Military & Veterans SIG

Sofia E. Matta, MD
Co-Chair (2024 - 2027)

Dr. Matta earned her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY and completed her residency training at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Payne Whitney Clinic. She is board certified in Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Brain Injury Medicine and Addiction Medicine.

James Rustad, MD
Co-Chair (2025 - 2028)

Dr. Rustad earned his medical degree from Jackson Memorial Hospital in affiliation with the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, and his fellowship training at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. He serves as associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Director of Mental Health Services at the Burlington Lakeside Community Based Outpatient Clinic. His passion is education, serving as a mentor and advisor for residents and fellows. Dr. Rustad serves on the Educational Committee at the WRJ VAMC Mental Health and Behavioral Science and the Burlington Lakeside VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic, and the Clinical Competency Committee at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Adult Psychiatry Residency Program. He was awarded the Psychiatry Residents’ Award of Excellence in Academic Teaching at the University of Vermont Medical Center and the Excellence in Education Award at Dartmouth Department of Psychiatry as well.

Shannon Ford, MD
Chair Emeritus (2025 - 2028)

Dr. Ford graduated from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry, Consultation-Liason Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry.

Margarita Bobonis-Babilonia, MD
Executive Committee Member (2025 - 2028)

Dr. Margarita Bobonis Babilonia is a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist with the Home-Based Primary Care program at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. She earned her medical degree from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, completed residency and fellowship training at New York Medical College/Westchester Medical Center, and holds board certifications in Psychiatry and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Dr. Bobonis Babilonia previously served in leadership roles at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, including Vice Chair of Supportive Care Medicine and Section Chief of Behavioral Medicine Services.

Lynne Boone, DO
Executive Committee Member (2024 - 2027)

Dr. Boone completed her residency training at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, and her Consultation-Liaison Fellowship at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University/TJUH. She has received the Richard Gozen Compassion Award as well as the Research Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Psychiatric Association.

Andrea DeSimone, DO
Executive Committee Member (2024 - 2027)

Dr. DeSimone graduated from Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed residency training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, followed by her Consultation-Liaison Fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover, Delaware.

Michalla Braford, DO
Executive Committee Member, Secretary (2025 - 2028)

Dr. Braford graduated from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed her residency training at Lewis Gale Medical Center in Salem, Virginia. She is completing her fellowship in consultation-liaison psychiatry at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire.