Residents/Fellows/ECPs encouraged to apply for award

William E. Callahan, Jr., M.D.’s love of legislative advocacy was legendary. He dedicated his life to advocating for our profession and our patients. He traveled up and down the state of California and back and forth to Washington, D.C. to lobby legislators about improving access to high-quality mental health care and ensuring patient safety was maintained. He worked tirelessly for almost a decade to persuade the Orange County Board of Supervisors to vote to approve implementation Laura’s Law, which it finally did on May 13, 2014.

Dr. Callahan’s passion for government affairs began while he was a psychiatry resident at UCI Medical Center. As a resident and early career psychiatrist, he led the California Psychiatric Political Action Committee to fundraising heights previously unseen by CPPAC.

Dr. Callahan mentored residents and early career psychiatrists on the art of effective lobbying.   He led by flawless example how to be persuasive. He was actively involved in government affairs throughout his residency and his career, until he left Orange County for Ghana to join the State Department in late 2012.

The world tragically lost Dr. Callahan on December 12, 2013 when he fell while hiking Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

OCPS decided to memorialize Dr. Callahan’s life by establishing the OCPS Bill Callahan, M.D. Memorial Advocacy Award. This annual award will be presented to one psychiatry resident/fellow or early career psychiatrist who is a member of OCPS who has a passion and enthusiasm for legislative advocacy. The recipient of this award will receive up to $500 (for airfare and hotel) to fly to Sacramento for the CPA Advocacy Day and then spend a second day working with Randall Hagar, CPA’s director of government relations, to learn how to effectively lobby legislators and what groundwork must be laid to build useful and potent relationships with lawmakers. This event will take place in the spring of 2016.

If you are interested in being considered for the OCPS Bill Callahan, M.D. Memorial Advocacy Award, please submit to Holly Appelbaum in the OCPS office an essay of no more than 500 words outlining why you want to attend CPA Advocacy Day in Sacramento and receive one-on-one training with Randall Hagar while in Sacramento. You may submit your essay by E-mail ([email protected]) or by fax (949-398-8120).   The deadline to submit your essay is January 13, 2016. All essays will be reviewed and scored by the OCPS Governmental Affairs Committee.