Our Team
Experts
Mark I. Levy, MD, DLFAPA
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Mark Levy, MD, specializes in civil matters including mass torts multiplaintiff litigation, emotional distress, personal injury, PTSD, sexual abuse, employment litigation, ADA, discrimination, undue influence and testamentary capacity in will contests. Dr Levy has served as expert in more than 500 legal cases, including over 65 trial testimonies. He is Associate Clinical Professor (Volunteer) in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and Faculty at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis.
Education
Durham University (U.K.), Columbia College (A.B.), Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (MD), Mount Zion Medical Center, San Francisco, Internship (Rotating Medical) and Residency (Psychiatry), San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute residency and training. Dr. Mark Levy is Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Adult and Forensic Psychiatry, and a diplomate of The National Board of Physicians and Surgeons in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. He is also Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Charles Saldanha, MD, DFAPA
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Charles Saldanha, MD, specializes in emergency, inpatient and community psychiatry, with a focus on serious mental illness and psychiatric hospital administration. He served as an expert in over 80 legal cases, and has provided testimony over 25 times. He is Associate Clinical Professor (Volunteer) in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco where he teaches in the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship and Department of Psychiatry.
Education
Emory University (B.A.), Duke University (M.D.), Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Internship in Internal Medicine), University of California, San Francisco (Residency in Psychiatry), Yale University (Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry Psychiatry). Dr. Saldanha is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry.
David Y. Kan, MD, DFASAM
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist David Kan, MD, specializes in addiction medicine and substance abuse, violence and suicide risk assessment, medical malpractice, assessment of sexual offenders, electroconvulsive therapy and impaired professionals. He served as an expert in over 40 legal cases, is Clinical Professor (Volunteer) in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and works in substance abuse treatment at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco. He is a third-party evaluator for the City and County of San Francisco on electroconvulsive therapy, conservatorship assessments, hospital utilization review and risk assessment.
Education
Northwestern University (BA and MD), University of California, San Francisco (Residency and Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry). David Kan, MD, is also a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Faculty in Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Adult and Forensic Psychiatry.
James Armontrout, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist James Armontrout, MD, specializes in PTSD and other trauma-based disorders, substance abuse, civil and criminal competencies, and evaluations related to criminal responsibilities. He has performed over 100 Forensic Psychiatric Examinations and has been qualified as an expert in California courts. He served as a staff psychiatrist at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Palo Alto from August 2017 to 2022.
Education
University of Virginia (BA and MD), Harvard Longwood (Residency in Psychiatry), University of California, San Francisco (Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry). James Armontrout, MD, is also Board certified in Psychiatry with added qualifications in forensic psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Steven H. Berger, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Steve Berger, MD, specializes in competence to proceed, criminal responsibility, severe mental illness, medical malpractice, employment issues such as fitness for duty, workers’ compensation claims, Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disability Act related issues. He has testified in court over 100 times, and has been deposed over 500 times.
Education
University of Michigan Medical School (MD), Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago (Residency in Psychiatry). Steve Berger, MD, is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry; Diplomate of the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons in General Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry; Diplomate, American Board of Forensic Psychiatry; Clinical Professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno.
Octavio Choi, MD, PhD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Octavio Choi, MD, PhD, specializes in the use of neuroimaging evidence and the relevance of neurological findings in supporting psychiatric conditions, brain damage, medical and genetic conditions that affect the mind,
Education
Stanford University (B.S.), University of California, San Diego at La Jolla (M.D. and PhD), University of California Los Angeles, Neuropsychiatric Institute (Residency), University of Pennsylvania (Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry). Octavio Choi, MD, PhD, is clinical associate professor in the psychiatry department at Stanford University and Director of training in the program in Psychiatry and the Law. He was previously director of Forensic Evaluations at Oregon State Hospital.
Ayesha Ashai, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Ayesha Ashai, M.D. specializes in civil and criminal competencies, criminal responsibility, violence and sexual risk assessments, malpractice, psychiatric injury, and evaluations related to testamentary capacity and undue influence. She also has experience working with incarcerated offenders with serious mental illness.
Education
University of Michigan Ann Arbor (B.A.), Boonshoft School of Medicine (M.D.), University of Maryland-Sheppard Pratt (Residency), University of California Davis (Fellowship). Ayesha Ashai, M.D., is Assistant Clinical Professor at University of Illinois School of Medicine.
Takeo Toyoshima, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Takeo Toyoshima, MD, specializes in substance use disorders including alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine and opioids including fentanyl; medical malpractice and standard of care in outpatient, inpatient, emergency and criminal justice settings.
Education
Yale University (B.S.), University of California Los Angeles (M.D.), University of California San Francisco (Residency in Psychiatry and Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry), University of California San Francisco (Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry). Takeo Toyoshima, MD, is the Medical Director of the San Francisco VA Drug and Alcohol treatment clinic, Site Director of the UCSF Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCSF, and Co-Director of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry for California, Alaska, and Hawaii. He is board-certified in adult psychiatry and board-eligible in addiction and forensic psychiatry.
Jorien Campbell, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Jorien Campbell, MD, specializes in juvenile and adult civil and criminal competency assessments, violence and suicide risk assessments, malpractice, psychiatric injury, child sexual abuse allegations and diagnostic evaluations in school consultation, emergency, correctional, inpatient, and outpatient psychiatry.
Education
University of Cape Town, South Africa, University of Wisconsin, Madison (B.S.), Albert Einstein College of Medicine (M.D.) University of California San Francisco (Residency), Stanford University (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship), University of California Davis (Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship).
Paul Elizondo III, DO
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Paul Elizondo, DO, specializes in child sexual abuse allegations; psychiatric injury associated with trauma, neglect, and disruption of basic needs; cyberstalking and cyberharassment; criminal and civil competency; general violence and sexual violence risk assessment for adults and juvenile offenders; malpractice; developmental disabilities, and child development as it pertains to forensic assessment and legal processes. He is volunteer Assistant Professor at the university of California, San Francisco and provides clinical instruction and training to mental health nurse practitioner students in his community clinic in Marin County.
Education
Stanford University (B.S.), Touro University (D.O.) University of California San Francisco (Residency), UCSF (Child and Adolescent & Forensic Psychiatry Fellowships).
Tyler Durns, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Tyler Durns, M.D., specializes in inpatient and outpatient psychiatry with focuses in diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of serious mental illness, trauma-related disorders, personality disorders, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Areas of forensic specialization include civil and criminal competency, insanity, guilty but mentally ill evaluations, violence and suicide risk assessment, undue influence, psychiatric injury and disability, and medical malpractice.
Education
University of Arizona (B.S. and M.D.), University of Utah (Residency), University of Utah (Chief Resident), University of California Davis (Fellowship). Tyler Durns, M.D. is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine.
Nicole Brooks, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Nicole Brooks, MD, specializes in civil and criminal competencies, criminal responsibility, violence and sexual risk assessments, psychiatric injury, and malpractice in outpatient, inpatient, emergency, and correctional psychiatry.
Education
Stanford University (B.A.), University of Texas Medical Branch (M.D. and Residency in Psychiatry), University of California, Davis (Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry). Nicole Brooks, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in the Psychiatry department. She is also Board certified in Psychiatry with added qualifications in Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Ambarin S. Faizi, DO
Expertise
Dr. Ambarin Faizi serves as a forensic expert in a variety of criminal and civil cases. She specializes in assessments involving mental status at the time of the crime (NGRI), malingering, medical malpractice, general and sexual violence risk assessment, competency to stand trial, and substance use disorders.
Education
University of California, Davis (Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship), Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (Psychiatry Residency), Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine), University of California, Riverside (Bachelor of Sciences).
Matthew L. Edwards, MD
Expertise
Forensic psychiatrist Matthew L. Edwards, M.D., specializes in general psychiatry, inpatient psychiatry, and community psychiatry. His professional interests include medical education, administration, care for marginalized populations, and systems of care. He has conducted many forensic evaluations for local and state courts and testified for courts in Georgia and California. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine where he teaches in the general adult psychiatry residency program and the forensic psychiatry fellowship. His areas of interest in forensic psychiatry include civil and criminal competencies, insanity, immigration, mitigation, psychiatric injury and disability, and susceptibility to undue influence.
Education
Princeton University (A.B., magna cum laude), University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine (M.D., summa cum laude, honors in medical humanities), Stanford University School of Medicine (Residency and Chief Residency in Psychiatry), Emory University (Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry).
Grace Cheney, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Grace Cheney, MD specializes in juvenile and adult civil and competency assessments, neurotypical and neurodivergent development, and diagnostic evaluations in school consultation.
Education
Dr. Cheney completed her Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at Stanford, after a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Colorado, and General Residency at the University of South Florida. She holds an M.D. from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a B.A. from Davidson College. Dr. Cheney is triple Board-Certified in Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Austin Blum, MD, JD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Austin Blum, MD, JD specializes in evaluations related to criminal competencies, criminal responsibility, violence and sexual risk assessments, and undue influence. He has completed over 30 forensic psychiatric evaluations, with experience testifying at deposition and trial in California.
Education
Dr. Blum completed his Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of California, Davis, after a residency at University of Chicago Medicine. He holds an M.D. from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, a J.D. from Cornell Law School, and a B.A. from Cornell University.
Shafi Lodhi, MD
Expertise
Forensic Neuropsychiatrist Shafi Lodhi, MD specializes in cases involving the intersection of psychiatry and neurology. His areas of interest include civil and criminal competencies, traumatic brain injuries, medical malpractice, immigration, psychiatric injury and disability, testamentary capacity, and undue influence.
Education
Dr. Lodhi completed his Forensic Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatry fellowships at Stanford University. He graduated from residency at the University of Cincinnati after completing his M.D. and undergraduate degrees at the University of Missouri.
Elissa P. Benedek, MD, FACP
Expertise
Extensive forensic expertise in child sexual abuse, child custody, adult sexual harassment, toxic torts, auto accidents, TBI, PTSD, as well as many employment issues such as wrongful termination, fitness to work. Extensive experience in depositions and courts for plaintiff and defense attorneys and also including providing opinions on state prosecutions issues of incarcerations, issues such as criminal responsibility and competency.
Education
University of Michigan (B.S., M.D.) Ann Arbor, training at U of M in general and child psychiatry, internship at Sinai Hospital in Detroit, later achieving a full professorship at University of Michigan and Wayne State University, and clinical and adjunct professorship, Michigan State University. Associate Director of Child Psychiatry, and Training Director, Center for Forensic Psychiatry. Served as Senior Examiner for American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Former President of American Psychiatric Association. Established American Psychiatric Foundation and served on the Council on Psychiatry and the Law. Board certified American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and Forensic Psychiatry.
Ashley H. VanDercar, MD, JD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Ashley H. VanDercar, MD, JD, specializes in providing opinions and testimony in cases involving contested diagnoses (where there is a question as to whether a plaintiff or defendant is malingering/faking symptoms). She is available for consultation on cases involving competence to stand trial, sanity at the time of the act, sentencing mitigation, psychiatric malpractice, and testamentary capacity. She has written over 100 court reports and provided formal testimony in over 25 of these. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University and serves as faculty for their forensic psychiatry fellowship.
Education
University of South Florida (B.S., B.A.), Florida International University (J.D.), University of Miami (M.D.), University Hospitals / Case Western Reserve University (Residency and Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship).
Amanie Salem, DO, MPH
Expertise
Forensic psychiatrist Amanie Salem, DO, MPH specializes in general psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and community psychiatry. She has served as a forensic expert in a variety of cases, including juvenile and adult criminal competency assessments, juvenile transfer assessments, juvenile sexual offense assessments, violence and suicide risk assessments, sexual risk assessments, and diagnostic evaluations in school consultation, emergency, correctional, inpatient, and outpatient psychiatry.
Education
Saint Louis University (BS), Saint Louis University (MPH), Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (DO), Saint Louis University (general psychiatry residency), NewYork-Presbyterian (child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship), UC Davis (forensic psychiatry fellowship).
Loretta Dumontet, MD
Expertise
Forensic Psychiatrist Loretta Dumontet, MD, specializes in hospital-based acute psychiatric care, co-occurring medical and mental illness in children, and severe mental illness. Dr. Dumontet has been qualified as an expert in psychiatry in court more than 500 times and has performed hundreds of independent evaluations in the context of civil and criminal legal proceedings. Dr. Dumontet has gained more than 10 years’ experience as an academic psychiatrist while serving as a faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Tulane University, and the University of Cincinnati.
Education
Coming soon.
Cortney A. Kohberger, MD
Expertise
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Cortney A. Kohberger has decades of experience practicing psychiatry in a multitude of settings. Her criminal forensic specialization includes malingering assessments, competency to stand trial, sanity at the time of the act, mitigation, and risk assessments. Her civil forensic specialization includes disability evaluations, civil commitment, malpractice, fitness for duty, and threat assessments. She is a clinical assistant professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and she supervises Case Western forensic psychiatry fellows.
Education
Dr. Kohberger completed her forensic psychiatry fellowship at the Case Western School of Medicine. She completed her residency and chief residency at Beth Israel Medical Center – Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York City. She earned her M.D. at the University of Medicine and Dentistry – New Jersey Medical School (now Rutgers Health – New Jersey Medical School), and her B.A. from Rutgers College – Rutgers University. She is double boarded by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both general and forensic psychiatry.
Sarah A. Hall, PhD
Expertise
Forensic Psychologist Sarah Hall, PhD, specializes in the interface between psychological and personality factors and brain dysfunction due to injury, disease, genetic and neurological disorders, as well as disorders of learning and attention. She has been retained as a Forensic expert in over 130 cases and has provided over 13 depositions and testified at trial several times.
Education
University of California, Berkeley (A.B., M.A., PhD), Children’s Hospital Oakland (Fellowship in Pediatric Neuropsychology).
Howard J. Friedman, PhD, ABPP
Expertise
Forensic Psychologist Howard Friedman, PhD, ABPP, specializes in criminal and civil cases involving brain injury, toxic exposure, impact of drug and alcohol abuse, traumatic reactions, competency, psychological injury and functioning. Howard Friedman, PhD, ABPP, is board-certified in Neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology, and by the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology.
Education
Rutgers University (BA, PhD).
Christine Naber, PhD
Expertise
Forensic Neuropsychologist Christine Naber, PhD specializes in adult and geriatric evaluations of neuropsychological disorders, including brain injury, stroke, movement disorders, dementia, and other neurologic conditions, as well as trauma and victimization. She has served as an expert in hundreds of civil and criminal matters, involving personal injury, emotional distress, sexual abuse, PTSD, wrongful death, sexual harassment, employment litigation, disability, worker’s compensation, testamentary capacity, undue influence, financial/medical capacity, capacity to proceed to trial/sentencing, criminal responsibility, and malingering. She has worked as a court appointed expert for the County of Sonoma and testified in criminal and civil matters over 50 times. She also serves as Staff Neuropsychologist and Director of Training for graduate students in neuropsychology in the Department of Neurology at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa.
Education
University of Virginia (BA in Psychology and Anthropology). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (MA and PhD in Clinical and Community Psychology, with minors in Women’s Studies and Quantitative Psychology). Southwest Consortium Doctoral Psychology Internship (APA Accredited Predoctoral Internship with Neuropsychology and Cross-Cultural Psychology specializations). University of Missouri-Columbia (Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation). North Coast Health Care Centers (Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation).
Alexis Smith, PsyD
Expertise
Forensic Psychologist with expertise in Neuropsychological Assessment of Adults, Adolescents, and Children.
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BA, MA), The Wright Institute (PhD).
John M. Fabian, PsyD, JD, ABPP
Expertise
Forensic Psychologist John M. Fabian, PsyD, JD, ABPP specializes in competency to stand trial, insanity defense, Mens Rea, PTSD (with and without traumatic brian injury), violence risk assessment, recidivism, death penalty mitigation, sexual offender risk assessment, workplace risk assessment, juvenile and custody evaluations, fitness-for-duty and more
Education
University of Cincinnati (BA, MA), Chicago School of Professional Psychology (MA, PhD), Cleveland Marshall College of Law (JD), Fielding Graduate Institute (Postdoctoral Neuropsychology Certificate.)
Nancy Hoffman, PsyD
Expertise
Geriatric neuropsychologist Nancy Hoffman PsyD focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of various forms of dementia. She also specializes in issues of capacity, conservatorship, and undue influence in older adults. She has been retained as a forensic expert in over 30 cases and has testified at trial approximately 15 times.
Education
BA Dominican University in San Rafael, PsyD California Institute of Integral Studies (APA Accredited).
Jeremy Blank, PsyD, QME
Expertise
Jeremy Blank, PsyD, QME, is a forensic and clinical neuropsychologist specializing in traumatic brain injury, stroke, dementia, and neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as PTSD, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, somatoform conditions, personality disorders, and effort/malingering. As a Qualified Medical Evaluator for the State of California, he specializes in workers’ compensation medicolegal cases; he also has expertise in fitness-for-duty evaluations, disability work, and determining capacity for medical and financial decision making.
Education
University of California, Davis (BS in Neurobiology/Physiology). The Wright Institute, Berkeley, CA (MA and PsyD in Clinical Psychology). Cleveland (OH) VA Hospital (Pre-Doctoral Internship, Neuropsychology). San Francisco Clinical Neurosciences (Post-Doctoral Fellowship)
William McMullen, PhD, ABPP-CN
Expertise
Forensic Neuropsychologist William McMullen, PhD, ABPP-CN specializes in civil cases involving brain injury, epilepsy, movement disorder, stroke, other neurocognitive disorders, and questions of mental capacity. William McMullen PhD is a California Licensed Clinical Psychologist and is Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology.
Education
Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (BM Music Education, Performance Certificate). Wayne State University (MA Psychology, PhD Clinical Psychology – Specialty Area: Neuropsychology). Cleveland VAMC (APA Approved Predoctoral Internship with Neuropsychology Concentration). UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital (Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology)
Amanda Mossman Steiner, PhD, BCBA-D
Expertise
Pediatric psychologist Amanda Mossman Steiner, PhD, BCBA-D specializes in neurodevelopmental assessment of children and adolescents. Her areas of expertise include assessment of infants and toddlers as well as individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, or other neurocognitive disorders. Dr. Steiner is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Education
University of California, Berkeley (BA Psychology). University of California, Santa Barbara (MA and PhD in Counseling/Clinical/School Psychology). University of Colorado, Denver (Pre-Doctoral Internship, Developmental Disabilities, Pediatric Rehabilitation, and Child Neuropsychology). Yale School of Medicine – Child Study Center (Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Yale Social and Affective Neuroscience of Autism Program, Yale Toddler Developmental Disabilities Clinic).
Bryna Siegel, PhD
Expertise
Forensic Autism Expert Bryna Siegel, PhD, specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, education, and social policy of autism and related conditions. She has been qualified in several US states, federal and Canadian courts as an expert on autism over 100 times. She is the founding Executive Director of the Autism Center of Northern California.
Education
New College, Sarasota (B.A.), Stanford University (M.A., PhD, and Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Adolescent Development, Developmental Psychopathology, and Psychiatric Research Methods).
Staff
