Board members

Christine Rembert, DNP, MSN, BSN, RN, BSBA, is the Director/CEO of Mary Starke Harper Geriatric Psychiatry under the auspices of the Alabama Department of Mental Health. Prior to her appointment, she served in nursing administration within the department. Dr. Rembert has a wealth of experience in clinical nursing instruction and administrative capacities in higher education. She earned her Doctorate in Nursing Practice and Master of Science in Nursing degrees from the University of South Alabama, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama, Capstone College of Nursing, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Commerce from the University of West Alabama.

James Scoggins, J.D. R.N. has worked in the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health at the Arkansas State Hospital for the past 27 years. He attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Bachelor of Arts in Psycholgy, and a Juris Doctorate in Law. Mr. Scoggins began his career on the clinical side as a psychiatric nurse, then ventured out to explore a career in law, before returning to his passion of working in healthcare and starting his career in hospital administration where he has held several positions including his current title of Hospital Administrator/CEO at the Arkansas State Hospital since 2020. He is a trained mediator and has completed Six Sigma Green Belt training. He has served as a guest lecturer at Harding University’s School of Nursing, Guest Lecturer for Professional’s in Psychiatric Nursing (PiPN), as a InterRAI Expert Panelist for Adult and Children’s Psyche, and is currently serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences School of Nursing.

Linda G. Williams is the policy administrator for the state-operated, mental health treatment facilities in Florida. She has been employed with the state for over 30 years, serving in various executive, managerial and administrative capacities. Ms. Williams holds the distinction of being the first female Hospital Administrator of Florida’s largest civil facility. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Talladega College and a Master of Science in Management from Troy University. She is also a Certified Public Manager, a Six Sigma Green Belt, a former Florida Sterling Examiner and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Dr. Charles Li is a trained psychiatrist. He has over thirty years of experience in the mental health and intellectual disability field as a clinician, administrator, provider, consultant and trainer. His recent appointments included Regional Hospital Administrator, Director of Hospital Operations, and Assistant Commissioner for Developmental Disabilities with Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

As the Facility Director for Western State Hospital, Mrs. Rebecca Frost is the fifth person to hold the position as well as the first woman and nurse to be named director in the facility’s history. In addition to being a registered nurse, she has a Master of Science in Nursing and a Master of Business Administration with a focus in Healthcare Management. During her time at Western State Hospital, Frost has functioned as a direct care nurse, Quality Performance Coordinator, Nurse Executive, and Associate Facility Director for Clinical Services.

Mr. Lea is the Senior Vice President of Forensic Operations for Freedom Healthcare located in Louisiana. Prior to working with Freedom Healthcare, He served as CEO for Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System (ELMHS) from 2013-2022, and assistant administrator/chief operating officer from 2007-2013. Mr. Lea has over 34 years of experience in mental health/forensic hospital operations.

Dr. Paul A. Callens has served the state of Mississippi in mental health programs for the past 28 years. In that time he has been exposed to every aspect of mental health and the related fields serviced by the Mississippi Department of Mental Health. Working early in his career in clinical services, Callens soon advanced to a variety of administrative positions before becoming the director of North Mississippi State Hospital located in Tupelo, MS. He has served this hospital as its director since shortly after its opening in 1999. Dr. Callens is a graduate of Delta State University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in General Business and Management. He also received both his Master of Education and Ph.D. from Mississippi State University in the area of Educational Psychology. He is also a graduate of State Executive Development Institute of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. Dr. Callens is also licensed by the state of Mississippi as a Nursing Home Administrator and holds various certifications from the Mississippi Department of Mental Health and the Mississippi State Personnel Board. He is married to Renea Callens and has four children ranging in ages from 22 to 10. Dr. Callens also serves as an adjunct instructor for both Itawamba Community College and the University of Mississippi.

Dr. Kelly Gothard has served as the Forensic Services Director for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health since 2020. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Auburn University, where she focused her clinical training and research experiences on juvenile delinquency and sex offender evaluation and treatment. She completed her doctoral internship at William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute/USC Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science in 2008. She has previously worked as a psychologist for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and in the South Carolina Sexually Violent Predator Treatment Program as the Clinical Director. In her current role, Dr. Gothard is responsible for overseeing the state's forensic operations, to include operations of the state's only forensic hospital, and all initial forensic evaluations and sexually violent predator evaluations performed for the state. After helping pass legislative changes in 2022 to allow for outpatient and jail based competency restoration, she has also been developing outpatient/jail based competency restoration programming.

Chris Loftis is the Director of Hospital Services for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), where he has served since May 2019. Chris earned a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Leadership from Austin Peay State University and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University. His office provides oversight to four Regional Mental Health Institutes, offering administrative, quality management, and clinical services. Additionally, he manages contracts with three hospitals in East Tennessee for inpatient care of uninsured psychiatric patients in emergency situations. He also provides administrative support to the Office of Forensic & Juvenile Court Services, which evaluates and treats pre-trial criminal defendants and individuals found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. Previously, Chris held various roles at TDMHSAS, including Forensic Services Director, Project Manager for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services EMR Implementation, and Forensic Coordinator.

Dr. Mark Messer is a board-certified psychiatrist who has been practicing psychiatry for 24 years and has been dedicated to the community with extensive experience in public and private inpatient and outpatient settings, including, but not limited to, forensic, child and adolescent, clinical research, and at present three academic faculty appointments. He is an experienced psychiatric director who continues to actively participate in the treatment of the seriously mentally ill and dually diagnosed patients. Dr. Messer is currently the CEO at Terrell State Hospital, a 305 bed inpatient psychiatric facility.