Kisha B. Holden, PhD, MSCR is an associate professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; and deputy director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), under the direction of David Satcher, MD, PhD, former MSM President and 16th U.S. Surgeon General. Holden provides executive leadership to the institute’s five divisions—Behavioral Health, Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved, Health Policy, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and Sexual Health. The vision of the SHLI is to be a leading transformative force for global health equity and actively promote policies and practices that will reduce and ultimately eliminate disparities in health.
Holden earned undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees from Howard University in counseling psychology, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in the School of Medicine and School of Public Health. She recently earned a Master of Science in Clinical Research from MSM.
Holden also conducts research concerning mental health disparities, depression among African Americans, and innovative approaches to improve integration of mental and behavioral health care into community-based primary health care settings. She has co-edited two books, published in several peer-reviewed journals, and contributed book chapters to notable publications regarding mental health disparities.
Holden is committed to encouraging improved mental health and well-being for ethnically and culturally diverse communities of women and their families.
