Richard Scheffler has been the Director of the Nicholas C. Petris Center since its inception in 1999. He is a Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds the Chair in Health Care Markets & Consumer Welfare endowed by the State of California Office of the Attorney General. His research is on health care markets, health insurance, the health workforce, mental health economics, social capital and health, pharmacoeconomics, and international health systems. Professor Scheffler is a recipient of the American Public Health Association's Carl Taube Award, which honors distinguished contributions to the field of mental health services research. He was a Rockefeller and a Fulbright Scholar, and served as President of the International Health Economists Association 4th Congress. He has been a Scholar in Residence at the Institute of Medicine and the World Bank. He also served as an advisor to the World Health Organization in the area of human resources. He has published more than 150 papers and edited and written six books. His newest book will be published by Stanford University Press in September 2008-Is There a Doctor in the House: Market Signals and Tomorrow's Supply of Doctors.

Jim manages the financial and business operations of the Petris Center, which includes budget administration, fund management, project management, liaison with funding agencies, vendor relations, and general operations. He worked in finance, budgeting, and information systems at UC Berkeley and the University of Massachusetts, and was a consultant in these areas to private secondary education and health care organizations. Jim also brings a private industry perspective to the Petris Center, having led finance and information technology teams in the large corporate environments of Wells Fargo Bank, U.S. Leasing, Intel Corporation, American President Lines, and Levi Strauss, and in the small-firm, high-tech world - two software companies and a systems integration firm. He has a BA from Indiana University and an MBA from Saint Mary's College of California.

Erica received her BA in Economics from Wellesley College and her MSW and PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. She was a Hartford Doctoral Fellow in Geriatric Social Work. Erica's dissertation concerned activity participation of retirees — the pattern and factors influencing post-retirement participation. Her research interests include the outcome of mental health policy changes, the role of social capital for older adults, and the economic and physical well-being of retirees.

Chandrakala received her PhD from the Department of Health Policy and Administration from Penn State University. She also holds a Bachelor's in Pharmacy and a Post Graduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Management from universities in India. Her doctoral dissertation examined the prescription drug use for Alzheimer's disease by Medicare beneficiaries. Her research interests include (a) economics of aging and mental health, (b) effects of health care technology, (c) prescription drugs, (d) Medicare policy, and (e) disparities research. She has also worked for over three years in the Indian pharmaceutical industry, prior to obtaining her doctorate.