Dr. Altha J. Stewart
2026 Judge Stephen S. Goss Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
Dr. Altha J. Stewart is the senior associate dean for community health engagement at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and the founding director of its Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being. A nationally and internationally recognized expert in trauma-informed care and health disparities, she led public mental health systems in 3 states over a nearly 40-year career. In 2017, she made history as the first African American elected president of the American Psychiatric Association. Under Dr. Stewart’s leadership, the center established the first Youth Assessment Center in Memphis and is developing the city’s first youth reentry program with the Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court. She serves on Tennessee’s Court Improvement Program Statewide Multidisciplinary Taskforce and has represented JPLI at the World Congress of Psychiatry, presenting on the topic, “Mental Illness Is Not a Crime.”