Dr. Ellen Garb McDaniel, former Associate Dean for Admissions at the University of Maryland Medical School, long term faculty member, and prominent forensic psychiatrist, died peacefully at her home in Highland, MD on January 3, 2013 following a courageous battle with cancer.  She was 71.

Born December 21, 1941, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Harold and Celia (Weiss) Garb, Dr. McDaniel was the beloved wife of John P. McDaniel and the devoted mother of Celia (Bill) Clendenin, Bethesda, Maryland; and Michael McDaniel (Katharine Becker), Baltimore, Maryland.

Educated at Cleveland Heights High School, the Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Michigan Medical School, Ellen received her medical degree in 1966 as one of only five female students.  Her post graduate medical training included a rotating internship at Delaware Hospital, Wilmington, Delaware and psychiatric residencies at the Ohio State University and the University of Maryland Medical Center. She was a graduate of the Baltimore/DC Institute for Psychoanalysis and board certified in both General and Forensic Psychiatry.

Following a 20 year academic career at The University of Maryland School of Medicine as a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Associate Dean for Admissions, Dr. McDaniel went into private practice establishing her office in Towson, Maryland. In 2002 she concentrated her efforts exclusively in forensic psychiatry and was involved in numerous high profile legal cases.

Dr. McDaniel published and lectured extensively and was an editor of a five volume Medical Textbook. She was past President of the Maryland Psychiatric Society and the Chesapeake Chapter of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law (AAPL) and was a member of the Medical Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland (Med Chi).

In addition to her faculty role with the University of Maryland Medical Center, she had academic appointments at the George Washington University School of Medicine and the Georgetown University Medicine Center. Professionally, her greatest love was to help medical students better understand the intersection between the physical and psychological needs of patients receiving clinical care.

Dr. McDaniel was a past board member of the Maryland Ballet, the Roland Park Country Day School, the Lab School of Washington and more recently, was a founding board member of the Baltimore Lab School. She served on a number of professional panels and task forces in Maryland including the Governor's Task Force on Domestic Violence, the Governor's Task Force on Alternative Sanctions to Incarceration, the Sexual Offender Advisory Board. She was a tireless advocate to overturn the death penalty in Maryland.

Dr. McDaniel traveled extensively throughout the world, sometimes involving humanitarian missions. She was an avid reader, writer and enjoyed gardening, skiing, hiking, and horse racing.

In addition to her husband of 47 years and two children, Dr. McDaniel is survived by a brother Robert (Linda) Garb, San Rafael, California; two sisters, Susan (Norbert) Jaworowski, Avon, Ohio and Connie (Curtis) Gale, Jerome, Michigan. She has three grandchildren; Satchel, Marley and Cooper Clendenin; numerous nieces and nephews; a large extended family and several beloved dogs.

A private family service will be held followed by a Celebration of Life Ceremony in the near future.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Baltimore Lab School, 2220 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, Maryland: c/o of the Dr. Ellen McDaniel Scholarship Fund.