Natalie Gaughf Ph.D., Jackson
President
Dr. Gaughf is the Director of Academic Counseling Services for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, and a Psychologist. She serves as president of the Mississippi Psychological Association and has served in several leadership roles in the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence. Dr. Gaughf’s research and professional interests include academic counseling, medical education, health psychology, behavioral health, and tobacco use and dependence treatment. Dr. Gaughf received a PhD in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi. She completed the Doctoral Residency Program at the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System and the Health Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship in Primary Care in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

 Lisa Yazdani, Ph.D., Byram
Past-President

John Askew, Ph.D., Florence
Communications Officer

Vicki Prosser, Ph.D., CIM
Financial Officer/President-Elect

Dr. Vicki Prosser, CIM, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of Mississippi. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Honor’s College of the University of Southern Mississippi in 1994, her master’s degree from Mississippi State University in 1997, and her doctoral degree from Jackson State University in 2004. She completed her clinical internship at Mississippi State Hospital in 2004 and her post-doc with St. Dominic Behavioral Associates in 2006 where she worked with a wide variety of children, adolescents, adults, and couples in therapy, testing, and evaluations. Since 2004, she has been employed by Jackson State University and has served as the Institutional Review Board Manager for Human Research Compliance and earned her certification in 2006. She provides training workshops across the campus concerning ethics in research and protection of human subjects. She has been teaching psychology as an adjunct professor for Belhaven University and Jackson State University for undergraduates and graduate students since 2005. Dr. Prosser serves on dissertation committees in the Departments of Psychology, Education, and Urban Higher Education.  She also consults with the Mississippi Department of Disability Services. 
Dr. Prosser has served on the Executive Council for the Mississippi Psychological Association as Communication’s Officer, Continuing Education Chair, and will serve as the Financial Officer for the next 3 years. Dr. Prosser is also a member of the American Psychological Association, National Association for IRB Leaders, National Council of University Research Administrators, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research,  and the National Association for Professional Women.

Angela O. Herzog, Ph.D., Jackson
Representative to the APA Council

Sheila Williamson Ph. D., Nesbit
Region I Representative

Amy Hudson, Ph. D., Jackson
Region II Representative

Anthony Calabrese Ph.D., Hattiesburg
Region III Representative

Dr. Calabrese is a Licensed Psychologist who received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. He completed an APA-approved psychology internship program at the VA Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He was Director of a 70-bed residential facility in New York City, which provided counseling services, psychiatric treatment and case management to formerly homeless individuals. Presently Dr. Calabrese is the Director of Psychology and Outpatient Services at Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services, a division of Forrest General Hospital, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He supervises the Outpatient Clinic and the Employee Assistance Program, and has assisted in the development of the Dual Diagnosis Unit, the adolescent drug program (Choices), the Professional Enhancement Program (PEP) and the APA-approved Psychology Internship. Dr. Calabrese is an adjunct faculty member at USM and administrates the USM-Pine Grove Psychology Externship Program. He has served as a member of the Forrest General Hospital Ethics Committee, as a board member of the Mental Health Association of the Pine Belt, and as a member of the Advisory Board for the USM College of Education and Psychology.

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Dr. Gaston received his professional education in psychology from the University of Maryland (Far East Division), the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and the University of Southern Mississippi.  He completed his internship at the Atlanta VA.  He recently retired from the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System after some 31 years.  While there he worked with Veterans in psychiatric in- and outpatient settings, as well as in health psychology, day treatment, intermediate medicine, rehabilitation, nursing home, domiciliary and primary care areas.  He ran the neuropsychology program, was Director of Training for the APA-accredited Residency Training Program, and coordinated the Psychology Service’s Continuing Education Program.  He is a long time member of APA.  Dr. Gaston is a Fellow of MPA.  He served two-years as President and worked on and chaired various committees.  He is the recipient of both the Distinguished Practitioner and Outstanding Teacher Awards.  Dr. Gaston designed the MPA Logo, as well as the Fellow and Humanitarian Pins. He served 5 ½ years on the Mississippi Board of Psychology.

Penni Smith, Ph.D., Jackson
Federal Advocacy Officer 

Cheryl Moreland Ph.D., Jackson
Diversity Representative

Scott Cardin, Ph.D., Biloxi
Rural Health Coordinator

Dr. Cardin is a Licensed Psychologist who received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. He completed an APA-approved professional psychology internship program at the Counseling and Psychological Services of the University of Houston. He then completed a two-year Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology with emphasis in Research at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, TX. He currently works as a Staff Psychologist at VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Biloxi, MS. In this capacity, he provides outpatient psychological services for Veterans receiving care from the MH Outpatient Clinic. Dr. Cardin is the Assistant Director of Training for the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System APA-approved professional psychology internship program. Additionally, Dr. Cardin is involved in numerous ongoing research efforts within the VA healthcare system. His professional and research interests include: rural mental health, treatment engagement issues, change processes, process therapy, outcome research, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and group psychotherapy.

Molly Clark, Ph.D., Jackson
Early Career Psychologist Representative/Membership Chair

Dr. Clark is a licensed psychologist who received her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. She completed the Doctoral Residency Program at the University of Missouri (Columbia) and the Health Psychology postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Family Medicine. After working for several years in primary care at the G.V. Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center, Dr. Clark moved to serve as the director of the Health Psychology Fellowship in the University of Mississippi Medical Center Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Clark is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and has a faculty appointment within the Department of Human Behavior and Psychiatry. She provides direct treatment for patients and consults with UMMC faculty regarding issues related to behavioral health. Additionally, she is involved in training healthcare providers in an effort to increase collaborative care roles amongst primary care providers and psychologists

Emily Thomas Johnson, Ph.D., Sardis
DRN Coordinator

Emily Thomas Johnson is a clinical psychologist and board certified behavior analyst practicing in northwest Mississippi. She received a B.S. from the University of Memphis and a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. She currently spends most of her time working with children with autism spectrum disorders and emotional/behavioral disorders in multiple school districts in the area. She has been a member of MPA since 2000 and has served as the coordinator of MPA's Disaster Response Network since 2009.

Suzanne Jourdan Ph.D., Jackson
Public Education Coordinator

W. Criss Lott, Ph.D., Jackson
BOPN Coordinator