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. Kristi Kleinschmit Psychiatrist Dr. Kristi Kleinschmit grew up in South Dakota. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from South Dakota State University and attended medical school at Tulane University in New Orleans. She completed her Triple Board residency program (Pediatrics, Child Psychiatry, and Adult Psychiatry) at the University of Utah and is a board-certified pediatrician. She stayed on to join the University faculty beginning in October 2007. Dr. Kleinschmit's professional interests include building collaborations between primary care physicians and psychiatrists, increasing access to healthcare for children, and training new doctors. She is the assistant training director for the child psychiatry and triple board residency programs. Dr. Kleinschmit enjoys the outdoors, and can be found skiing, mountain biking, or hiking in her spare time.

Suzanne Peterson Registered Nurse Suzanne has been with Alpine Academy since 2005. She graduated from Snow College in 1993 with an Associate of Arts degree. She went on to Weber State University and earned her nursing degree in 2001. She is a registered nurse and along with working at Alpine, works at the local hospital, Mountain West Medical Center, and has been doing that since 2003. She has many special certifications, including being a sexual assault nurse examiner (S.A.N.E). She loves working with the girls at Alpine Academy. She believes that the girls are very special and considers working for Alpine to be a very rewarding experience. She has been married to her sweetheart, Brian, since 1993, and they have four children, which are the absolute joy of her life.

Alpine Academy Staff