Book Summary
Ward’s Island in the East River sits just a short distance from Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, yet it has been cordoned off from the rest of New York City. For nearly two centuries, it has been treated as a dumping ground for society’s most marginalized—the unhoused, recent immigrants, and people diagnosed with mental illnesses. Even today, its two psychiatric hospitals, homeless shelters, and residential substance-use treatment program house more than one thousand people, but these institutions are fenced off from the athletic fields and green space of the adjoining Randall’s Island Park.
Exiles in New York City by Dr. Phillip T. Yanos shares untold stories from Ward’s Island, offering a new lens on the city’s past and present from the perspective of the marginalized. This incisive and timely book reveals a part of New York City that has long been hidden in plain sight, and it also considers how to transform Ward’s
Island for a new era.
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Panelists
Philip T. Yanos, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at John Jay College, City University of New York. He is an Associate Editor for the journal Stigma and Health, currently serves as the Director of Clinical Training for the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at John Jay College/The Graduate Center, and is the author of over 150 articles and book chapters. An advocate for people with lived experience of mental health conditions, he serves on the board of City Voices and was awarded the Gaetano Benedetti Award for lifetime service to psychosocial approaches to psychosis from ISPS-US in 2024. He grew up on Ward's Island, New York City.
Dr. Sasha-Marie Robinson, LCSW is a Senior Vice President of Recovery and Treatment, overseeing the strategic direction and operational excellence of recovery-oriented services. She brings deep expertise in behavioral health leadership, program development, and systems improvement, with a strong focus on person-centered, evidence-based care. Dr. Robinson is recognized for her collaborative leadership style, commitment to quality improvement, and dedication to supporting individuals, families, and communities on their recovery journeys.
Taina B. Martinez is the Chief Executive Officer of Baltic Street Wellness Solutions, a nationally recognized, peer-led organization advancing mental health and substance use disorder recovery through equity-driven systems change, peer workforce development, and community-rooted practice. She has led the organization for over five years, guiding strategic growth, systems development, and post-COVID recovery while strengthening operations, supporting staff, and aligning programs to ensure sustainability, accountability, and high-quality peer-centered services. A seasoned executive and nationally respected peer advocate, Taina brings more than a decade of leadership at the intersection of behavioral health, lived experience, and institutional transformation. Her work is grounded in the belief that lived experience is a leadership asset and that peers must be positioned as leaders and decision-makers within health systems. Under her leadership, Baltic Street oversees complex, multi-site programs that integrate peer values and recovery-oriented practice within public-sector and healthcare environments. Taina cultivates cross-sector partnerships with academic institutions including Yale, Rutgers, NYU, and Medgar Evers College, as well as city and state agencies, funders, and community-based organizations. Through these collaborations, she advances workforce development, peer-informed practice, and research initiatives that translate findings into actionable, equity-driven solutions. She actively engages in research efforts to ensure data and lived experience inform policy, program design, and systems change. She is the founder of the annual Baltic Street Symposium, a flagship convening addressing the loneliness epidemic and promoting social wellness in an era of isolation. The Symposium brings together peers, clinicians, researchers, community leaders, and policymakers to advance relational health, belonging, and collective well-being. In addition, Taina is the Founder of Healing Haus Institute of Wellness LLC, where she provides executive coaching, women’s leadership development, and Latina leadership empowerment, integrating mental health, self-care, and community resilience. Taina is deeply committed to peer-led solutions, peer workforce equity, research-informed practice, and community accountability. Her leadership bridges organizational strategy, academia, workforce development, and social innovation, always centering lived experience and systemic impact.
Yumiko Ikuta lives with bipolar disorder and is the Director of Access to Mental Health Services at the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health. She has extensive experience in peer support and as the former Director of Psychiatric Rehabilitation at the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, her Office oversaw contracted psychiatric rehabilitation programs including clubhouse, supported employment, education support services, peer advocacy, peer bridger, peer specialist training, peer-run crisis respites, among others.
Yumiko’s experience in peer specialist education is extensive as the former Deputy Director of Howie the Harp Peer Advocacy Center and the founding Program Manager of the Academy of Peer Services at Rutgers University, which is the NYS peer specialist certification training and testing center. She also supported the State Office of Mental Health in the development of Medicaid billable peer support services. Prior to the mental health field, Yumiko worked in economic development at the US Agency for International Development as well as the corporate sector. Yumiko holds a BA in Economics and East Asian Studies and an MBA in Marketing and International Business, both from Columbia University.
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