Meet the Board
Gayathri Ramprasad, MBA, CPS
Founder and President
Gayathri Ramprasad is a Mental Health Consultant and a Social Entrepreneur, with a unique insight into the world of mental health. Her successful battle in overcoming life-threatening mental illness and her amazing recovery taught her the power of HOPE in healing chronic illness. Now, she shares that message with others. Her ability to transform trauma into triumph has inspired and empowered thousands of audience members regionally, nationally, and internationally. Individuals and organizations alike applaud Gayathri as an agent of hope and transformational change.
In addition to serving as the President of ASHA International, Gayathri is also the President of Mind Beautiful, a mental health consultancy www.mindbeautiful.com dedicated to “Empowering Beautiful Minds around the World.”
Gayathri received her first undergraduate degree in science from Bangalore University in India, a second undergraduate degree in Management and Information Systems and a Masters in Business Administration from George Fox University, USA. Gayathri is a professional speaker, and a member of the National Speaker’s Association and the International Federation For Professional Speakers. Gayathri is also a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS).
Gayathri is the winner of the prestigious 2006 Eli Lilly Welcome Back Award for Lifetime Achievement and the 2006 Voice Award for Consumer Leadership awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA). She is also the winner of the 2008 Outstanding Alumna Award from her alma mater George Fox University.
As the President of ASHA International and a person that has struggled through chronic and persistent mental illness, Gayathri believes it is an honor to serve her common humanity as a harbinger of hope and healing.
Shylajah Prasannan
Treasurer
Shylajajah has a Masters degree in Commerce & Accounting from the University of Madras, India. She completed her CPA in Oregon in 1988. Shylajah has worked as a financial controller for a small company, Intersoft, Inc. in Lake Oswego from 1992 - 2004. She has also served as the Secretary/Treasurer for a couple of local Indian non-profit organizations: India Cultural Association, Thyagaraja Aradhana Committee,etc., in addition to working as accountant in a Montessori school in Lake Oswego. Shylajah is an accomplished musician and highly sought after teacher. Shylajah likes to volunteer her time and expertise to support organizations that serve our common humanity.
Kathy Van Riesen
Secretary
Kathy has a degree in Computer Science and has worked in high tech industry for over 30 years. She is currently a Program Manager at Tektronix and enjoys the “soft” skills side of building a product development team. She is excited to join the Board of Directors at ASHA International and hopes that she can help realize the organizational mission.
James K. Boehnlein, M.D.
Director
Dr. Boehnlein received his psychiatry training at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), and was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received his masters in anthropology. During the past 20 years he has been a staff psychiatrist in OHSU’s Intercultural Psychiatric Program, where he has treated Cambodian and Central American refugees and has worked with colleagues in clinical research that has studied long-term adjustment of traumatized refugees. He is board certified in both general and forensic psychiatry.
He is currently Director of Medical Student Education in OHSU’s Department of Psychiatry, and Associate Director for Education for the VA’s regional mental health research center. He is currently President of the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture, an international association of psychiatric and social science researchers and educators. He lives in Portland with his wife and three children.
“I was honored to be invited to serve on the Board of ASHA International” Dr. Boehnlein says. “The organization is dedicated not only to improving the understanding of mental illness and empowering individuals, families, and communities, but also to enhancing awareness of cultural factors in improving mental health and celebrating the role of culture in healthy lives.”
John Head
Director
John Head is the author of “Black Men and Depression: Saving Our Lives, Healing Our Families and Friends” (originally published in hardcover as “Standing in the Shadows: Understanding and Overcoming Depression in Black Men”). The book is based on his experiences with clinical depression. He was a recipient of the 2005 Erasing the Stigma Leadership Award presented by the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center in Los Angeles. Previous honorees include former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Psychiatric Foundation and the Advisory Board of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. He worked for more than 20 years as a journalist for the Detroit Free Press, USA TODAY and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and served as press secretary to Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first African-American mayor.
"I was inspired by Gayathri’s personal story and impressed by the work ASHA International was doing in Portland and beyond" John says. "I am particularly attracted by its efforts to bring hope to underserved communities where barriers such as stigma and lack of access stand between people and the mental health treatment they need. My own experience with depression taught me the importance of bringing mental illness out of the shadows and into the light, as Gayathri and ASHA International are determined to do."
Julie Fast
Director
Julie A. Fast is the bestselling author of Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder, Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder and the upcoming book, Get it Done When You’re Depressed. She was diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar II in 1995 and struggled for many years to get the illness under control. In 1999, she took her mental health management into her own hands and created a treatment system now used around the world. Her popular web site, www.bipolarhappens.com has received over 1,000,000 visitors. She envisions a world where mental illness is openly discussed and treated successfully. It is possible! Julie regularly deals with depression, psychosis and mania. She’s proof that people with mental illnesses can find their place in the world, even when the illness is active.
Julie was the recipient of the 2007 Mental Health America Journalism award for the best mental health column in the US. Julie also received the Eli Lilly Reintigration Award in 2007 for her work in bipolar disorder management.
Along with her books, Julie is a columnist for BP Magazine and recently won a Mental Health America journalism award and the Eli Lilly Achievement Award for her work in mental health treatment.
Julie says, “I’m excited and proud to serve on the Board of Directors at ASHA International. For so many years I wasn’t able to get out in public and do the work I so desperately wanted to do. ASHA International’s goal to promote global mental health awareness and collaborate with diverse populations to promote mental health is my goal as well. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and then learning from people throughout the world who deal with mental illness. We have so much to learn from each other.”
Lilly Glass Akoto, LCSW
Director
Lilly Glass Akoto is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been profoundly impacted by mental illness in both her personal life and professional career. As a bi-racial adult adoptee, she brings unique insight and wisdom to her practice, her family and the lives of the people she comes in contact with.
She currently has a private practice, Looking In ~ Looking Out, LLC (www.LiLoCounseling.com) where she works with those struggling with mental health challenges, specializing in multicultural issues, all aspects of suicide and helping the hurting develop a strong sense of worth. She also works as an on-call therapist for the Providence and St Vincent Hospitals, facilitating Adult Outpatient Therapy Groups. Lilly volunteers at the Dougy Center, a place for children and families to grieve and volunteers at Adoption Mosiac, a non-profit organization providing educational resources and ongoing support to all those whose lives are influenced by adoption. She is an active member of the NASW (National Association for Social Workers) and ADEC (Association for Death Education and Counseling).
Lilly has lived in Oregon for 16 years, having moved here from the east coast. She is in a multicultural marriage, her husband is from Ghana in West Africa and they have two wonderful boys, 15 and 9. In the church that she attends, she sings on the praise and worship team. She coaches her younger son in soccer in the fall and spring. As if she is not busy enough, she is on the Mt Tabor Soccer Club board.
“What draws me to ASHA International is the message of HOPE and the philosophy that people with mental illness can recover. It is rare to find just one person that has this belief so it is a blessing that I have found a group of people that share this theory. As a 5 time true survivor of suicide, as a bi-racial adoptee who always had to fight to find an identity and as someone who has struggled with deep depression for far too long, I can now say that not only am I recovered, but I am healed. ASHA International feeds my spirit as it champions the hope of authentic mental health recovery for people from all cultures and nationalities.”
Don Moore
Member, Advisory Board
Don Moore is President of New Venture Networks, a computer consulting firm based in Portland, OR, USA. He graduated from Central Michigan University, with majors in speech communication and psychology, and has work experience in commercial insurance underwriting. He has served as the President of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Multnomah County for two years, and has been active in creating media projects to advocate for people with mental illness. He has presented video productions at the Mental Health Day at the Oregon legislature as well as testified on behalf of legislative issues relating to mental health parity.
Don has committed his time and energy to ASHA International because he believes that “mental illness is the most misunderstood of all the diseases that mankind faces. It is the last great frontier for medical science to explore. As the parent of a child who suffers from a mental illness, I can find no better purpose that to help others see the hope for recovery that ASHA International represents. Helping to communicate that vision to others is a most worthwhile effort.”
Barbara B. Maloney, PhD
Member, Advisory Board
Dr. Maloney is an independent consultant in business and technical writing and communication. For over 25 years she has worked with organizations and individuals to establish and enhance better communication in the workplace.
She joined the Board of Director’s at ASHA International because she is an ardent believer in the mission to build communities of hope and healing through better communication and outreach to those individuals and their families facing neurobiological disorders.
William H. Wilson, M.D.
Member, Advisory Board
William H. Wilson, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Inpatient Psychiatric Services at the Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland. Dr. Wilson received his undergraduate degree from Brown University in Rhode Island, attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his specialty training in psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining the OHSU faculty in 1989, Dr. Wilson taught at the University of Pittsburgh and the Medical College of Pennsylvania. He is now an Attending Physician for OHSU’s inpatient psychiatric service and maintains an outpatient practice dealing with complex treatment issues in adult psychiatry.
Dr. Wilson is listed in the Best Doctors in America, the Guide to America’s Top Psychiatrists, and Who’s Who in America. Actively involved in the education of medical students, resident physicians, and other professionals, he has received the Residency Teaching Award and the Faculty Mentor Award from the OHSU Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Wilson’s research has focused on the outcome of medication as a treatment for schizophrenia. He has been the Principal Investigator of studies funded by the NIMH and by the pharmaceutical industry. He twice received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, as well as receiving the State of Oregon’s “2000 Mental Health Award for Excellence.” He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and was awarded the APAs "Nancy C. A. Roeske, MD Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Medical Student Education” in 2007.
Dr. Wilson says, “I chose to serve on the Advisory Board of ASHA International because I believe wholeheartedly in the mission of the organization. ASHA International brings together dedicated, effective advocates and communicators who are promoting understanding, hope and recovery for individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders. It is an honor to take part in this effort.”