Dr. Patrice Harris honored as Outstanding Woman Leader by the AACAP

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has named Patrice Harris, M.D., as the 2025 Virginia Q. Anthony Outstanding Woman Leader.

“To be recognized for my role in leadership in the medical profession is to stand on the shoulders of those who broke barriers before me, and to hold the door open for those who will come after me.” Dr. Harris said. “Leadership, to me, is not about standing above; it is about lifting others to stand alongside you.”

Dr. Harris, a West Virginia University alumnus and current Board of Governors member, was chosen for her dedication and advancement of the field, including her leadership within the American Medical Association, where she served as the 174th president, and, notably, the first African American woman to hold that position.

The awards committee noted Harris’ dedication to public service and advocacy, including her advancement of the field through integrating public health, behavioral health, and primary care services. Established in 2013 to celebrate the lifetime achievements of extraordinary women in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry who have applied their talents, medical skills and leadership to dramatically improve the wellbeing of children with mental illness, the honor is named for Virginia “Ginger” Anthony.

Raised in Bluefield, West Virginia, Harris aspired to work in medicine in an era when few women of color worked in the field. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, master’s degree in counseling psychology, and medical degree from WVU, where her passion for child advocacy began. 

“It was at WVU where I was nurtured and challenged and learned lessons on leadership, vision and giving voice to issues to improve the lives of children and families,” she said.

She completed her psychiatry residency and fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine, where she was also a senior policy fellow at the Barton Child Law and Policy Center.

“Dr. Harris exemplifies what it means to be a Mountaineer,” Clay Marsh, M.D., chancellor and executive dean of health sciences, said. “She serves not only to improve the lives of her patients, but to provide meaningful leadership and mentorship to those who may follow in her footsteps.”

Harris has received many honors from the University over the years, including being inducted into the West Virginia University Academy of Distinguished Alumni in named a 2018 WVU Alumni Association Outstanding Alumna and the WVU School of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus for 2022.

She is the CEO and co-founder of eMed, a digital healthcare company.  A board-certified psychiatrist based in Atlanta, Harris serves as adjunct professor of psychiatry in the schools of medicine at both Emory and Morehouse and is the Chief Health and Medical Editor of EverydayHealth.com.

For more information about the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, visit aacap.org.

For more information on the WVU School of Medicine, visit medicine.wvu.edu.

-WVU-

ct/11/12/25

MEDIA CONTACT: Cassie Thomas
WVU Health Sciences and School of Medicine
304-376-1829; cassie.thomas@hsc.wvu.edu