Michael A. de Arellano, Ph.D., serves as chief organizational excellence officer for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and MUSC Health and leads the Division of Organizational Engagement and Excellence. Under his leadership, the Division of Organizational Engagement and Excellence spearheads strategic initiatives designed to ensure every member of MUSC feels welcomed, included, and engaged—fostering a genuine sense of belonging across the MUSC community. He and his team partner with leaders across the academic health system to increase health care access and quality and to improve health outcomes for all South Carolinians.
De Arellano came to MUSC in 1995, and he joined the faculty in 1998 as a clinical psychologist at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. His health disparities work at the NCVC has focused on increasing access to evidence-based mental health services for trauma-exposed youth and families from traditionally underserved backgrounds through a variety of in-person (e.g., home-based, school-based) and virtual (e.g., telehealth) programs. In addition, he currently provides training and technical assistance to communities affected by mass violence, in his role in the National Mass Violence Center. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Miami, and he earned his master's and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He interned and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in traumatic stress at the NCVC at MUSC.
