Jay Davidson

As a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Child Study and Treatment Center, I am deeply inspired by the resilience of the youth we serve and by the collaborative spirit of our multidisciplinary teams. My work is grounded in curiosity, compassion, and respect for the complex systems that shape young people’s lives. My approach integrates evidence-based psychopharmacology with developmental and trauma-informed care, while always centering around the individual’s unique story and strengths. I value the relational and systemic dimensions of psychiatry: the interplay between family, community, and policy that influences recovery and growth. The multidisciplinary, relational model at CSTC reflects these values and continues to shape how I think about psychiatry: not only as a science, but as a deeply human endeavor.

Katherine Seldin

Dr. Katherine Seldin is a faculty member and licensed clinical psychologist in the University of Washington’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Before joining this department, Dr. Seldin completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Washington, residency at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and fellowship at the University of Ilinois Chicago.
Dr. Seldin specializes in delivering evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs), including mindfulness-based and exposure-based psychotherapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Her research interests include mood disorders, sleep, digital intervention, emotional impulsivity, and ecological momentary assessment methodology.

Karís Casagrande

Karís Casagrande (she/they), PhD, is a clinical psychologist and director of community outreach at Seattle Children’s Autism Center. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, and is an alum of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. Clinically, she specializes in neurodevelopmental assessment, parent coaching models of intervention focused on behavior and social communication, and cognitive-behavioral therapy for individuals with neurodevelopmental differences. She is engaged in community outreach and capacity-building research and programming to improve access to and quality of care for individuals with autism and their families in their home communities. Previously, she was the president of a community non-profit advocacy group and worked with community organizations such as museums, theaters, and hotels to increase accessibility and inclusion for individuals with sensory and developmental differences. She is excited to continue engaging communities and improving accessibility in this new role at the Autism Center. 

Margaret Z. Wang

I am a practicing psychiatrist and health services researcher whose research has focused on system-level strategies to deliver high-quality care in settings with few clinical resources or available specialists. I am board certified in general adult psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry and my clinical work has included provision of psychiatric outpatient, inpatient, and emergency services care. I am interested in leveraging existing community infrastructure and adapting evidence based clinical practices to suit community contexts to reduce treatment gaps.

Alissa Hemke

I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist with interests in medical education, infant and early childhood mental health, and psychotherapy. I direct psychotherapy training for child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) fellows, co-lead the CAP fellows’ didactic curriculum, and coordinate the CAP training experiences of general psychiatry residents.

My clinical work includes treatment in the outpatient setting for young children through adolescents, working closely with their families. I am passionate about psychiatrists supporting families comprehensively. I seek to use not only medications (if appropriate) but also behavioral/psychotherapeutic approaches.

I have done research on expanding behavioral treatments for young children by involving peer supports—caregivers who have previously participated in the programs for their own children—as members of the care team.

Beatriz Carlini

I am a Research Associate Professor at the Psychiatry Department,  Addiction, Drug & Alcohol Institute where I direct the Cannabis Education and Research Program, a team (CERP) that systematically interacts with state and county agencies and community coalitions, with the purpose of supporting the adoption of evidence-base policies and interventions. I have published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, secured research funds both as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator, and have collaborated with colleagues from various U.S. universities and abroad. Besides cannabis, I have interest and research experience in tobacco control.

A little bit about my trajectory: I obtained my PhD in Social Psychology in my home country, Brazil. As a faculty in the University of Sao Paulo Preventive Medicine Department, my professional life was dedicated to research and service disparate populations, such as street kids and substance-using youth. As an academic of a developing nation, I had the honor to collaborate internationally and serve in various World Health Organization working groups and committees.

After moving to the United States in 2000, I obtained a Master of Public Health at UW, with an emphasis in Social and Behavioral Sciences. This second degree provided me with the skills and the contextual perspective to successfully transition my professional focus from health care disparities in developing nations to the inequities experienced by historically marginalized communities living in the richest and most powerful country on Earth, the U.S. As a dual citizen, I consider inequity, racism, discrimination and stigma as important determinants of addiction and substance use in an increased globalized world.

I prefer the pronouns she, her, hers.

Caleb Banta-Green

Dr. Banta-Green studies substance use involving opioids and stimulants and interventions to support recovery and reduce substance-related harms. He is particularly interested in developing interventions that are accessible to all people, including those who are most marginalized, such as those who are unhoused, utilizing services syringe service programs, and/or in the criminal legal system. He provides technical assistance and evaluation services for public health and safety interventions including the website http://stopoverdose.org, and information for the general public and professionals about effective treatments at http://learnabouttreatment.org. As an epidemiologist he develops innovative approaches to measuring the use and impacts of substances as well as service utilization. His health services research involves clinical trials, implementation research, and secondary data analyses. He serves on local, state, and federal workgroups and committees related to epidemiology, policy, and interventions for illicit substance-related problems. He is a member of the U.S. Health and Human Service’s Interdepartmental Substance Use Disorders Coordinating Committee.

Robert Hilt

Robert Hilt, MD is a Professor in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is the program director for the Partnership Access Line (PAL), a child mental health consultation service for primary care providers in Washington, Wyoming and Alaska. He is the Program Director for the Medicaid Medication Second Opinion Programs of Wyoming, Washington and Alaska, and Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Psychiatric Consult Service in Wyoming for children in foster care. He has been involved in several collaborative care projects, in school support projects, and has helped to establish a statewide mental health referral service in Washington.  Dr. Hilt’s primary interest is to increase professional collaboration between child psychiatrists and pediatric medical providers, and to increase access to high quality care.

Theresa Hoeft

Personal Statement

I am a mixed methods health services researcher and health economist with a PhD in population health and background in community-based participatory research and community-engaged research. I enjoy working with partners in clinic and community settings to develop scalable programs to improve mental health services and community well-being. Such programs may involve a diverse workforce with varying levels of mental health training and experience, including lay health workers. My interest in technology focuses on finding efficiencies and the appropriate balance of technology and face-to-face encounters to support patient care and staff training/support in such programs.