MFP Staff
Program Director
The MFP Program Director is Annelle B. Primm, M.D., M.P.H. Dr. Primm, a board certified psychiatrist who is Deputy Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and Director of the APA Office of Minority and National Affairs (OMNA), which manages the MFP. Dr. Primm has been director of OMNA and the MFP since 2004. The office, created 35 years ago—and led for 27 of those years by diversity pioneer Jeanne Spurlock, M.D.—serves the professional needs of minority and/or underrepresented (MUR) psychiatrists, psychiatrists in training, and medical students interested in specializing in psychiatry. OMNA also advocates the elimination of mental health disparities experienced by individuals in minority and underrepresented communities. Dr. Primm has for the past six years successfully overseen all aspects of the MFP administration, promotion, and policy development. She provides staff support to the MFP Advisory/Selection Committee and represents the program at meetings of the directors of other SAMHSA minority fellowship programs.
Assistant Program Director
Marilyn King is Assistant Program Director for the MFP at the American Psychiatric Association. She is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the minority resident fellowships. Ms. King has managed all aspects of the MFP program for fifteen years. She also provides staff support to the Advisory Committee and represents the program at meetings with SAMHSA officials and directors of other MFP programs and other organizations. Ms. King is often the first professional point of contact for minority residents and medical students seeking information about fellowship opportunities. In addition, Ms. King supervises a part-time program assistant and program evaluator.
Program Assistant
Suzy Jarwa is program assistant for the Minority Fellowship Programs (MFP) at the American Psychiatric Association (APA). She is responsible for providing administrative support and assistance to the MFP Assistant Program Director and MFP Director. Ms. Jarwa has provided administrative assistance to the MFP programs since 2010. She creates, maintains and updates fellows, medical students, and mentor rosters and mailing lists. Ms. Jarwa also assists with the newsletter, fellowship selection committee minutes, application material and rating calculations, and the various student programs. In addition, Ms. Jarwa responds to email and telephone requests for application and other fellowship information, assists with the collection and preparation of data and material for the annual grant renewal and performs other duties as assigned.
Program Evaluator
Farifteh F. Duffy, Ph.D, M.S., M.H.S., serves as the program evaluator/statistician for this project, responsible for enhancing the MFP evaluation design and collecting and compiling data required by SAMHSA GRPA regulations. Dr. Duffy is Research Scientist and the Director of National Depression Management Leadership Initiative at the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education (APIRE, an affiliate of APA). She has conducted numerous program evaluations for various APA and APIRE initiatives including APA MFP program and other OMNA projects.
Role of the MFP Selection and Advisory Committee
The APA MFP program Selection/Advisory Committee is made up of seven members including at least one MH/SA consumer/survivor member representative and an MFP program graduate. Most of the members are practicing psychiatrists. Committee members are appointed by the President-Elect of the APA for three-year terms based on academia, clinical services, and research experience. Current members include individuals with experience with mentorship and training, cultural competence, and addiction psychiatry, and individuals with a strong commitment to meeting the needs of minority and underserved populations. The MFP Selection/Advisory Committee assists in program planning, monitoring and evaluation, and advises MFP staff on the overall MFP program. Members also often serve as mentors to fellows. The Selection/Advisory Committee meets twice a year, once in conjunction with APA’s Annual Meeting and once via conference call. Committee members review and evaluate MFP applications each year and select fellows. The selection process occurs via a telephone conference call with committee members in early spring.