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Our Staff

Medical Director
Program Manager
Clinical Care Coordinator - Adult Outpatient Program
Clinical Care Coordinator - Adolescent Outpatient Program
Dietitian
Dietitian
Dietitian
Social Worker
Social Worker

Medical Director

Neal Anzai, M.D. brings more than 20 years of experience to our program. He is Board Certified in General, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, has directed Eating Disorder inpatient and outpatient programs in California and Hawaii, and has participated in the recovery of approximately 4,000 individuals with Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.

Dr. Anzai's psychiatry residency training took place at the University of California, Davis and Stanford Medical Center. He also did a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at U.C.L.A. Neuropsychiatric Institute. His special interest has been in the Eating Disorders: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.

Before joining Alta Bates Summit, Dr. Anzai served as medical director of Hawaii's largest child and adolescent psychiatry clinic, and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Anzai was chief of Psychiatry at the Kapi'olâni Medical Center for Women and Children and an editorial reviewer for the Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He also maintained a busy outpatient practice primarily serving anorexic and bulimic patients, and has served as an examiner for the Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Board Examinations.

Program Manager

With thirty four years of clinical and administrative experience, Luana Shiba-Harris assisted in the planning and development of the eating disorder program, which began in the adolescent inpatient unit in 2000, and has since grown into separate outpatient program(s) for adults, with a track for the adolescent population. Luana has specialized in program development, and has strived to make each of the outpatient programs unique.

Luana believes that networking both locally and nationally has assisted in the program becoming well known in the psychiatric community. She is currently on the national board for the Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Health-AABH, President-Elect for 2009 for Ambulatory Behavioral Health in Northern California (AABH-NC), and serves as Chairman of the Board for Asian Community Mental Health, a non-profit organization serving Asian Americans in Oakland, California.

Clinical Care Coordinator - Adult Outpatient Program

Heather Sutherland is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has received her masters degree in Clinical Art Therapy from Loyola Marymount University in Southern California. Heather has worked with eating disorder patients for several years in private practice, inpatient, residential, intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs. Heather has personal experience with eating disorders and is dedicated to helping others discover their own path to feeling content in their body and in the world.

Clinical Care Coordinator - Adolescent Outpatient Program

Leslie Neugebauer, OTR/L is the Clinical Care Coordinator for the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Programs for adolescents. Leslie studied Occupational Therapy and Psychology at Dominican University of California and completed an internship at Alta Bates Summit. Leslie's natural clinical skills have allowed her to rapidly rise through the ranks to a leadership role in the program. Leslie works closely with the eating disorder patients, leading daily process and meal groups. Leslie also assisted in the development of patient manuals for both the adolescent and adult eating disorder programs.

Dietitian

Jaime Levy has been working with eating disorder patients for more than 6 years. Before joining Alta Bates Summit, Jaime worked at The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Jaime's passion is to support her clients in the journey to recovery from their food and weight struggles, and she's dedicated to help decrease the suffering of her clients.

Dietitian

April Hackert, M.S., R.D., is a certified registered dietitian with a masters degree from New York University. She received additional training at Virginia Tech, University of Virginia Children's Hospital and the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center. April's professional passion lies in weight loss/management, exercise, mood stabilization and eating disorders. April also serves as a media spokesperson for childhood/adolescent nutritional issues.

Dietitian

Nancy Pancoast, RD, earned her bachelor's degree in dietetics & food administration from California State University Chico. She completed her dietetic internship at the UC San Francisco Medical Center before coming to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. She has worked with both adolescent and adult patients with eating disorders for the past 12 years.

Social Worker

Alan Kaufman, LCSW, has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for more than 10 years and holds a certificate in the treatment of eating disorders. He completed his graduate education at University of California at Berkeley and undergraduate education at Brown University. Alan specializes in individual, family, and group therapy. He combines a strong knowledge base with an empathetic interpersonal style in order to promote patient change and wellness.

Social Worker

Catherine Debon is a Marriage and Family Therapist and a registered drama therapist and has been with Alta Bates Summit for 11 years. A yoga practitioner for over 20 years, she includes principals of psychosomatics and neurosciences when leading yoga groups. She also teaches at JFK University in the eating disorder certificate program.