SSPHA Officers
Dr. Mark Messer , President
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.
James Scoggins , Vice President
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.
Paul Callens , Secretary
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.
Linda Williams , Treasurer
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.