APA Foundation Administration

Amy joined the APA Foundation in 2012. Her tenure at APA began in 2000 as the Director of Finance and Administration in the APA Division of Research and American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education, the former research subsidiary of APA. In this role, she provided support to the development of DSM-5 and research grant projects. As Deputy Director, Amy directs and oversees the financial, operations, governance, and compliance functions for the Foundation. She has advanced the initiatives and goals of the Foundation by managing major projects including the reestablishment of the Melvin Sabshin, MD Library & Archives in APA’s new headquarters and the Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership. Amy received an M.B.A. degree from University of Massachusetts and B.A. from Carleton College.

Kit Hall, CFRE joined the APA Foundation team in November 2018. With more than 15 years in non-profit leadership and consultative roles, she has overseen philanthropic investments for organizations of every size in the New York metro area, including Family Promise, Good Grief, the Brain Injury Association, and most recently as Director of Development and Corporate Relations for Financial Executives International. She has a proven record of developing and harnessing corporate and community partnerships, board networks, strong teams, and relationships to drive significant fundraising outcomes. Kit received her BA from Brown University.

Darcy Gruttadaro joined the APA Foundation in 2017 as the director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health. As director, she is developing and implementing the Center's strategic direction in providing employers high impact tools and resources to support the mental health of employees and their families. Before joining the Center, Ms. Gruttadaro served in multiple senior positions with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Ms. Gruttadaro has expertise in effective approaches to expanding evidence-based practices, improving early intervention, securing insurance coverage for mental health services and building a broader array of effective services and supports that promote resiliency and recovery. Ms. Gruttadaro has also worked with national organizations representing managed care organizations and practiced law with the Harris Beach law firm, concentrating her legal practice on health care and mental health related issues. She served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. Ms. Gruttadaro earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Clarkson University and a JD from Western New England University School of Law.

Erin Spence, MBA, serves as the APA Foundation team’s Associate Director for Corporate and Foundation Relations. Prior to joining APAF, she served as the Associate Director for Development and Outreach at Human Rights Watch in Silicon Valley, where she lead the strategy and planning of their annual Voices for Justice Dinner and focused on community outreach, corporate partnerships and diversifying the organization’s donor base. Before Human Rights Watch, Erin spent six years at Georgetown University Law Center into their Alumni Affairs office, where she spearheaded the strategy, planning and execution of Georgetown Law’s Reunion Weekends and Georgetown University’s first Women’s Forum. Erin received her BA in Psychology from James Madison University and her MBA from Georgetown University.

Emma Jellen is the Associate Director for the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association Foundation where she develops innovative, high impact web-based educational content and resources for employers to advance workplace mental health. Emma builds external relationships with corporate leaders, and produces the Center’s monthly Mental Health Works publication. Prior to her current role, Ms. Jellen was the Program Manager for the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI) Support and Alignment Network (SAN) Grant awarded by CMS. Over the 4-year grant period, the APA more than exceeded its goal for the Support and Alignment Network, training over 3,500 psychiatrists in the collaborative care – and worked with Practice Transformation Networks (PTNs) to provide resources and technical assistance for implementation of the model. In that role, Ms. Jellen managed trainings, and coordinated with outside agencies, partnering organizations, and PTNs in promoting the Collaborative Care Model. Prior to joining the APA, Ms. Jellen served as the Director of Communications and Member Relations for the DC Hospital Association (DCHA), where she focused her efforts on hospital-wide population health and value-based purchasing initiatives and programming for DCHA’s 14 hospital members. To date, Ms. Jellen has worked for several healthcare non-profit associations, including the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Ms. Jellen found her passion for mental health policy working early in her career at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) as Policy Associate in the department of Government Affairs and Clinical Practice. Ms. Jellen earned a B.A. in psychology from Clemson University.

Christopher Seeley, MSW is the Program Director of School and Justice Initiatives for the APA Foundation. Prior to his appointment at the APAF, Chris served as the Direct Therapy Intern at Michigan State University Counseling Center. He provided short-term therapy to a diverse client population while also assisting in weekly multicultural and racial awareness trainings. Chris was also the Assistant Community Director supervising and coaching resident directors at Michigan State. Christopher facilitated social skill building groups for at-risk high school students at Starr Commonwealth Detroit, along with delivering individual and family therapy. He also has experience as an advocate and field instructor for the Michigan State University Adolescent Project, was a Program Director for a Support and Education Group for low-risk Juvenile Sex Offenders, a Juvenile Detention Specialist for the Ingham County Youth Center, and a case manager for a national youth mentoring organization. Christopher earned BA's in Psychology and Criminal Justice as well as a Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Michigan State University.

Tanya Thabjan serves as Program Manager. Prior to joining the APA Foundation, Tanya worked at the Primary Care Collaborative where she oversaw a federally funded grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help clinicians achieve care practice transformation. Her previous work experiences include working at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology where she managed multi-year federal grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and worked with state and local departments of public health on initiatives and education programs related to infection prevention and control. She also worked with the Maternal and Child Health program at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, taught and mentored at the Peace Corps on youth development and health programs, and assisted researchers for health promotion research projects. Tanya has a Master's in Public Policy from George Mason University with an emphasis on Global Medical and Health Policy and has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science with a concentration on International Studies.

Lilia joined the APA Foundation in September 2016 and oversees donation tracking, donor relations, and provides programmatic support for the Foundation. In addition, she manages marketing needs, the website, social media and general public outreach. She is often found at the Foundation booth at APA meetings throughout the year. In her past roles, Lilia helped manage the American Registry of MRI Technologists' Annual Meetings and worked in wine sales and as executive assistant at Schneider's of Capitol Hill. Lilia holds a B.A. from Purchase College at the State University of New York.

Brittany joined the Foundation in December 2016. Prior to her appointment at the APA Foundation, Brittany served as the Public Affairs Coordinator at the National Association of Counties. In that role, she was responsible for administrative assistance to the Director of Public Affairs as well as program support to department staff. Brittany was also responsible for managing NACO’s National Awards program which realized a 36% increase in participation during her tenure. Brittany received a B.S. degree from George Mason University.

Deena Gorland has a BFA in photography from San Francisco Art Institute and MSLIS from The Catholic University of America. Her 20 years of experience as a professional photographer landed her a career working for the National Geographic Society on multiple digitization projects such as: Image Collections, Save the Archives and Electronic Magazine Archives (EMA). In addition, her time with National Geographic, she digitized the Smithsonian Institutions, National Postal Museums certified stamp plate proof collection. More recently, she contracted at National Museum of African American History and Culture as a museum technician, which inspired her to pursue an advanced degree focusing on preservation and digitization of special collections.

Dr. Camille Bryan joined the APA Foundation in 2018 as a Senior Program Manager where she directs the daily operations for the APA/APAF Fellowships team, the programming for the APA/APA Foundation Fellowships and SAMHSA-funded MFP grants, and serves as the lead APA/APAF contact with MFP SAMHSA external partners. Before joining the foundation, Dr. Bryan served as the founding manager for the National Scholarships Office at the University of Maryland and the Associate Director for Workforce Development for the government of the District of Columbia. Dr. Bryan has extensive experience preparing students for nationally competitive scholarships and has served as a scholarship reader for the U.S. Department of Education Jacob Javits Fellowship, the James Madison Fellowship, and the Orphan Foundation to name a few. Dr. Bryan has also worked as the Director for Programs for the National Bar Association and Senior Program Manager for the Council for Professional Recognition. Dr. Bryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the West Indies and her Masters and Doctorate degrees from the George Washington University.

Patrick serves as the Program Manager for the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF). Patrick manages the APA/APAF Fellowships which include the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Diversity Leadership, Leadership, Public Psychiatry, and Spurlock Congressional Fellowship. Patrick also oversees 10 APA awards. Prior to APA, he completed his Bachelor's degree in Communications at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. From there, he went to graduate school at Quinnipiac University and earned a Master's degree in Sports Journalism.

Lynsey first joined the American Psychiatric Association as Temporary Administrative Assistant for the Division of Diversity and Health Equity. She was then hired full-time as Program Coordinator for the SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program under the American Psychiatric Association Foundation. She attended Bowie State University for a Bachelor of Business Administration and plans to return for her Bachelor of Science in Human Resources. Prior to working at APA, Lynsey worked in Finance at a bank and a credit union.