Mental Health Task Force

About the Task Force

The UMD Mental Health Task Force was charged by Senior Vice President Jennifer King Rice and Vice President for Student Affairs Patty Perillo with investigating the mental health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff by examining existing services, programs and resources, determining gaps and identifying interventions to enhance well-being on our campus.

Mental Health Task Force Members

Warren Kelley, Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Co-Chair

Boris Lushniak, Dean, School of Public Health, Co-Chair

Annie Rappeport, Task Force Coordinator

Mary Kate Crawford, Associate Director, University Recreation & Wellness

Alexandra Debus (Fall 23-Spring 24), President, Student Government Association

Andrea Goodwin, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students

Joey Haavik (Fall 22-Spring 23), President, Graduate Student Government

Ayelette Halbfinger (Fall 22-Spring 23), President, Student Government Association

Erika Holdren (Fall 23-Spring 24), President, Residence Hall Association

Robert Infantino, Associate Dean, College of Computer, Math & Natural Sciences

Chetan Joshi, Director, Counseling Center

Lisa Kiely, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Ombudsperson

Rythee Lambert-Jones, Assistant Vice President, University Human Resources

Rafael Lorente, Dean, Philip Merrill College of Journalism

Spiro Marinopoulos, Director, University Health Center

James McShay, Assistant Vice President, Engagement

Karen O’Brien, Professor and Faculty Ombuds, Psychology

Ben Parks, Associate Director, College Park Scholars

Autumn Perkey (Fall 23-Spring 24), President, Graduate Student Government

Tonya Phillips, Coordinator, Faculty/Staff Assistance Program

Ted Pickett, Associate Director, Counseling Center

Tom Ruggieri (Fall 22), Coordinator, Faculty/Staff Assistance Program

Simone Warrick-Bell, Counselor, Graduate School

Adam Younoszai, Assistant Director, UHC Behavioral Health

Key Findings

UMD has a rich array of existing services, programs and resources, and we should implement new strategies to enhance the use of existing services.
Best practices nationally reflect programs already here. We should build on these existing strengths before importing brand-new strategies.
Many issues and potential solutions lie at the intersection of student, faculty and staff communities.
It is essential to focus on broad community care and prevention programming, improve the culture and relationships and enhance inclusivity and respect.