Roya Health Names Chief Psychologist, Chief Medical Officer, and Director of Operations in Landmark Leadership Expansion

Three hires. Decades of combined expertise. One mission. Roya Health signals its next chapter with the most significant clinical leadership expansion in the practice's history.

PHOENIX, Aug. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Roya Health, the greater Phoenix area's integrated behavioral health practice dedicated to children and families, today announced the appointment of three senior executives to its clinical and operational leadership team: Dr. Diana Medina as Chief Psychologist, Dr. Shalini Tharani as Chief Medical Officer, and Wendy Reid as Director of Operations.

The appointments mark a defining moment in Roya Health's growth trajectory. Founded by Dr. Shar Najafi-Piper, PhD, on the belief that children and families in Arizona deserve more than fragmented, disconnected behavioral health care, Roya Health has built its model around a single coordinated team: a therapist, clinician, and care coordinator working together around one child, one family, one plan. Today's announcements deepen that model with three leaders whose combined expertise spans psychiatry, clinical psychology, doctoral training, and behavioral health operations.

The expansion comes at a critical moment for Arizona. The state ranks 49th nationally in youth mental health, a designation that reflects documented provider shortages, long wait times, and a behavioral health system built around individual disciplines rather than coordinated care. Roya Health was built specifically to close that gap, and this team signals that the work is accelerating.

"I started Roya Health because I kept watching families do everything right and still fall through the gap," said Dr. Shar Najafi-Piper, PhD, Founder and CEO of Roya Health. "They found a therapist. They waited. They showed up to every appointment. And still, no one was holding the full picture with them. That is the problem integrated care solves. And the leaders we are announcing today are the people who will ensure we solve it at the highest possible level, not just for the families we serve today, but for every family who finds us in the years ahead. This is the team I have been building toward."

Dr. Diana Medina, Chief Psychologist

Dr. Diana Medina is a bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed psychologist in Arizona and holds an Authorization to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology in 42 U.S. states. She currently serves as Chair of the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners, the body that defines and enforces the standards of psychological practice across the state.

At Roya Health, Dr. Medina leads the development of the practice's APA doctoral training program alongside a group counseling curriculum designed to expand access to high-quality psychological care. Prior to joining Roya Health, she served as Chief of Clinical Education at Copa Health, where she built the organization's APA-accredited Psychology Training Program from the ground up. She earned her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University and completed her health service psychology training at Southwest Behavioral & Health Services in Phoenix, where she later served as Program Director of the Erickson Outpatient Clinic.

"I would not be the psychologist I am today without the people who trained me, and I have carried that responsibility ever since," said Medina. Training future psychologists is not separate from serving families; it is how we serve more of them, and serve them well, for years to come. At Roya Health, building a training program alongside our clinical care means we are not just closing today's gap in access. We are building the workforce that keeps that gap from reopening."

Dr. Shalini Tharani, Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Shalini Tharani is a psychiatrist who has been practicing in Phoenix for more than 20 years. She received her medical degree from Kasturba Medical College Manipal and brings deep clinical expertise in complex mood disorders, including bipolar disorder, and comprehensive psychiatric care.

As Chief Medical Officer at Roya Health, Dr. Tharani provides the psychiatric leadership at the center of the practice's integrated care model, ensuring that the medical dimension of every child and family's treatment is held by a clinician whose judgment has been built over two decades of Phoenix practice.

"What drew me to Roya Health was the model itself," said Dr. Tharani. "In 20 years of practice, I have seen what happens when psychiatry operates in isolation from the rest of a child's care team. Critical information gets lost. Treatment decisions get made without the full picture. And families are left carrying the coordination burden themselves. At Roya Health, the psychiatrist is inside the team, not adjacent to it. That is how psychiatric care should work. I am proud to be part of building it here."

Wendy Reid, Director of Operations

Wendy Reid is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Public and Mass Communications from The College of New Jersey. She has practiced social work in Arizona since 2012 and has served in clinical leadership roles at multiple behavioral health organizations over the past seven years. She is an approved clinical supervisor by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners.

As Director of Operations at Roya Health, Reid is responsible for the operational backbone of the practice: the systems, workflows, and infrastructure that allow integrated care to run seamlessly for every child and family. From scheduling and care coordination logistics to staffing and cross-team alignment, she ensures the practice operates at the same standard of excellence the clinical team delivers.

"Integrated care is an extraordinary method of practice," said Reid. "But it only works if the operational systems behind it are built to the same standard as the clinical ones. And it's most effective when operational workflows include collaboration and amazing staff. That alignment between all specialists, case managers, psychiatric providers, and medical professionals is so critical to member success and quality service outcomes. I am truly honored to be working with Roya Health as they are committed to excellence and eliminating all barriers to efficiency and care. Working with the staff and our community partners is truly a highlight of my career right now."

Roya Health's growth reflects both a clinical conviction and a response to a documented community need. With Arizona ranking among the lowest in the nation for youth mental health and provider shortages extending wait times for families across the greater Phoenix area, the practice's integrated model represents a structural answer to a structural problem.

The three appointments announced today bring the depth of clinical leadership that the model requires. A Chief Psychologist building the training programs that grow Arizona's next generation of behavioral health providers. A Chief Medical Officer whose psychiatric expertise anchors the medical dimension of coordinated care. A Director of Operations whose clinical background ensures operational decisions are always made in service of care quality.

Together, they represent what Roya Health has always been building: not just a practice, but a standard.

About Roya Health

Roya Health is an integrated behavioral health practice serving children and families across the greater Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. The practice brings together licensed psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, and care coordinators as a fully coordinated team, working together around each child and family with one shared plan. Roya Health was founded by Dr. Shar Najafi-Piper, PhD, a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of experience in Arizona behavioral health. For more information, visit roya.health.

Media Contact:

Sarah Halloran, CMO

[email protected]

423-290-2134

SOURCE Roya Health