In this episode of the Mental Health Pathfinders podcast, Marketa M. Wills, M.D., M.P.A., FAPA discusses her transition from Johns Hopkins to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as CEO and Medical Director. Dr. Wills shares her experiences connecting with members, establishing a culture of trust and transparency, and the importance of advocacy in mental health. Dr. Wills emphasizes the need for collaboration and strategic decision-making within the APA to better serve its members and patients.

Transcript for Audio

Erin Connors [00:00:00]: Hello and welcome to Mental Health Pathfinders Podcast. My name is Erin Connors and I'm Associate Director of Media Relations for the American Psychiatric Association. Thanks for joining us. Today I'm excited to welcome Dr. Markita Wills, CEO and Medical Director of the APA. Thanks for joining us today.

Marketa Wills [00:00:23]: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Erin Connors [00:00:26]: Well, let's start by talking about your transition from working at Johns Hopkins as chief medical officer of a clinical entity in their academic medical system to heading up the APA, a major medical organization.

Marketa Wills [00:00:37]: Yes, it has been quite the transition.

[00:00:40]: As you can imagine, the learning curve has been tremendously steep. Um, it has been fun, rewarding. challenging, all wrapped into one. I also have to call out that there has been a tremendous amount of support across the entire organization from the Board [00:01:00] of Trustees to past presidents, every to staff to leaders.

[00:01:06]: Everyone has made my transition really a great one.

Erin Connors [00:01:10]: So What have been some highlights from your first several months as CEO?

Marketa Wills [00:01:15]: thanks for that question. Well, as you can imagine, there have been a lot of firsts that I've had in this role since starting in June. So, I went to my first district branch visit, which was amazing. I first delivered my first CEO report at a board meeting, which was really fun.

[00:01:37]: A little intimidating, but fun too. I went to my first assembly, um, and delivered my first CEO report to those volunteer leaders from across the country, went to my first mental health services conference. So a lot of great firsts as CEO and medical director that has also been supplemented by having the opportunity to interact with staff at the American Psychiatric Association.

[00:02:05]: And of course. Our members.

Erin Connors [00:02:07]: Yes, and that has to be a really important part of all this connecting with the members.

Marketa Wills [00:02:12]: Indeed, indeed. Connecting with the members has been such a thrill. I started off doing district branch listening sessions by area. I met with the executive director of the district branch along with the president and the president elect for each branch and really got a chance to hear about challenges and opportunities across the country that are being faced by many of our members and of course many of the patients that they have the privilege of treating.

[00:02:42]: I've also had the opportunity to get out and go to some district branch annual meetings, district branch learning sessions and district branch monthly meetings in person. That's been a lot of fun again, having the opportunity, uh, to really see what it's like firsthand, uh, to practice in clinical [00:03:00] settings across the country, um, and to hear from our members.

[00:03:03]: And then I've also had a chance to do some of this virtually as well. One thing that we started was. The APA Insider Sessions. And this has been a great way to help establish a culture of transparency, trust, and approachability for the APA administration as well as the APA Board of Trustees with our membership.

[00:03:24]: Dr. Viss has been a phenomenal partner, just a great support as we connect with members in this open forum and shine a light on how different aspects of APA work toward our broader mission.

Erin Connors [00:03:39]: Do you have any early goals for your first year leading the APA that you can share?

Marketa Wills [00:03:44]: Yes, I do. I, I do and I'm happy to share those.

[00:03:47]: First and foremost, it is critically, critically important to me to establish a culture of trust and transparency, so that members know our thought process, [00:04:00] behind big decisions at the American Psychiatric Association and how various pieces of the association like governance function and function together.

[00:04:10]: It's important to me to be very approachable to the membership, to ensure that members feel empowered to come to administration with feedback and that feedback can be positive. At the end of the day, we just want to be able to serve our members better. I also want to establish a strong culture of collaboration with the members and our APA administration, so that we're all rowing in the same direction together.

[00:04:41]: Additionally, it is critically important that we ensure that the APA become more strategic and forward thinking. Um, and so building aspects of strategic decision making into our organization are a critical early goal for me in my first year.

Erin Connors [00:05:00]: Well, as you see it, what are some of the opportunities for APA and psychiatry heading into the brand new year?

Marketa Wills [00:05:06]: Well, I, for one, am very excited about moving forward into the new year. Mental health is at the forefront of our national conversation, perhaps now more than ever. And it's very exciting to be having a critical role at the table in advancing and promoting evidence based information around mental health and substance use disorders.

[00:05:30]: both in public forums like the media and in our conversations with lawmakers. Psychiatrists have a voice and we need to use it. In doing so, we will be advocating for our patients and our profession. And it's so important that we do that now more than ever, especially as a new administration takes office.

Erin Connors [00:05:53]: Dr. Wills, thank you so much for joining us today. We really do appreciate it.

Marketa Wills [00:05:57]: Thank you for having me, Erin.

Erin Connors [00:05:58]: And to our listeners, join us each month for a new edition of Mental Health Pathfinders. You can find us at psychiatry.org/podcast or on your favorite podcast platform.