AUSTIN, Texas – Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and associate vice president of diversity and community engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, will be presented the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians (TSPP) Psychiatric Excellence Award on Saturday, November 21, 2015 during the organization’s 59th Annual Meeting and Scientific Program at the Moody Gardens Hotel in Galveston.
TSPP is a component part of the American Psychiatric Association, and works in cooperation with it. Per the group’s mission statement, it “is dedicated to developing the highest quality of comprehensive psychiatric care for patients, families, and communities.” TSPP has 18 chapters throughout Texas.
“TSPP is pleased to recognize Dr. Octavio Martinez with the presentation of its 2015 TSPP Psychiatric Excellence Award,” said Daniel Pearson, III, MD, TSPP President. “The outstanding accomplishments and contributions to quality psychiatric care in Texas by Dr. Martinez will be recognized with this prestigious award, which has been presented to only 43 psychiatrists since 1991 for demonstrating sustained excellence in psychiatry.” Distinguished recipients have included Dr. Robert Leon, Dr. Charles Bowden, Dr. James Lomax, Dr. Glen Gabbard, Dr. Steven Pliszka, Dr. Stuart Yudofsky,and Dr. John Oldham, just to name a few.
Martinez became executive director of the Hogg Foundation in 2008. His service on numerous boards and advisory bodies has established him as a thought leader on broader issues of public health, mental health and philanthropy. Under Martinez’s leadership, the foundation has established itself as being on the forefront of issues such as integrated health care, eliminating health disparities, public policy and strengthening recovery-oriented services.
“TSPP is dedicated to advocating for psychiatry’s indispensable role in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The organization works tirelessly to advance standards of care, and to disseminate psychiatric knowledge across the health care professions,” said Martinez. “To receive this recognition from them is truly an honor.”
Along with his position at the Hogg Foundation, Martinez is a clinical professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He holds a doctor’s degree in medicine from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University’s School of Public Health, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration with a concentration in finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
The Hogg Foundation advances recovery and wellness in Texas by supporting mental health services, policy analysis, research and public education. The foundation was created in 1940 by the children of former Texas Gov. James S. Hogg and is part of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.