Krystle Graham, DO
Psychiatry Residency Training Director
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine; Erie, PA
Residency: Medical College of Georgia; Augusta, GA
Dr. Graham is passionate about educating residents and medical students in community mental health. Prior to moving to Savannah, Dr. Graham served as the founding Program Director at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC where she worked to develop and implement a new psychiatry residency program. She has been heavily involved in both graduate and undergraduate medical education, serving in previous Associate Program Director and Clerkship Director roles. She is currently an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Psychiatry at Mercer University School of Medicine.
Dr. Graham presents nationally on educational topics such as the roadmap to developing a psychiatry residency program and innovative funding resources. She is the founder and chair of the New Residency Program Caucus through the American Association of Psychiatry Residency Training Directors. She was inducted into UNC’s School of Medicine Academy of Educators and received the Academy’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019. Dr. Graham is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and works primarily inpatient with underserved individuals in the community.
Dr. Graham is originally from Ohio and loves the coastal weather and friendly community. She lives on the water with her husband, three children, and two dogs. She enjoys biking, boating, exploring local coffee shops and restaurants, dolphin watching from her dock, and the beautiful evening sunsets.
Mark Johnson, MD
Designated Institutional Official
Psychiatry Residency
Child & Adolescent Fellowship
Chief Executive Officer
Gateway Community Service Board
Medical School: University of Kentucky; Lexington, KY
Residency: Hahnemann University and Hospital; Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Johnson came to Savannah after 17 years in community mental health and residency leadership in St Louis. Until moving to Savannah in 2015 to become CEO at Gateway he was Medical Director for Behavioral Health with BJC HealthCare and practiced outpatient medicine in downtown St Louis.
As an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Dr. Johnson served as Site Director for the 12 month long, 3rd year outpatient CMHC rotation in downtown St. Louis and taught various courses and electives.
He chairs Georgia CSB Association Clinical Operations Committee, the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council Board and serves on the Healthcare Georgia Foundation Board. He is a member of the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission.
Mark holds a BA from Eckerd College, St Petersburg, FL, where he majored in Social Psychology and minored in African American Studies.
Following pre-med studies at Stetson University he was graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine then moved to Philadelphia where he trained in psychiatry, family therapy and child psychiatry at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, University of Pennsylvania, and at Hahnemann University and Hospital.
Three children, three grandchildren. Enjoys science fiction and a single source “mild roast” coffee aficionado.
Reemon Bishara, MD
Clinical Director, Georgia Regional Hospital of Savannah
Medical School: J.W.G. University; Frankfurt, Germany
Residency: Harvard South Shore Training Program; Brockton, MA
Fellowship: Payne Whitney Clinic, Cornell University; New York, NY
Dr. Reemon Bishara is the Clinical Director for Georgia Regional Hospital of Savannah. In addition to his duties at GRHS, he serves as Medical Director for Coastal Harbor Health System.
Dr. Bishara received his M.D. in 1992 from J.W.G. University in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He has worked in several disciplines of psychiatry, including child, adolescent, family and adult care.
Dr. Bishara served as the Medical Director of the Outpatient Clinic at the Child and Family Institute of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City before moving to Savannah. During his time as Medical Director of the Outpatient Clinic, he was awarded Supervisor of the Year. Dr. Bishara is double board-certified through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry, and certified to administer Buprenorphine.
Chrissie Clure, MD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Associate Training Director
Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Services
Medical School: Medical College of Georgia; Augusta, GA
Psychiatry Residency: Medical University of South Carolina; Charleston, SC
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, MUSC; Charleston, SC
Fellowship: Addiction Psychiatry, MUSC; Charleston, SC
Dr. Clure has been the Assistant Director of the Adolescent Dual Diagnosis Program at the Medical University of South Carolina and is currently the Medical Director for Gateway and the Medical Director of the Lakeside Crisis Stabilization Unit for Children and Adolescents in Savannah, Georgia. She also directs the psychiatry clinical rotation for South University’s PA program.
Dr. Clure specializes in the treatment of adults, children and adolescents across the full continuum of care from outpatient to residential services and has extensive experience in treating high acuity youth and those in crisis.
Her board certifications include the American Board of Obesity Medicine and also serves on the local board for National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Michael T. Compton, MD, MPH
Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Medical School: University of Virginia; Charlottesville, VA
Psychiatry Residency: Emory University; Atlanta, GA
Preventive Medicine Residency: Emory University; Atlanta, GA
Fellowship: Community Psychiatry, Emory University; Atlanta, GA
Dr. Compton serves as a research mentor for the Gateway Psychiatry Residency in Savannah, a city where he has active research underway. Dr. Compton is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. After completing medical school at the University of Virginia in 1997, Dr. Compton trained in general psychiatry, preventive medicine, public health, and community psychiatry at Emory University in Atlanta.
Dr. Compton has maintained continuous NIMH research funding for more than 15 years, conducting research on: (1) first-episode psychosis, (2) the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model of collaboration between law enforcement and mental health (which was studied in a number of police agencies in Georgia, including in Savannah), (3) a linkage system between police officers and the local mental health system (which is being studied in Atlanta and Savannah), (4) the effectiveness of a new form of recovery-oriented community navigation for persons with serious mental illnesses and repeated hospitalizations (which is being studied at Gateway Behavioral Health), and (5) linguistic abnormalities associated with schizophrenia. His research has led to more than 200 publications.
His books include a guide for patients with first-episode psychosis and their family members; four American Psychiatric Association books: The Clinical Manual of Prevention in Mental Health (2009), The Social Determinants of Mental Health (2015), Marijuana and Mental Health (2016), and The American Opioid Epidemic: From Patient Care to Public Health (2018); The Complex Connection between Cannabis and Schizophrenia (Academic Press); and a manual for police officers responding to persons with mental illnesses. He is also very interested in incorporating public health and prevention into psychiatry and addressing the social determinants of health.
Dr. Compton is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is Chair of the Prevention Committee at the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He was the 2017 Chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the APA’s mental health services conference. He has received the APA’s Senior Health Services Scholar Award.
Alexandra Dodd, MD
Psychiatry Residency Assistant Training Director
Psychiatrist
Medical School: Medical College of Georgia; Augusta, GA
Residency: University of South Carolina; Greenville, SC
Dr. Dodd is a psychiatrist at Gateway Behavioral Health Services in Savannah, GA, serving as an attending physician for the resident rotations at the outpatient Azalea Clinic, same-day access clinic at the BHCC, and telepsychiatry. She is also the ACT team psychiatrist for AmericanWork's Savannah Assertive Community Treatment team, where she specializes in community treatment of adults with severe and persistent mental illness. Dr. Dodd is a graduate of the University of Georgia Honors Program in Athens, GA, where she completed her B.S. in Chemistry in 2013, and a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA, where she completed her Medical Doctorate in 2017. She completed her psychiatry residency training at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville Psychiatry Residency Program, where she also served as chief resident, and moonlighted at South Carolina Department of Mental Health's Patrick B Harris Psychiatric Hospital and at Prisma Health- Marshall I Pickens hospital.
Dr. Dodd has had a passion for teaching since a young age, and has assisted and directed educational activities for learners ranging from 4th grade science students, to high school, undergraduate, medical school, and graduate medical education.
In addition to providing clinical supervision, she enjoys teaching didactics and assisting residents with board preparation. She is delighted to be in beautiful seaside Savannah, and when not providing psychiatric care or teaching, likes to spend time on reading, gardening, travel, and music.
Anna Jackson, MD
Forensic Psychiatrist
Medical School: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC
Residency: Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Nashville, TN
Fellowship: Forensic Psychiatry, Emory University; Atlanta, GA
Dr. Jackson is an outpatient psychiatrist at Gateway and JC Lewis primary care center, a Federally Qualified Health Center, and also has a private practice in forensic psychiatry. She has special interests in both first episode psychosis and treating the psychiatric needs of those experiencing homelessness. She is the psychiatrist for Gateway’s first episode psychosis program as well as the JC Lewis street psychiatry team.
Dr. Jackson enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs, exploring Savannah, reading, and traveling.
Paige Marnell, MD
Addiction Medicine Fellowship Training Director
Medical Director, Addiction Services
Medical School: New York Medical College; Valhalla, NY
Residency: The University of Chicago; Chicago, IL
Fellowship: Addiction Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern; Dallas, TX
Dr. Marnell is dedicated to helping others recover from chemical and behavioral addictions. She is also deeply committed to providing addiction education to students and trainees.
Dr. Marnell specializes in working with physicians with addiction problems. Prior to joining Gateway, she served as the Vice Chair for the University of Texas Southwestern physician impairment committee. She has also been extensively involved in Neuromodulation research and has studied issues related to physician health. She recently presented her findings at a national conference.
Dr. Marnell enjoys spending time with her family as well as yoga, meditation and hiking.
Jesus Ortiz, MD
Psychiatrist
Medical School: Instituto Technologico de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY
Jesus J. Ortiz, M.D. is a psychiatrist currently working at GA Regional Hospital – Savannah. He has been there since September 1st, 2017. He attended medical school at the Instituto Technologico de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He then practiced general medicine for two years in the rural areas near La Vega, Dominican Republic. Dr. Ortiz completed his psychiatry residency training and was chief resident at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY. He also graduated from Armstrong State College in Savannah with A Bachelor Degree in both Biology and Chemistry with a minor in Spanish Literature. His work has taken him to Florida where he worked at FL State Hospital as Medical Director of the Civil part of hospital; Psychiatry Director at Palm Beach Detention Center; Director of Behavioral Medicine at A.G. Holley State Tuberculosis Hospital in Lantana, FL and Psychiatry. Attending on the Tuberculosis Recovery Unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL.
Dr. Ortiz was part of the Southeast National Tuberculosis Center (SNTC) faculty that taught quarterly tuberculosis courses at A.G. Holley State Hospital where physicians and public health care providers attended from all over the United States as well as sent by the Embassies of the different countries of the world to learn about tuberculosis. He supervised residents at Jackson Memorial Hospital/ Univ of Miami in psychotherapy and psychopharmacology for approximately 14 years.
Dr. Ortiz has been interested in teaching and was a math and chemistry tutor at Armstrong State College. He also taught a couple of quarters of organic chemistry for nursing students at this same institution. He also taught a couple of semesters of anatomy and physiology for nursing students at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. He also taught biochemistry at the Universidad Mundial in Santo Domingo. He is also adjunct faculty at University of Miami, University of Florida and University of South Florida. He has received teaching awards from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City and University of Miami. He currently teaches psychiatry classes in the Physician Assistant program at South University. He also supervises Gateway Psychiatry Residents that rotate through his assigned unit at GA Regional Hospital.
Dr. Ortiz was born in Havana, Cuba and immigrated to the United States on one of the last allowed flights in 1962. He enjoys activities such as fishing, boating/canoeing, camping, hunting, BBQ, dancing and watching movies. He use to play sports – baseball, basketball, soccer and studied Karate for 4 years. He organized the Savannah International Soccer Club team in the latter half of the 1970s and also played on the Savannah All Star Soccer team.
Robert (Butch) Pallay, MD
Family Medicine Residency Training Director
Memorial University Medical Center
Medical School: Mercer University School of Medicine; Savannah, GA
Northwestern University Medical School; Chicago, IL
Family Medicine Residency: Somerset Medical Center; Somerville, NJ
Prior to moving to Savannah, Dr. Pallay was the Vice-Chair and Medical Director for the Department of Family Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Medical School in New Jersey.
Dr. Pallay has served on and chaired numerous committees, and held officer positions in the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Sports Medicine, and the Medical Society of New Jersey. In the AAFP, he served on the Finance Commission and chaired the Commission on Public Health, and was elected to the national AAFP Board of Directors from 2005-2008.
He has served on the New Jersey bio-terrorism task force and the advisory task force on bio-terrorism for the AAFP. He has a strong track record as both a consultant and advocate for integrating fitness, sports medicine, cultural diversity, and the clinical practice of medicine and public health.
Marlene Zetzer Shivers, MD
Psychiatrist
Medical School: Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine; Rootstown, OH
Residency: Sheppart and Enoch Pratt Hospital: Towson, MD
Dr. Zetzer Shivers is the Chief Operating Officer and Psychiatrist at Hopestill Health, Inc., a private practice located on St. Simons Island, Georgia where she currently resides. Dr. Zetzer- Shivers has over 25 years of clinical experience in multiple settings including consultation and liaison, private general psychiatry, inpatient treatment, outpatient practice, community mental health and telepsychiatry.
She completed medical school at Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine and residency training at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Maryland.
Along with her husband, Dr. William Shivers, she enjoys her supervisory role with residents, medical students and mid-level professionals at Gateway CSB, with a focus on psychiatric team management, geropsychiatry, PTSD, psychosomatic medicine and psychopharmacology.
William F. Shivers, MD
Medical Director, Brunswick Behavioral Health Crisis Center
Medical School: Medical University of South Carolina; Charleston, SC
Residency: Eisenhower Army Hospital; Fort Gordon, GA
Dr. William F. Shivers is a Board Certified Psychiatrist with 40 years of clinical experience in a variety of settings. His first "clinical" experience was gained as a combat medic with the First Air Calvary during the Viet Nam War. His interest in working with individuals suffering from PTSD had its roots there.
He trained at Walter Reed and Eisenhower Army Medical Centers. He served as faculty at Eisenhower and the Medical College of Georgia during his 14 years of active military duty. During these years he was the Internship, Director of Research, and Assistant Chief in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, working closely with residents.
In 1987 he relocated to St. Simons Island on the Georgia coast where he opened a private practice. He has continued to work with medical students, other health care professionals and with public health services in Georgia such as Gateway CSB, community hospitals. He is the Medical Director of a geropsychiatric in the Mayo Clinic system.
Training has been one of Dr. Shivers’ passions over the years. He has enjoyed various faculty appointments, most recently at Mercer Medical School and the Medical College of Georgia and is keenly interested in developing the next generation of psychiatrists as highly competent, highly qualified practitioners in the community.
Jay Synn, MD
Medical Director, Savannah Behavioral Health Crisis Center
Medical School: Tulane School of Medicine; New Orleans, LA
Residency: Eisenhower Army Medical Center; Fort Gordon, GA
Dr. Jay Synn is a board certified psychiatrist with 24 years of clinical experience. After graduating from Tulane School of Medicine, he completed his residency at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, GA. He served as Chief of Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic at Darnall Army Medical Center for 2 years, then served as Chief of First Calvary Division Mental Health Clinic at Ft. Hood, TX.
Following his military service, Dr. Synn went into private practice for twenty years in Hickory, NC where he gained experience in inpatient care at an 80+bed psychiatric hospital and outpatient care at his private outpatient clinic. He has experience in community mental health as a provider for ACTT and assisted-living facilities, and has extensive experience in medication-assisted treatment programs while serving as both provider and medical director at a substance abuse treatment center.
Dr. Synn enjoys fishing, biking, and spending time with his wife, 3 grown children, and 2 rescue pups
Kevin Winders, MD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Training Director
Azalea Clinic Site Director
Medical School: Emory University; Atlanta, GA
Residency: Emory University; Atlanta, GA
Fellowship: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Emory University; Atlanta, GA
Dr. Winders was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia and received a B.S. degree from the University of Georgia. He spent 9 years at Emory University completing medical school, a general psychiatry residency and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship.
Dr. Winders has been in private practice in Savannah since 2000 and on faculty at the Gateway Behavioral Health Psychiatry Residency Program since 2020.
Dr. Winders is board certified in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and past president of the Georgia Psychiatric Physician's Association (GPPA.) He currently serves on the GPPA CME and Ethics committees.
Dr. Winders enjoys spending time with his family, boating and learning to play several musical instruments.
Stephen Yost, DO
Medical Director, Memorial University Medical Center
Medical School: Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine; Tulsa, OK
Residency: Mayo Medical School; Rochester, MN
Dr. Yost did his residency in Psychiatry at the Mayo Medical School from 1994-1998. He received his D.O. at The Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1986.
Dr. Yost is currently the Medical Director of the Memorial University Medical Center – Center for Behavioral Medicine, and the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Mercer School of Medicine-Savannah Campus. He is a regular speaker for the Savannah community regarding mental health issues when requested by the media, be it TV, radio, or seminar panels.
Dr. Yost very much enjoys teaching and supervising residents and medical students.
Edward M. Drohan, PHD
Psychologist
Edward M. Drohan, Ph.D is a clinical and consulting psychologist. He currently serves as a Supervising Psychologist at Gateway CSB. Following a ten year career in banking, he entered then received his doctorate from Georgia State University in 1987. Dr. Drohan has maintained clinical practices psychotherapy and consulting psychology in Atlanta and Decatur, GA, Washington, D.C. and currently has his private practice in Thunderbolt, GA. He also serves as Chief of the Psychology Section at Memorial Health University Medical Center and established the Psychology Consulting Service there serving adults, children and families in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He brings a long background of program development and organizational management in government agencies and private industry. When asked he will say “I am a psychotherapist.” It remains his passion after nearly three decades.
Lee Hyer, PHD, ABPP
Psychologist
Dr. Hyer is the author of over 300 articles and book chapters, as well as five books. He has just completed a new book “Older Adults: Assessment and Clinical Treatment Model for Holistic Care..” He has also had over 70 grants from all sources, government and industry. He directs the Memory Project at Mercer, the Parkinson’s Disease Program at Mercer, and the Traumatic Brain Injury Program. In addition, he is a professor at the PhD program in Clinical Medical Psychology at Mercer School of Public Health. He teaches PhD Medical psychology students, geriatric fellows, and medical students. He is licensed in two states and is boarded in psychology (ABPP).
Recently he retired from the Georgia Neurosurgical Institute and Mercer School of Medicine.
Dr. Hyer specialized in older adults and brain disorders. He targeted cognitive decline, largely older adults with mild cognitive decline and dementia. In addition to cognition, his model for older adults includes depression, anxiety, health, and life adjustment. He directed a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Clinic at Family Medicine. He has been active too with pain patients, those with general pain issues and those with back problems seeking a spinal cord surgery. He has recently published also on the assessment and adjustment of heart patients, especially LVAD patients. Finally, he has been involved in the assessment and treatment of patients seeking bariatric surgery. He is now living in Savannah GA, and is involved as Professor in the new Psychiatry Residency Program at Gateway Behavioral Health and Mercer School of Medicine.
Dr. Hyer is a psychology board (ABPP) in clinical psychology. He has been awarded Distinguished Psychologist in the VA system 6 times and has been awarded accolades from University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ), Medical College of Georgia (MCG), and Mercer School of Medicine.