February 17, 2016
Black History Month
Page 5
Making History, Impacting Change
C ontinued from f ront
A key to the delivery of better
mental health care to communi-
ties of color is bringing down the
walls of shame for patients, and
increasing the number of provid-
ers and services available to meet
the needs of minority and other
disadvantaged populations, she
says.
Moreland-Capuia, went to Stan-
ford University for undergraduate
school, then to medical school at
George Washington University in
Washington, D.C., before coming
back to her hometown to do her
residency at Oregon Health and
Sciences University. She complet-
ed a fellowship at OSHU that was
focused on addiction services.
Born and raised in north and
northeast Portland, most of her
family still lives in the area. She
credits her family’s ability to se-
cure housing, and to become
homeowners, as one of the rea-
sons they are still here.
“I myself still live in the neigh-
borhood,” she said of her passion
for the city, graduating from Jef-
ferson High School and attending
King Elementary and Harriet Tub-
man Middle School. “I was nur-
tured here so it’s natural for me to
return to that.”
She described her work as
photo by A ndie p etkus
Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia (second from right) is surrounded by her colleagues from Oregon Health Sciences University as she draws
support for the honor she received from the Oregon Historical Society for her pioneering work as a physician of color in raising aware-
ness of mental health needs as it relates to issues of criminal justice policies, community and education.
something she is passionate about,
and says she hopes the recognition
she receives will support others to
follow in her path.
“That’s a big deal for me be-
cause we just don’t have enough
African American mental health
providers. For me, inspiring others
to become the irst in their ield,
the irst to discover something,
to remind everyone there are still
new frontiers for us to innovate,
to inspire, and to serve, that is in-
credible to me.”
Moreland-Capuia was recently
listed as one of the “40 under 40”
by the Portland Business Journal.
She is only 35. She recalls the
words of actress Viola Davis at
this year’s Emmy Award when
she says “This is not an issue of
talent. This is an issue of oppor-
tunity.”
She astutely points out that
there is no shortage of black peo-
ple who can and should be doc-
tors, painters, educators, lawyers,
astronauts, and professionals of
every variety, “Once we give
those students the opportunities
they need and deserve, we will
see them succeed.”