Professional Profile
Atiim B. Boykin, MA, MFT, MHRT-C (he/him)
Marriage & Family Therapist · Clinical Liaison · Multidisciplinary Artist · Candidate, Portland City Council At-Large 2026
Atiim B. Boykin, MA, MFT, MHRT-C, is a Marriage and Family Therapist, clinical liaison, and multidisciplinary artist whose work bridges mental health, justice, education, and the arts. With more than 20 years of experience — built on an earlier foundation in the skilled trades, including eleven years in carpentry and construction — he is guided by a deep commitment to barrier removal, equity, and community healing. Based in Portland, Maine, he brings clinical expertise, cultural humility, and creative vision to every aspect of his work.
Atiim currently serves as Clinical Liaison for Maine State Forensic Services within the Office of Behavioral Health, where he coordinates cases in mental health dispositional dockets and other administratively complex matters. He is also the central point person for the Parenting Capacity Evaluation Program, supporting parents and caregivers, attorneys, and examiners through a process that helps courts make informed, humane decisions affecting vulnerable children and families. His role also includes providing support to State Forensic Services on criminal matters.
Prior to this role, Atiim served as Forensic Intensive Case Manager with the Maine Office of Behavioral Health from March 2022 to November 2024. In that position, he worked to reduce recidivism by supporting the transition, reentry, and stabilization of returning citizens living with mental health diagnoses, substance use disorders, and co-occurring conditions. He led and participated in statewide government and nonprofit committees focused on identifying service gaps, helped implement sustainable reentry pathways in close collaboration with the Maine Legislature, Maine Department of Corrections, Maine Department of Justice, and community-based organizations, and ensured safe transport and community linkages for individuals leaving state and county institutions.
Before joining the Office of Behavioral Health, Atiim spent more than two decades in social work, case management, and mental health care across California and Maine, helping vulnerable individuals and families remove barriers to treatment, stability, and growth. A major highlight of his career was serving as co-founder and Director of Clinical Case-Management for the Young Adult Court (YAC) in San Francisco City and County — a first-of-its-kind collaborative court designed for criminal justice-involved young adults. Grounded in research on adolescent and young adult brain development, YAC created pathways for accountability, restitution, and restorative justice through therapeutic intervention, community partnerships, and workforce development.
Earlier in his San Francisco career, Atiim worked closely with the Superior Court, District Attorney's Office, Public Defender's Office, Department of Public Health, Adult Probation, the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, the San Francisco Police Department, and other community stakeholders. He also served as a staff therapist in innovative justice-focused programs, including Back on Track, launched by then-District Attorney Kamala Harris. His clinical curriculum Father Rootz — a 12-session program for court-mandated fathers developed in 2009 — achieved a 96.3% client satisfaction rating and remains the proof of concept for his forthcoming book on the process of change.
In addition to his clinical and systems work, Atiim is a storyteller, musician, songwriter, painter, and spoken word poet with a catalog of more than 185 original compositions documented for publishing. In 2020 he led a team of artists to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. with Destiny Manifest: In Pursuit of Happiness — a seven-part multimedia work presented as part of Arts Across America. Across both his professional and creative life, his work reflects a deep commitment to equity, access, inclusion, and the transformative power of educational and therapeutic support. He earned his MA in Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, from the University of San Francisco in 2010.
Education & Credentials
MA, Counseling Psychology — Marriage and Family Therapy, University of San Francisco (2010)
BA, Sociology, San Francisco State University (2002)
BA, Pan African Studies, California State University, Northridge (2001)
MHRT Community Level B Certificate (2023)
Community Leadership
Board of Directors, Portland Ovations (2025–Present)
Board of Directors, Cultural Alliance of Maine (2024–Present)
Board of Directors, Avesta Housing (2026–Present)
Circle of Advisors, Indigo Arts Alliance (2019–Present)
Graduate & Steering Committee, Leadership Portland (Class of 2022)
Forthcoming Literary Works
The Process of Change: A²DA²M — A psychoeducational framework for personal transformation, rooted in the Father Rootz clinical curriculum (first draft complete; 2027)
I Am From — Poetry chapbook on ancestry and identity (2027)
What A Hug Can Do — Children's literature (2027)
Mamma in the Screen — Children's literature (2027/2028)
The Simmering: Ideas, Life, and the Morning Routine — Memoir in songs (in development)
The Clinical Poet — Mental health and creative expression (in development)
LinkedIn · AtiimChenzira.com · Atiim.org · Atiim@RidahRidah.com
Listen
Ridah Ridah Entertainment
A selection of music from the R2E catalog. For the full discography visit AtiimChenzira.com.