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2009 Class of USPRA Fellows
2009 USPRA Fellows The USPRA Board of Directors is pleased to present the first class of Fellows and to honors each for their contributions to the association and the field of psychiatric rehabilitation:
William Anthony, PhD, Executive Director Center For Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston, MA Details about Bill
Anita Pernell-Arnold, MSSW, CPRP, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL Details about Anita
Jerry Dincin, Founding member of USPRA/IAPSRS, Highland Park, IL Details about Jerry
Carolyn Peterson, CPRP, Director Highlands Community Support Svc, Bristol, VA Details about Carolyn
William Anthony, PhD, Director, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University, Boston, MA,
USPRA member since 1982
Statement from nominator: Bill Anthony is, in two words, an exceptional person. He is a man who has lived, breathed, and worked towards a vision of recovery for people with disabilities, his entire life. He has committed his intellect, his heart, and his energy with determination, persistence and ultimately, love to the actualization of this vision of recovery. He is a true warrior of hope. He has relentlessly taught us through his words, his actions and his experiences about the power of hope in helping our system and programs improve and people heal and live life to its fullest. That kind of hope, that kind of LOVE, has not only touched and guided the field, but so many personal lives as well.
His compassionate and compelling leadership has helped champion mental health policy, research and services on international, national, state and local level for thirty years. As he has said, “leaders are known by the followers they keep”…and USPRA in its earliest days was nurtured and guided through Bill’s leadership and we continue today as an organization and as fellow human beings, to live by his values and principles.
Bill’s leadership, his fellowship, has many dimensions: unparalleled academic publications, three decades of rehabilitation research that has translated into policy, recovery-oriented training, and mentorship of thousands of professionals. His advocacy, influence and leadership have helped shaped and grow the field of psychosocial rehabilitation in inspiring ways. He is the very definition of an USPRA fellow.
Founding Member of the association
Statement from nominator: In nearly 40 years at Thresholds, Jerry Dincin amassed a long record of innovation that helped countless people with serious mental illness live with dignity and independence. Jerry has been an international figure in psychosocial rehabilitation who has used his many publications and presentations to spread his ideas and advance the state of knowledge in the mental health field. He is one of the founders (and a past president) of IAPSRS, and a lifetime board member.
Jerry took the helm of Thresholds in 1965 overseeing a staff of five people serving about 50 people with serious mental illness. By the time of his retirement in 2003, he had built the agency into one of the nation’s premiere psychiatric rehabilitation centers. Its 7,000 members today benefit from a comprehensive set of programs, including many that Jerry and his staff pioneered.
Jerry advanced the typical clubhouse model to include housing, education, vocational services, and home visiting, among other services—thus bolstering psychosocial rehabilitation’s national impact. Dincin’s Thresholds was the first to provide specialized psychiatric services to the deaf, and the first to establish similar services for parents with psychiatric illness. Other programs were the first to target seniors, substance abusers, and the college-bound with specific programming. Dincin also was an early advocate of mental health research. He established one of the first research bodies that not only produced ground-breaking studies on the effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation, but also established the importance of program evaluation to figure out what’s working and what’s not.
I could go on, but Jerry is known by all of us as one of the most important figure in the history of psychosocial rehabilitation and USPRA. If there is one person who qualifies to be a USPRA Fellow, it is Jerry.
Anita Pernell-Arnold, CPRP, Chair, PRIME Institute, Drexel U., School of Medicine, Dept of Psychiatry BHE Division, St. Petersburg, FL
Member since 1985
Statement from nominator: Ms. Pernell-Arnold has been a leader within the IAPSRS/USPRA community for over 24 years. In this time, there have been several significant milestones demonstrating her commitment to USPRA, the field, promoting recovery for people with psychiatric disabilities, and inclusion for all. First, Ms. Pernell-Arnold is a past President of the Board of Directors of USPRA. She also served as Co-Chair of the Certification and Training Committee responsible for developing the CPRP Certification program as it currently is structured. Ms. Pernell-Arnold continues active support for USPRA by presenting institutes and workshops at conferences each year. She also continues her membership in the Multicultural Diversity Committee (MCDC) (of which she is a former Chair), as well as leads the African American Subcommittee, which she formed in 2006. However, one of her greatest contributions to USPRA extends beyond her work as a committee chair, member, or even a past President; she is fundamentally responsible for the development, refinement, and adoption the USPRA Multicultural Principles for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. The Principles are evidence-based, promote inclusion of all people in recovery (not only those of color), and demonstrate USPRA’s commitment to human rights. Anita Pernell-Arnold also has served as mentor to many individuals who are emerging as new leaders within the USPRA community, such as Marie Hamilton, Lisa Mueller, Dr. Chyrell Bellamy, and Al Rowlett. In short sum, 250 words barely describes her accomplishments. We ask the reviewers for full consideration to her dedicated and continuing service to USPRA.
Member since 1989
Statement from nominator: I have known Donald since I joined the IAPSRS Board of Directors in 1999. At that time he was the President of the Board, overseeing a group of 70+ committed and concerned practitioners, administrators, and advocates. Despite the chaos inherent in facilitating discussion and resolution of numerous issues brought to the board, he was able to forge significant outcomes and initiate various processes that moved the association forward and reinforced the principles of psychiatric rehabilitation throughout the service delivery system. Over the years I have known him, he has never lost his passion or commitment to the field.
Following the restructuring of the association into USPRA and the reduction of board membership, Donald continued his involvement in various committees and work groups. Despite some difficult times for the association, he has been an active and forthright collaborator on many fronts, most recently in the effort to restructure membership in the association. He continues to push the association for accountability to membership and to its own policies, procedures and outcomes. In fact, through his dogged determination on many of these issues, committees have been able to offer the board of directors and USPRA staff coherent plans and recommendations to further the association’s best efforts.
Although I am not privy to his direct involvement in New Mexico’s service delivery system, I have spoken to Donald on various changes to the system and the impact that new administrative and funding entities are likely to have in the State. No doubt he continues to espouse the clarity of purpose and accountability that characterizes his efforts at the national level.
Carolyn L. Peterson, LCSW, CPRP Director, Recovery Care Coordination Department, Highlands Center for Behavioral Health, Abingdon, VA
Member since 1979
Statement from nominator: Carolyn Peterson has been a long-time advocate for our services in Virginia. Prior to coming to Virginia she worked in PSR in California. Carolyn is a past president of the Virginia Chapter, a past National President of IAPSRS and a John Beard Award Winner. She is the current Chair for the International Committee and has been instrumental in seeing that our interactions and networking with other countries remains a priority for the Association. She is a respected leader and her diplomacy is stellar. Over the years when Carolyn has spoken publicly about her time with IAPSRS/USPRA she has often described it as a “life stretching experience” and one that she will never forget. I can think of no one more deserving to step into the role of Fellow for USPRA than Carolyn. She exemplifies psychiatric rehabilitation in theory and practice and expects the same from others.
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