Andrew Lancia, MD

Dr. Lancia has shown exceptional dedication to our organization’s mission, values, and community over the past year. He consistently reflects the core spirit of our psychiatry community through his selfless service, collaborative approach, and steady commitment to improving systems for patients and colleagues alike. He carried his 2024 Presidential theme, “Commitment to Patients, Commitment to Life,” well beyond his term, demonstrating continued leadership and integrity. His careful attention to legislative details, advocacy for accessible mental health services, and emphasis on safety and education highlight the depth of his contribution. Honoring him with the Member of the Year Award would appropriately recognize his meaningful and lasting impact.

Bio: Andrew J. Lancia is the Associate Chair of Clinical Affairs and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria.  He has been a member of the Illinois Psychiatric Society since 2010 and has served as a council member since 2017, currently as a Past President, previously serving as the President, Treasurer, Secretary, Councilor, and Downstate Councilor.  He received the IPS 2015 Outstanding Achievement Award in Integrating Behavioral Health into Primary Care.  In 2019, he was accepted as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. After the pandemic started, he was acknowledge formally by Governor Pritzker for his work addressing issues surrounding COVID-19.  In Peoria, Dr. Lancia teaches medical students and residents while running an inpatient psychiatric unit and the CL service.  He just re-establish and manages the ECT service.  He served as medical director for the Carle Health Behavioral Health Integrated Services of Hospital Based Programs (Methodist Campus) from 2015 to 2026 and continues to be medical director for the Consultation-Liaison Services (since 2010).  He graduated as chief resident at the University of Iowa and the Caterpillar Faculty Scholars Fellowship at UICOMP.

Anneka Johnston-Dumerauf, MD

Dr. Johnston has demonstrated exceptional dedication to her department’s mission, values, and learners throughout residency. Her commitment to teaching is clear: she earned the Gold Award for medical student education as an intern, completed a PGY3 elective focused on interview‑based teaching on inpatient units, and now leads the medical student teaching clinic as a PGY4. She even spent July guiding new interns to ensure a strong start to their training. Her academic impact is equally impressive. She has presented nationally and internationally, including an oral presentation at the International Society of Addiction Medicine in Germany (2024), winning Best Case Report at IPS in 2025, and delivering a groundbreaking talk on psychiatric considerations in Erdheim‑Chester disease at a national oncology conference in 2026. Dr. Johnston has also advanced medicine through workshops, creative scholarship, and curriculum development. As Executive Chief Resident, she contributes through QI work, building a bridge clinic, strengthening didactics, and championing resident wellness.

Bio: Dr. Anneka Johnston is a 4th year psychiatry resident at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to medical school, she worked in a suboxone clinic at the height of Chicago's opioid epidemic, where she developed a passion for increasing access to mental healthcare and providing evidence-based treatments for vulnerable and medically complex populations. Her academic work spans clinical research, medical education, and the medical humanities. Both her creative work, as well as a systematic review of mindfulness interventions on the autonomic nervous system, have been published in peer-reviewed journals. During residency, she created a post-hospitalization bridge clinic to improve follow-up for patients after discharge from inpatient psychiatry and has presented at national and international conferences. A long-held passion in narrative medicine has led to ongoing work developing a standing narrative medicine speakers series at Rush and a longitudinal medical student track, as well as poetry writing workshops for medical students, residents and faculty. Her clinical interests include women’s mental health, and the interplay between psychiatry and histiocytic conditions. Following residency, she plans to pursue fellowship training in consult liaison psychiatry

Natalie Potechonski, DO

Dr. Polechonski is an exceptional leader whose has taken on multiple leadership roles, including serving as Chief Resident, where her steady guidance and commitment to improving systems have strengthened the training environment for both residents and her current faculty. Her drive to enhance clinical and educational processes has led to meaningful improvements across the program with work that reflects both initiative and vision. At the same time, she has distinguished herself as a model scholar, presenting a poster at the IPS meeting and earning acceptance for a presentation at the highly competitive national ACLP conference. Balancing leadership, innovation, and academic excellence is no small feat, yet she does so with consistency, professionalism, and genuine dedication.

Bio: Dr. Natalie Polechonski is currently a 4th year psychiatry resident at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. During residency, she has served as a Chief Resident during both PGY-3 and PGY-4 academic years, providing leadership and support to her colleagues while contributing to initiatives that strengthen the residency program, including updating the residency handbook. Dr. Polechonski has a passion for medical education and is a part of a 2-year longitudinal Medical Educator Track where she is creating an Emergency Psychiatry curriculum targeted towards enhancing the educational needs of staff screening psychiatric patients both in the emergency room and the community setting. She has presented a variety of resident didactic topics such as Mental Status Exam, Managing a Violent Patient and Psychiatry Interview Tips. Her academic and professional interests include consult liaison psychiatry, perinatal psychiatry and medical education.She will be presenting a poster at the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP) annual meeting in November entitled, “When OCD and PTSD Collide: Psychogenic Polydipsia in a High-Risk Peripartum Patient with SSRI Treatment Failure.” After residency, Dr. Polechonski plans to pursue fellowship training in Consult Liaison Psychiatry and eventually plans to practice CL psychiatry in an academic setting.

Tomas Stavskis

Tomas Stavskis is an outstanding fourth-year medical student at Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. For the past two years, he has served as Chair of the IPS Medical Student Committee. In this role, Tomas has developed new programming to increase student engagement and participation in medical student meetings, helping to strengthen the student community. Tomas is excited to pursue psychiatry, a specialty that aligns well with his compassion for others and his passion for helping patients improve their mental health and well-being.

Bio: Tomas Stavskis is a 4th year medical student at Midwestern University - Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He enrolled in medical school to become a psychiatrist after being inspired by how his psychotherapist mother transformed into a superhero to help her patients through mental health crises. During his pre-clinical years, the IPS medical student committee helped mentor him and grow his love for psychiatry, he is honored to now lead the committee and provide the same resources for the next generation of psychiatrists in Illinois.

Theodote K. Pontikes, MD, MBA-HCM, DFAACAP, DFAPA, FACLP

Dr. Pontikes is a standout leader whose impact on psychiatric education is felt across her program and beyond. She is a model of mentorship that is approachable, supportive, and deeply invested in the growth of every trainee. Her steady, thoughtful leadership style has earned the admiration of residents, faculty, and colleagues throughout the educational community. Dr. Pontikes  is actively involved in multiple national clinical and educational organizations, consistently working to elevate training standards and strengthen the learning environment. Her commitment to innovation, collaboration, and learner well‑being sets the tone for her program and reflects the highest ideals of academic psychiatry. Dr. Pontikes is, in every sense, a model program director. Dr. Pontikes leads with integrity, inspires through example, and continually pushes the field forward. Dr. Pontikes currently serves as the President of the Illinois Council of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Bio: Dr. Theodote K. Pontikes is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the Stritch School of Medicine (Loyola University Chicago) and has served as Psychiatry residency program director at Loyola University Medical Center since 2021. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. She currently serves as the President of the Illinois Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Pontikes completed Psychiatry residency and a Clinical Medical Ethics fellowship at the University of Chicago, followed by fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital program (Harvard Medical School), as well as in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance (Harvard Medical School). She also earned a MBA degree in Health Care Management (Loyola University Chicago). Dr. Pontikes is especially interested in interdisciplinary collaboration and integrated care; clinical medical ethics; transcultural issues and the reduction of healthcare disparities; advocacy; medical education; and mentorship. She has received several awards in recognition of her contributions to medical education and servant leadership and, in 2026, was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

Samuel Jackson, MD

Dr. Jackson’s work reflects unwavering dedication to people living with severe mental illness and those experiencing homelessness. As Clinical Director of Psychiatry at Erie Family Health, he leads with compassion while expanding access to care in one of Chicago’s largest federally qualified health centers. He also serves as a street psychiatrist with Rush’s Center to Transform Health and Housing and The Night Ministry, meeting patients directly in the community and providing care in the most challenging settings. His commitment to education is equally strong. He supervises UIC’s Street Psychiatry rotation, shaping future psychiatrists through hands‑on, community‑focused training. Dr. Jackson further strengthens his impact, with publications on criminal justice involvement, involuntary commitment, and crisis services. In just a few years in Chicago, he has become a calm, collaborative leader who brings professionals together to better serve vulnerable populations.

Bio: Samuel Jackson, M.D., is a Street Psychiatrist based in Chicago, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Rush, Loyola, and the University of Illinois Chicago, and a graduate of Columbia’s Public Psychiatry Fellowship. He is the Founder and President of the Street Mental Health Coalition, and has helped start Street Psychiatry programs through the city of Chicago.

Peter Chien, MD

Dr. Chien is an extraordinary clinician whose work makes him deeply deserving of recognition. In 2013, he co‑founded the Acute Recovery Center (ARC) and has served as its Medical Director ever since, shaping every aspect of its clinical and administrative operations. ARC was intentionally designed to fill a critical gap for suicidal Veterans at Hines—offering an intensive outpatient alternative to hospitalization and redefining what safe, recovery‑oriented care can look like. ARC’s model is groundbreaking: structured group and individual sessions focused on community, mindfulness, and practical recovery skills, delivered in a hybrid format for maximum accessibility. Its approach to risk management is especially innovative, asking how to safely support suicidal Veterans in outpatient care rather than defaulting to higher levels of restriction. Through ARC, Veterans can continue working, parenting, and living their lives while receiving evidence‑informed, compassionate care. Dr. Chien’s leadership has transformed how suicide‑focused outpatient treatment can be delivered—and Veterans are safer, supported, and empowered because of it.

Bio: Dr. Peter Chien is the co- founder and Medical Director of the Hines VA Acute Recovery Center(ARC), a crisis outpatient program for suicidal Veterans. As both diversion for Veterans who would have otherwise been hospitalized and as step-down often allowing  earlier hospital discharge, ARC has effectively treated more than a thousand suicidal Veterans in its 14-year history.  Dr. Chien is also a national educator for the VA's Whole Health transformation, and he is the President of the American Association for Community Psychiatry (AACP). These support his beliefs in promoting public health psychiatry and mental wellness.

Shin Lee, MD

Dr. Shin Lee embodies exceptional, patient‑centered psychiatric care, making him profoundly deserving of the Illinois Psychiatric Society’s Excellence in Patient Care Award. His career reflects unwavering dedication to individuals with severe and complex mental illness, including psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, treatment‑resistant depression, personality disorders, and substance use disorders. Across New York, New Jersey, and Illinois, he has consistently chosen roles serving vulnerable populations in safety‑net and public psychiatric settings. At the John J. Madden Mental Health Center, he provides thoughtful, evidence‑based care to patients with some of the most challenging conditions while also maintaining a private practice. His careful approach to medication management provided optimized treatment and reduced unnecessary polypharmacy which shows exceptional clinical judgment and a deep commitment to long‑term recovery. Dr. Lee brings cultural humility, empathy, and whole‑person care to every patient interaction. He also mentors students and residents at UIC and Loyola, inspiring future psychiatrists through his example.

Bio: Dr. Shin Lee is a board-certified psychiatrist dedicated to delivering comprehensive, patient-centered care across both inpatient and outpatient settings. He earned his Medical Degree from New York University Grossman School of Medicine and completed his psychiatry residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Currently, Dr. Lee serves as an attending psychiatrist at Madden Mental Health Center while managing his private practice, TheoMind Psychiatry. He is involved in medical education as a faculty member at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and Loyola University of Chicago, supervising psychiatry residents and medical students.

Sandra S. Swantek, MD

Dr. Swantek has demonstrated outstanding achievement in advocacy through her dedicated efforts to promote patient safety during the expansion of psychology prescribing in Illinois. She played an important role in helping develop thoughtful guidelines and appropriate guardrails to ensure that the implementation of this legislation remains focused on the safety and well-being of patients. Her expertise in geriatric psychiatry was particularly invaluable. Dr. Swantek brought a unique and highly informed perspective to discussions surrounding the needs and vulnerabilities of older adults, helping ensure that patient safety considerations were thoughtfully addressed. Her willingness to share her expertise, engage in the legislative and policy process, and advocate for responsible implementation exemplifies the important role psychiatrists play in shaping healthcare policy. Dr. Swantek’s contributions have strengthened our advocacy efforts and helped advance meaningful protections for patients across Illinois. She is highly deserving of the Outstanding Achievement in Advocacy Award.

Bio: Sandra S. Swantek, MD, is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the recently retired Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center. A board-certified geriatric psychiatrist, she has devoted three decades to improving the care, dignity, and rights of older adults. Dr. Swantek has translated clinical experience into advocacy at state, national, and international levels. As an Illinois Psychiatric Society Councilor and past Chair of its Public Affairs Committee, she has advocated for safe psychiatric care and opposed expansion of prescribing authority without adequate safeguards for older adults. As an American Medical Association delegate representing geriatric psychiatry, she authored and secured adoption of Resolution 708, Access to Psychiatric Treatment in Long-Term Care. She has also contributed to American Psychiatric Association policy statements addressing ageism, dementia care, palliative psychiatry, substance use, driving, and the role of psychiatrists in nursing facilities.

A past president and Distinguished Fellow of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, Dr. Swantek has advanced workforce development, Medicare policy, brain health, and human-rights-based care. She serves on the Illinois Department of Public Health Abuse Prevention Review Team and collaborates internationally to promote mental health, legal capacity, dignity, and agency in the emerging United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.

L. Joy Houston, MD, DFAPA

Dr. Houston has become a recognized leader in education leadership literature, with multiple peer-reviewed articles, national and international meeting presentations, textbook chapters, and a series of textbooks related to graduate medical education. She is the lead editor for this textbook series, which currently has 4 books published covering education in psychiatry, surgery, pediatrics, and family medicine, with multiple further volumes currently in development.

Bio: L. Joy Houston, MD, is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Vice Chair of Education in the department of Psychiatry at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU). She completed medical school and psychiatric residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), where she joined the faculty after graduation. She served as Associate Program Director of the UMMC Psychiatry Residency Program and then as Program Director before joining SIU’s faculty in 2020. She has won numerous teaching awards and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Academic Psychiatry (AAP) and the American Psychiatric Association. She has served in leadership roles for the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training, AAP, and the Illinois district branch of the APA. She has presented nationally and internationally on educational topics and served in the Psychiatry Milestones 2.0 work group for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She serves on the editorial board for Academic Psychiatry. She is a co-editor of the textbook, Graduate Medical Education in Psychiatry: From Basic Processes to True Innovation and lead series editor for the Excellence in Medical Education series of textbooks. Her research interests include program director well-being and burnout, active learning methodologies, curriculum development, and educational scholarship.

Joan Anzia, MD

Dr. Joan Anzia is an extraordinary leader whose career embodies the very essence of physician wellness, making her deeply deserving of the 2026 Commitment to Physician Wellness Award. A trailblazer from the start, she entered Loyola Stritch at a time when women were still underrepresented in medicine and went on to train at Northwestern and UIC, quickly establishing herself as a force in academic psychiatry. Dr. Anzias service has shaped the profession at every level. She led the Illinois Psychiatric Society as President, founded the IPS Women’s Committee, earned the APA’s Irma Bland Award for Teaching Excellence, and now serves as President of the American College of Psychiatrists. Her leadership has influenced policy, education, and advocacy nationwide. Yet her greatest impact lies in how she models wellness. Dr. Anzia has shown generations of physicians what a balanced, meaningful life in medicine can look like. Grounded in purpose, connection, self‑acceptance, and joy.

Bio: Joan M. Anzia, M.D. is Professor Emerita of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine/Northwestern University; from 2006 until 2022 she served as Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Psychiatry and as the first Physician Health Liaison/Wellness Officer for Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital. Dr. Anzia served as a residency program director and associate director for over 30 years at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern and has won numerous local, regional and national teaching awards during her career.  She was chosen as Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Mecklenberg Distinguished Physician Awardee in 2020 for her work on improving physician wellbeing, as well as the McGaw GME Distinguished Service Awardee in 2016.  She is a Past President of the Association for Academic Psychiatry (AAP).  Dr. Anzia also served as a member of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning, and she is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA.  In 2017 she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha at Northwestern. Dr. Anzia served as a Director of the ABPN and as President of the Illinois Psychiatric Society from 2004-2006. She is the current President of the American College of Psychiatrists.