AVAPL Executive Committee

PRESIDENT
Pamela Fischer, Ph.D.

Pamela Fischer is currently Director of the Primary Care Mental Health Integration Program in the Oklahoma City VA and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Oklahoma University Health Science Center. She is on the State Board of Examiners of Psychology and Member at Large of Division 18 as well as Secretary of the VA Section of Division 18. She has served as President of the Oklahoma Psychological Association, Secretary and Secretary-Treasurer of AVAPL, and Oklahoma's BOPN representative to the Healthy Workplace. She has served on a number of APA task forces and committees and currently serves on the Integrated Primary Care subcommittee of Division 38. She is integrally involved in development and training on Integrated Care at the local, national and VISN level.

President-Elect
Mary Levenson, Ph.D.

Dr. Mary Morgan Levenson (The Ohio State University, 1982) is Assistant Chief of Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences and the Lead Psychologist at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (BP VAHCS). She currently serves on the National Psychology Professional Standards Board and was a trainer in the initial roll out of medical center Professional Standards Boards. Dr. Levenson currently supervises a staff of 36 doctoral psychologists, and maintains programmatic oversight for the Domiciliary, the Homeless Programs (GPD, HUD/VASH, Safe Haven) and Vocational Rehabilitation services. She chairs the facility Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior Committee, and is an immediate responder on the Crisis Intervention Team. Dr. Levenson has an avid interest in training and worked closely with the APA Accredited Psychology Internship Program at Bay Pines VAMC, serving as the Training Director (1988-1995 and 2008-2009). She also assisted with development of the post-doctoral program and just initiated the first Psychology Practicum Program at Bay Pines. Prior to her current role, Dr. Levenson was the Acting Associate Chief of Staff/Education for BP VAHCS. Committee assignments are numerous and varied reflecting most major areas of the medical center over the course of her career.

Dr. Levenson received the Diplomate and Fellow designation by the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Health Psychology in 1997. She pursued advanced leadership training with successful completion of the VA Management Development Program (2002), Leadership VA (2003), HealthCare Leadership Institute (2004) and the Executive Career Field Development Program (2003a). She has also been a Fellow in the Association of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) since 2008. Dr. Levenson is actively involved and committed to the professional development of psychologists within her station, VISN and VA.

Past President
George Shorter, Ph.D.

Dr. George Shorter (Auburn University, 2001) is Chief of Psychology Service for North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System (NF/SGVHS) and has previously been the Assistant Chief. He serves as the VISN 8 Chairperson for the Substance Use Disorders Sub-Committee and as the Chairperson of the VISN 8 Psychology Professional Standards Board. Dr. Shorter has also served as the Chairperson of the NF/SGVHS’s Psychology Professional Standards Board and as the Director of Vocational Rehabilitation for NF/SGVHS. He has been a Preceptor for one of the three Post-Doctoral Traineeships offered in NF/SGVHS and has mentored five post-doctoral trainees, many psychology interns, and three participants in VISN 8 and NFSGVHS leadership programs. Previously, Dr. Shorter served as the Clinical Coordinator for NF/SGVHS’s Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program and has been a provider of vocational rehabilitation, Compensated Work Therapy, substance use disorders therapies, and general psychotherapy. He has served as the Employee Assistance Program Coordinator for NFSGVHS and remains involved in the Workplace Intervention Committee for NF/SGVHS (a partnership between EAP, EEO, HR, and PI). Dr. Shorter remains active in mental health advocacy, substance use disorder treatment, vocational rehabilitation, psychology training, and general leadership development. He was recently elected as Chairperson of the State of Florida’s DUI Programs Review Board and has served on this board, ensuring the proper conduct of State of Florida Certified DUI education and evaluation programs, for 6 years.

Secretary
Vacant

Treasurer
Ann Landes, Ph.D.

Dr. Ann Landes earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Georgia State University in 2007. At the South Texas Veterans Health Care System in San Antonio, Texas, she completed a Geropsychology Internship and a Palliative Care Postdoctoral Fellowship, with specialization in Primary Care Psychology and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Currently, Dr. Landes is a Primary Care Psychologist at the Malcom Randall VAMC in Gainesville, Florida.

Dr. Landes is actively engaged in the field of primary care psychology, with an emphasis on issues pertaining to training and development of psychologists, management of chronic medical conditions, and program development. Additionally, Dr. Landes remains dedicated to the area of posttraumtic stress disorder by continuing to develop innovative programs for veterans with PTSD and their families.