MCPAP for Moms Leadership Team

    Uruj Kamal Haider, MD
    MCPAP for Moms Medical Director




Dr. Uruj Kamal Haider is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the founder and Director of the Women’s Mental Health Outpatient Clinic at 100 Century Drive. She completed her psychiatry residency at a University of Massachusetts affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts in 2018. With a background in Neuroscience & Behavior from Wesleyan University, she has followed this interest and presented at numerous national conferences including the American Psychiatric Association and the American Neuropsychiatric Association. Dr. Haider currently practices as a general adult and perinatal psychiatrist at University of Massachusetts Memorial/Medical School within the Outpatient Psychiatry Department and the Community for Women’s Care (CWC) clinic. She enjoys her role as a medical educator and has received numerous awards in medical student teaching in Psychiatry. She serves as the medical student Clerkship Director for the Women’s Mental Health (WMH) Elective in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Massachusetts Medical School and works with Psychiatry and Family Medicine resident physicians rotating through the WMH elective.



    John Straus, MD
    Founding Medical Director



Dr. Straus is the founding director of the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program known as MCPAP. MCPAP was the first statewide program designed to address the shortage of child psychiatrists. MCPAP is model for the implementation of child psychiatry programs in 30 other states. He is president of the National Network of Child Psychiatry Access Programs, a non-profit dedicated to providing technical assistance and support to child psychiatry access programs. Dr. Straus was responsible for the expansion of MCPAP to include MCPAP for Moms to address perinatal depression, mental illness, and substance use. Support for the national expansion of both programs is included in the FY18 federal budget and the 21st Century Cures Act resulting in recently announced grants to 18 states for children and 7 states for moms. Dr. Straus is Medical Director Special Projects at the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP), having retired to part time from his full time position as Vice President Medical Affairs. Prior to working at the Partnership, Dr. Straus was medical director of the Fallon Community Health Plan. He currently is a member of the HEDIS Behavioral Health Measurement Advisory Panel, having been involved with HEDIS since its inception. Dr. Straus is responsible for the technique of health plan measurement known as the “hybrid method." He is a pediatrician having had a primary care practice for 22 years.  Dr. Straus completed medical training at Columbia University, pediatric training at Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester, and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Johns Hopkins Medical School.

Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA, FACLP
Medical Director of Research and Evaluation


Dr. Byatt is a perinatal psychiatrist and physician-scientist focused on improving health care systems to promote perinatal mental health. She is a Tenured Professor of Psychiatry, Ob/Gyn, and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School.  She is the Founding Medical Director of (MCPAP) for Moms.  She is also the Founding Executive Director of the Lifeline for Families Center and the Lifeline for Moms Program at UMass Chan Medical School. The Center’s activities include capacity building, consultation, and research. Dr. Byatt’s research focuses on designing, implementing, and evaluating scalable approaches for improving maternal and child mental health services and outcomes. With over ten years of continuous federal funding for her research, Dr. Byatt’s achievements have led to over 85 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, over 250 presentations, and numerous national awards. Her love is her family, especially her two teenage boys. Her passion is increasing access to mental health care. Her mission is to redefine maternal and child health care to include mental health care.

    Polina Teslyar, MD
    Psychiatric Consultant and Associate and Director of Substance Use Disorder Program at MCPAP for Moms

Dr. Polina Teslyar completed medical school at Tufts School of Medicine and psychiatry residency at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Prat Psychiatry Residency Program. She came to BWH as a Consult-Liaison Psychiatry fellow in 2013. She joined the BWH Psychiatry faculty in 2019 when she returned to the hospital to work in CL psychiatry and women’s mental health and reproductive psychiatry. She is also the interim director of the Division of Women’s Mental Health and Reproductive Psychiatry as well as director of the Women’s Mental Health and Reproductive Psychiatry fellowship and director of women’s mental health training for psychiatry residents. In addition to being a psychiatric consultant for MCPAP for Moms, she is the Associate Director of the Substance Use Disorder program for MCPAP for Moms. Her focus has been on collaborative care across OBGYN, NICU, and psychiatry. 

    Amy Rosenstein MBA
    Administrative Director



Amy Rosenstein is the Administrative Director of MCPAP for Moms, and Director of Medical, Clinical and Quality Integration at the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership (MBHP). She oversees administration of MCPAP for Moms and the Massachusetts Consultation Program for the Treatment of Addiction and Pain (MCSTAP) and leads a variety of other projects that bring together MBHP’s medical and clinical teams. Prior to this, Amy was director of MBHP's PCC Plan Support Services Program, overseeing a team providing support to providers in the MassHealth PCC Plan, particularly around the integration of behavioral health and medical care. Amy has worked in a variety of health care, behavioral health, and public health organizations throughout her career, with a focus on improving patient care, behavioral health integration, and training and education. She holds an MBA from Yale School of Management.




    Beth McGinn, M.Ed
    Program Manager



Beth McGinn is the manager of MCPAP for Moms. Ms. McGinn holds a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Cambridge College. She brings nearly two decades of experience working in both public health and direct care services, most recently coordinating a program to promote early literacy with low income and immigrant populations at the Cambridge Public Health Department. She has shown leadership in working with at-risk and vulnerable populations.  She is also an experience facilitator as a Mental Health First Aid trainer to help break the stigma of mental illness. Ms. McGinn has dedicated her career to helping women and children lead healthy and successful lives.



    Parvena Baldeo
    Program Coordinator

Parvena Baldeo is a Program Coordinator with MCPAP and MCPAP for Moms. Parvena has over 9 years of experience in program development, resource management and mental health. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology, Sociology and Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Parvena brings a lot of experience as a Behavioral Health Coach and is trained in Motivational Interviewing and Behavioral Activation. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with loved ones. She is excited to continue to help enhance MCPAP and MCPAP for Moms programs.

MCPAP for Moms Substance Use Disorder Team

    Polina Teslyar, MD
    Psychiatric Consultant and Associate and Director of Substance Use Disorder Program at MCPAP for Moms

Dr. Polina Teslyar completed medical school at Tufts School of Medicine and psychiatry residency at the University of Maryland/Sheppard Prat Psychiatry Residency Program. She came to BWH as a Consult-Liaison Psychiatry fellow in 2013. She joined the BWH Psychiatry faculty in 2019 when she returned to the hospital to work in CL psychiatry and women’s mental health and reproductive psychiatry. She is also the interim director of the Division of Women’s Mental Health and Reproductive Psychiatry as well as director of the Women’s Mental Health and Reproductive Psychiatry fellowship and director of women’s mental health training for psychiatry residents. In addition to being a psychiatric consultant for MCPAP for Moms, she is the Associate Director of the Substance Use Disorder program for MCPAP for Moms. Her focus has been on collaborative care across OBGYN, NICU, and psychiatry. 

    Gina Gallagher, M.Ed., LACD I, PMH-C
    SUD Project Manager, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Co-Chair

Gina Gallagher received her master’s in counseling psychology from UMASS Boston and is a Level I Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LACD). She brings over 25 years’ experience providing direct treatment to individuals with substance use needs and has managed a variety of SUD treatment programs including acute treatment services/detox, post-detox, outpatient programs. Most recently, she managed a bridge clinic at Boston Medical Center providing medication for addiction treatment (MAT) for patients with opioid and alcohol use disorders. Gina is a strong advocate supporting women in their quest for recovery and has volunteered as a Cuddler for newborns with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). She has completed Postpartum Support International’s evidence-based training program in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, in addition to their advanced training in perinatal psychotherapy and is certified in perinatal mental health. Gina is co-chair of MCPAP for Moms Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee which was formed to help meet our racial equity goals.