Dr. Howard Weeks Psychiatrist Dr. Howard Weeks grew up in North Carolina where he graduated from NC State with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He obtained his MD from Duke University in 1997. He then moved to Utah for the Triple Board residency in Pediatrics/Adult Psychiatry/Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Upon completion of his residency he joined the faculty at the University of Utah. Dr. Weeks is the Medical Director of Youth Services at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI), the Assistant Medical Director of ECT Services at UNI and President Elect of the Utah Psychiatric Association. His academic interests are teaching medical residents, academic administration and research in ECT. He is married and enjoys hiking, sailing and is an avid cyclist. He joined the Alpine family in July 2006.

Dr. James Ashworth Psychiatrist Dr. James C. Ashworth grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah where he graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He went on to attend medical school through the United States Air Force's Health Professions Scholarship Program. After graduating medical school, he completed a four-year psychiatry internship and residency at Wilford Hall Medical Center, in San Antonio, Texas. He then completed a two-year fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Utah. He spent the next four years serving as both a Psychiatrist and a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist as an active-duty Air Force officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Ashworth joined the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Utah in 1999. He has been serving as the Division Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry since 2003. Prior to this appointment, he was the Medical Director of the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, and Youth Clinical Services Director for the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute. He has overseen all psychiatric treatment services at Alpine Academy since 2005. Clinical interests for Dr. Ashworth include the seriously mentally ill, mental illness in the developmentally delayed population, and psychopharmacology. His academic interests include administrative psychiatry, and teaching medical students and psychiatry residents. He also advocates politically on children's mental health issues and serves on the Utah State Board of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness. He is married and has four children, which simply underscores that his experience is not purely academic.

Dr. Melissa Lopez-Larson Psychiatrist Dr. Lopez-Larson joined the University of Utah in the Fall of 2008. Dr. Lopez-Larson is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and received her M.D. from the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine. Dr. Lopez-Larson performed her adult and child psychiatry training at Harvard Medical School training sites including Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital and Cambridge Hospital, respectively. Her focus is on brain development in healthy youths and in youths with psychiatric illness with a specific focus on the identification of risk factors for psychiatric illness. Specifically, she will be researching the effects of development on specific brain networks believed to be involved in cognition and mood regulation in healthy children as well as in youths with bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder utilizing multimodal neuroimaging techniques.

Dr. Matt Perkins Psychiatrist Dr. Matt Perkins is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and Assistant Professor (Clinical) of Psychiatry at the University of Utah Department of Psychiatry. Matt was formerly an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University’s Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the founding director of New York Child and Adolescent Telepsychiatry (NYCAT) at Columbia University as well as the former training director for the Child and Adolescent Public Psychiatry Fellowship, a joint program between Columbia University and the New York State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH). Matt also served as the Medical Field Officer for NYSOMH’s Psychiatric Services and Clinical Knowledge Enhancement System (PSYCKES), a groundbreaking web-based tool designed to support decision making and information needs for clinicians, supervisors, and administrators in the New York State mental health system. Matt’s areas of interest include aggression, medication best practices, implementation of best practices, physician behavior and organizational leadership in public mental health systems. Matt serves as a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Telemedicine Committee. Matt completed a master of business administration (M.B.A.) at the Marriott School of Management and a master of public health (M.P.H.) at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Wendolyn Green Health Services Coordinator Wendolyn has a Bachelors degree in Psychology from the University of Utah and a Masters degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Phoenix. As the Health Care Coordinator she is responsible for managing all of the student’s medical information, coordinating orders from the Psychiatric team, recording student vitals, and overseeing medication compliance throughout the program. She began working at Alpine Academy in 2008 as an Associate Family Teacher in the Oak Ridge home. She has a great passion for working with special needs children and was able to impact the lives of many Alpine girls before leaving to complete her Masters education and pursue her interest in autism research and services. While on her hiatus from Alpine, Wendolyn worked for the CDC doing autism surveillance and research support. This issue is close to her heart as she is the mother of a 10 year old son, Gavin, who has been diagnosed with autism. After completing her Masters degree Wendolyn started a private consulting business where she is able to continue to advocate for autism research and services, in addition to working with parents. The flexibility of this new venture has allowed Wendolyn to return to Alpine Academy in her new position. Wendolyn has been married to her husband, Rick, since 2009. She is the proud mom of a son she was told would never be able to speak, and who is now a very active and verbal fourth grader. The newest addition to her family is a German shepherd puppy named Jessy that is being trained as a companion dog for Gavin.

Alpine Academy Leadership Team