre y Maestra in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. He completed his psychiatry residency at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. He is currently a Professor of Psychiatry and the Founding Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official at Creighton University School of Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona. In this role Dr Castellanos he is responsible for overseeing the training of the next generation of physicians which currently includes over 330 residents and fellows across 15 different specialties and programs.

Bernardo Ng, MD

Dr. Ng was born in Mexicali, Mexico, got his medical degree from University of Nuevo Leon in Mexico, and completed psychiatric
residency both at Texas Tech University and University of California, San Diego, in the United States. Ng is first and foremost a clinician, who besides his private practices in California and Baja California, directs the Sun Valley Behavioral Medical Center and the Sun Valley Research Center. He is the founding president of the Mexican Consortium of Neuropsychopharmacology, past President of the Asociación Psiquiátrica Mexicana, and past President of the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry. He is a Distinguished Lifetime Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association where he served as chair of the Council in International Psychiatry. He is an honorary member, co-chair of the scientific committee, and member of the board of the World Psychiatric Association. Ng is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the American Board of Psychosomatic Medicine, and the Consejo Mexicano de Psiquiatría. He has 133 publications, including 67 original articles, 40 abstracts, 14 book chapters, 4 book prologues, 4 handbooks, and 4 books. His research interests include international psychiatry, the United States and Mexico Border, Mexican American and Latinx mental health, mood disorders, behavioral symptoms associated to neurocognitive disorders and neuropsychopharmacology molecules.

Gustavo Angarita-Africano, MD

Experiencing the impact of the cocaine epidemic in my native Colombia led me to pursue a career dedicated to the improved understanding and treatment of cocaine use disorder (CUD). After completing Clinical Training and becoming U.S Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry and Addictions Psychiatry in 2012, I developed academic interest in the validation of Remote Wireless Sensor Network (RWSN) technology for detecting cocaine use, the role of cocaine-induced deficits in sleep, and PET imaging studies to detect neurobiological underpinnings of cocaine and opioid use disorder (OUD).  Currently, my main career interests lie in the development of neurobiologically informed medication treatments for CUD and OUD, such as the ones based on findings from our PET imaging studies or translational studies.

Santiago Alvarez Lesmes, MD

Dr. Alvarez is a Colombian MD, born and raised in Villavicencio, Meta, Colombia. He then moved to Bogotá to pursue his medical degree. Dr. Alvarez is a first-generation immigrant in the USA. He arrived in 2022, working as a research volunteer, where he further developed his passion for research and helping the Latino community. Santiago has always been interested in community work, and he recently won a Community Grant from PRMS in collaboration with the ASHP to support a foundation called Little Sisters in the Bronx, New York City. Dr. Alvarez has also been key in organizing the “Critical Research Issues in Latinx Mental Health” conferences for 2024 and 2025, held in New York and Los Angeles, respectively. He currently works as a Research Associate at the Fainstein Institute for Medical Research / Northwell Health in New York City. His interests in psychiatry include addiction psychiatry, schizophrenia, and perinatal psychiatry.

Social Media: www.linkedin.com/in/santiago-alvarez-lesmes-5a1744244