This year, we congratulate Mark Snowden, MD, MPH on his retirement after an extraordinary 40 years of service, leadership, and mentorship at the University of Washington.
 
After earning a BA in English Literature from Princeton University, Mark came to Seattle and worked as a case manager at a community mental health center before joining UW as a medical student in 1986. Over the following decades, he built a distinguished career as a geriatric psychiatrist and health services researcher, while becoming one of the department’s most trusted and respected leaders. His research focused on improving access to evidence-based mental health care for older adults, including leading the team that implemented PEARLS – the Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives – an innovative approach to treating depression among older adults in community settings.
 
For more than a decade, Mark served as Chief of Psychiatry at Harborview Medical Center and as Vice Chair for our department’s Clinical Services. He also co-chaired our department’s EDI Council and played a key leadership role on the steering committee for Washington state’s Crisis Response Improvement Strategy (the CRIS Committee), helping guide statewide behavioral health crisis system improvements from 2021 through the committee’s final report in 2025.
 
Known for his steady and fair approach to leadership, his wisdom, and his judgment, Mark has been extremely influential as a mentor, helping a generation of faculty become expert clinicians, teachers, and leaders. His dedication to teaching was recognized with the department’s Outstanding Mentor Award in 2024.
 
We are deeply grateful for Mark’s many contributions and wish him a terrific journey as he moves into the next phase of his life.