Metro Program Directors
Tonicia Freeman
Director of Minority & Prevention Programs
Tonicia Freeman, Director of Metro’s Minority & Prevention Programs, is a native Floridian, born in Vero Beach, Florida. She is a graduate of University of Florida where she obtained her Bachelors of Science degree in Community Health Education, followed with her Masters of Science degree in Human Services Organizational Management & Leadership through Springfield College. Her professional career in HIV/AIDS services began at Project Response AIDS Center, Inc. in St. Lucie County, Florida before joining the Metropolitan Charities management staff in 2004.
Tonicia currently serves as the Program Director for the following programs: SAMHSA funded Minority Empowerment Through Risk-Reduction & Outreach (M.E.T.R.O.) program, Department of Health (DOH) funded HIV Testing & Prevention programs, Ryan White funded Minority AIDS Initiative (MAI) programs, DOH funded Real Life Teen Prevention program, and the Office of Women’s Health funded Women Empowered & Standing Tall (W.E.S.T.) program. Her professional HIV/AIDS service background experience includes Ryan White and PAC Case Management, HIV Counseling & Testing, Medical Education with the Minority AIDS Initiative program; she also currently serves as a member of the West Central Florida Ryan White Care Council.
Priya Rajkumar
Director of Case Management, Training and Quality Assurance
Priya Rajkumar is the Director of Case Management, Training and Quality assurance at Metro. She has been serving the Tampa Bay HIV community for over 10 years.
Priya moved to Tampa in 1999 from Long Island New York, where she graduated from Queens College and joined TAN as a case manager. Over the years she has moved up the management ladder within the HIV arena. Her newest program is a linkage program for inmates throughout the State of Florida. Priya is well-respected in the HIV/AIDS community for her knowledge of the disease and program management.
Andrew B. Schmidt, PhD, LCSW
Director of Behavioral Health
Dr. Andrew B. Schmidt is a psychotherapist and a clinical researcher born and raised in New York. Dr. Schmidt earned his Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from New York University in 2000 and has been working as a psychotherapist in the LGBTQ community ever since. Dr. Schmidt has also worked on numerous psychiatric research studies investigating the etiology and treatment of anxiety disorders. Dr. Schmidt returned to school to earn a PhD in Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work at the Graduate Center in New York City. His dissertation focused on the prevalence, predictors and negative outcomes that are associated with discordant sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual behavior in men and women in the US. He has also taught Research and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to graduate level university students. Dr. Schmidt is very excited to bring his experience and expertise to the Metro Wellness Center and lead the mental health department in his role as the Director of Behavioral Health.
Below are links to articles that Dr. Schmidt has coauthored:
- Challenges using motivational interviewing as an adjunct to exposure therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Behav Res Ther. 2010 Oct;48(10):941-8. Epub 2010 Jun 1.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20609435 - A placebo-controlled trial of phenelzine, cognitive behavioral group therapy, and their combination for social anxiety disorder.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010 Mar;67(3):286-95.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20194829 - A randomized, controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for augmenting pharmacotherapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Am J Psychiatry. 2008 May;165(5):621-30. Epub 2008 Mar 3.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18316422 - National trends in ethnic disparities in mental health care.
Med Care 2007 Nov;45(11):1012-9.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1804934 - Update on Sexual Addictions.
Directions in Psychiatry. 2007 June, 27(2):143-157. - National trends in the outpatient diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder in youth.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007 Sep;64(9):1032-9.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17768268 - Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of exposure and ritual prevention, clomipramine, and their combination in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Jan;162(1):151-61.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15625214 - Use of psychotropic medications for patients with office visits who receive a diagnosis of panic disorder.
Med Care. 2004 Dec;42(12):1242-6.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15550804 - Post-treatment effects of exposure therapy and clomipramine in obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Depress Anxiety. 2004;19(4):225-33.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15274171 - Citalopram treatment of social anxiety disorder with comorbid major depression.
Depress Anxiety. 2003;17(4):191-6.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12820174 - Pharmacological treatment of social anxiety disorder: a meta-analysis.
Depression and Anxiety. 2003;18(1):29-40.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12900950 - Fluoxetine in children and adolescents with OCD: a placebo-controlled trial.
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2002 Dec;41(12):1431-8.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12447029 - Comparative phenomenology of ataques de nervios, panic attacks, and panic disorder.
Culture Medicine and Psychiatry. 2002 Jun;26(2):199-223.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12211325
Alberto A. Vazquez
Director of Finance and Administration
Alberto Vazquez is a recent addition to the Tampa Bay area, moving from New York in 2010. As Metro’s Director of Finance and Administration, has been working in the not for profit sector for over 13 years with 12 of those years concentrated in HIV studies and services.
Alberto was a Director of Finance & Administration for a national not for profit organization conducting HIV clinical trials in New York & New Jersey for over 12 years. He earned his Masters degree in Accounting from New Jersey City University in 2000 during this time. Alberto later joined an international not for profit organization working with international HIV issues in Africa, South & Central America, and the Middle East as their Controller & Manager of Internal Financial Reporting. Before moving to Tampa, Alberto was the Director of Finance & Operations for a leading not for profit medical organization that supported woman’s reproductive health.
