About Us

Bob Buchanan, MD, directs the Maryland EIP Program. He is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and interim Director of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, which is a division of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Buchanan's research interests span from the neurobehavioral and neuroanatomical investigation of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia to the investigation of novel pharmacological approaches for the treatment of cognitive impairments, negative symptoms, and treatment-resistant positive symptoms in people with schizophrenia.

Melanie Bennett, PhD, leads the Training and Implementation Support Services initiatives of the Maryland EIP Program. She is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Bennett's research is focused on the treatment of alcohol, drug, and nicotine dependence in people with schizophrenia and other forms of severe mental illness.

Howard Goldman, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he is the Director of the Behavioral Health Systems Improvement Collaborative. The Collaborative supports the Maryland EIP Program through training and assistance with program implementation. Dr. Goldman works with clinics, treatment systems, and service providers on developing models for continued financing of early intervention services. He is an expert in evaluating mental health services and in behavioral health financing programs and policies.

Ann Hackman, MD, is the Division Director for the University of Maryland Department of Psychiatry’s Community Psychiatry Division, Associate Professor with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine, and is a board certified psychiatrist, working with the University of Maryland’s RA1SE Connection Program. Dr. Hackman also participates as part of On Our Own of Maryland’s Anti-Stigma Project. Her areas of interest include recovery-oriented work with people living with serious and persistent mental illness and with first episode psychosis, addressing stigma, and the interface between community psychiatry and the criminal justice system.

Nancy Lever, PhD, is a Co-director of Outreach and Education initiatives of the Maryland EIP Program. She is an Associate Professor and Co-director of the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Lever has a particular focus on training, outreach, dissemination, and resource advancement, especially as it relates to promoting high-quality, evidence-based research, training, policy, and practice in school mental health.

Pamela Rakhshan Rouhakhtar, PhD, is the Co-director of the Strive for Wellness Clinic, an early identification and intervention clinic within the Maryland EIP Program. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Rakhshan Rouhakhtar's research interests include validation and development of psychosis spectrum assessments, application of advanced quantitative methods in the study of early psychosis assessment, and studying the role of cultural and contextual factors – particularly race – in our understanding of the psychosis construct, as well as illness presentation, course, and treatment.

Gloria Reeves, MD, is the Co-director of the Strive for Wellness Clinic, an early identification and intervention clinic within the Maryland EIP Program. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Reeves's research interests include childhood aggression, polypharmacy issues in child psychiatry, youth violence prevention, and neuroimaging.

Cindy Schaeffer, PhD,  is a Co-director of Outreach and Education initiatives of the Maryland EIP Program. She is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and core faculty at the National Center for School Mental Health. Dr. Schaeffer's research focuses on developing, evaluating, and ensuring the successful real-world implementation of interventions for youth involved in, or at high risk of involvement in, the juvenile justice and child protective service (CPS) systems. She is particularly interested in family, school, and peer-based interventions that target issues such as school dropout and expulsion; deviant peer relationships; teen and parent substance abuse; low parenting skill; and family conflict / family violence.