Skip to main content

Presenters

Rafita Ahlam, J.D.

Health Privacy Associate, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Bio

Health Privacy Associate, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Ms. Rafita Ahlam is a health privacy associate for the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information and is a law clerk at the Legal Action Center (LAC).  At LAC,
Ms. Ahlam provides legal counsel, training, and technical assistance to health care providers, government agencies, and schools on federal and state privacy law. 
Ms. Ahlam completed her undergraduate degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton and received her juris doctor degree from Fordham School of Law. 
At Fordham, she was on moot court and on the editorial board of the Fordham International Law Journal.  During her third year of law school, Ms. Ahlam researched,
wrote, and published her student note on the privacy and security implications of the global encryption debate.  In recognition of her demonstrated interest in privacy,
the International Association of Privacy Professionals selected Ms. Ahlam as the 2021 Westin Scholar Award recipient.

Michelle Akers, M.A.

Executive Director, Southwestern Regional Day Report Center

Bio

Executive Director, Southwestern Regional Day Report Center

Ms. Michelle Akers is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Executive Director of the Southwestern Regional Day Report Center (SRDRC) in West Virginia.  The SRDRC is
a regional behavioral health center that has the primary goal of providing treatment, case management, recovery support, education, and employment enhancement to individuals who are currently involved in the criminal justice system or are at risk of criminal justice involvement.  Ms. Akers has worked in the treatment field for the past
26 years in Southwestern West Virginia.  She also serves as a project administrator for the Fresh Start Program and Project Empower, and she is committed to reducing barriers to treatment and using community collaboration to identify and improve health disparities in the region. 

Tinuke Akinje

Grants Manager, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Bio

Grants Manager, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Coming soon!

Raul Almazar, R.N., M.A.

Senior Public Policy Advisor, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors

Bio

Senior Public Policy Advisor, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors

Mr. Raul Almazar has many years of experience as a direct care provider, an administrator, an organizational and clinical consultant, a trainer, and a speaker.  Prior to working as full-time consultant in 2009, he served as the Deputy Director for the State of Illinois Division of Mental Health.  He is presently the Senior Public Policy Advisor at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors’ Center for Innovation in Health Policy and Practice.  He also serves as subject-matter expert for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Transformation Transfer Initiative.  He served as senior consultant to SAMHSA’s National Center for Trauma-Informed Care and Promoting Alternatives to Seclusion and Restraints Through Trauma Informed Practices.  He provides consultation, training, and technical assistance to organizations and large systems and communities in the areas of leadership, workforce development, consumer empowerment, organizational planning, and changing organizational cultures to effect systemwide transformations.  He has expertise working with youth and adult-serving institutional and community-based publicly and privately funded programs across service systems.

Tammy L. Anderson, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware

Bio

Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware

Dr. Tammy L. Anderson is a professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.  Her published works—Understanding Deviance:  Connecting Classical and Contemporary Perspectives (Routledge); Rave Culture:  The Alteration and Decline of a Philadelphia Music Scene (Temple University Press);
Sex, Drugs, and Death (Routledge); and Neither Villain nor Victim:  Empowerment and Agency among Women Substance Abusers (Rutgers University Press); and more
than 50 peer-reviewed papers and 20 other published papers—showcase her expertise in substance abuse, deviance, culture, gender, and social control.  Dr. Anderson’s research has received more than $2 million in support from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the University of Delaware.  Presently, Dr. Anderson is serving as the principal investigator on an NIJ grant titled the “Delaware Opioid Metric Intelligence Project” (DOMIP).  This project addresses the opioid epidemic and related health and social problems by providing opioid surveillance metrics to policymakers, practitioners, experts, and the public for education, intervention, and scientific contribution.  DOMIP builds on Dr. Anderson’s partnerships with numerous Delaware state agencies, funded also by federal grants, to combat prescription drug abuse and related health and social problems.

Malik R.S. Ashhali, MSW, LCSW, LCAS, MAC, CSI, EAP, TF-CBT

Clinical Director/Clinical Supervisor, The Village Behavioral Healthcare Services, Inc.

Bio

Clinical Director/Clinical Supervisor, The Village Behavioral Healthcare Services, Inc.

Mr. Malik Ashhali received his master’s degree in social work from Winthrop University in South Carolina in 2012.  He is currently the owner and Clinical Director of The Village Behavioral Healthcare Services, Inc., an organization that provides substance abuse and mental health services, consultation services, trainings, and clinical supervisions.  He has more than 17 years of experience working with adults grappling with substance use disorders (SUDs) as well as children and families struggling with mental illness and poverty.  He specializes in narcotics addiction, with more than nine years of experience in medication assistance programs, providing enhanced services that address SUD, depression, and clients with dual diagnoses.  He has presented trainings on addiction and poverty for the North Carolina Foundation for Alcohol and Drug Studies; cultural diversity training for the North Carolina Juvenile Services Association; and an empathy training for the Addiction Professionals of North Carolina.

Captain Colleen Beier

Juneau County, Wisconsin, Sheriff’s Office

Bio

Juneau County, Wisconsin, Sheriff’s Office

Captain Colleen Beier is a jail captain for the Juneau County, Wisconsin, Sheriff’s Office.  She has been with the sheriff’s office for 18 years.  She started as a deputy in the jail for four years, was a deputy on patrol for eight years, a lieutenant for patrol for four years, and has been the jail captain since July 2019.  The Juneau County Jail currently participates in three grants that deal with drug addiction, mental health, and the justice system:  the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP); the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) Drug Court; and the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN)/Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program.  Captain Beier actively participates in all three of these grants.  She directly oversees the jail’s COSSAP grant, which provides a jail therapist and a case manager for mental health treatment and drug-addicted persons.  Captain Beier is a strong proponent of therapy for mental health, along with MAT, as a means to assist in the recovery from drug addiction.  She has seen the positive changes in clients who receive therapy and MAT and finds that the Juneau County Jail is a place that is able to provide the first steps toward recovery through the grant funding provided by COSSAP.

Becky Berkebile, M.A.

Senior Program Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Senior Program Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Ms. Becky Berkebile is a senior program associate at Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP), where she serves as the Deputy Director of training and technical assistance (TTA) for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP).  She oversees and coordinates all
TTA events, including grantee requests, affinity groups, grantee cohort calls, planning and hosting of informational webinars, and development of a peer-to-peer
mentoring initiative on jail-based treatment programs.  Ms. Berkebile has more than a decade of experience in the criminal justice system with a focus on intelligence and writing data-driven policy.  She has advised two attorneys general on pardon and commutation decisions and served multiple administrations in two states in crisis due to the opioid epidemic.  Her work has brought local, state, and federal law enforcement and public health agencies together to collaborate and address the opioid epidemic with innovation and compassion, while focusing on the growing and changing trends that states experience.  Ms. Berkebile’s ability to build coalitions and manage projects has led to her continued success as a leader in state government.  She earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from The Pennsylvania State University.

Mariah Black-Watson, MSA

Analyst, Altarum’s Center for Behavioral Health

Bio

Analyst, Altarum’s Center for Behavioral Health

Ms. Mariah Black-Watson is an analyst in Altarum’s Center for Behavioral Health.  Ms. Black-Watson has a demonstrated history of working in the public health and nonprofit fields.  She has experience in research activities including survey development, data collection, management, and analysis.  Ms. Black-Watson earned her bachelor’s degree in human biology from Michigan State University in 2015 and her master of science degree in administration, with a focus on health services administration, from Central Michigan University in 2018.

Ashley Bolton, MPH

Director, Office of Drug Surveillance and Misuse Prevention, Pennsylvania Department of Health

Bio

Director, Office of Drug Surveillance and Misuse Prevention, Pennsylvania Department of Health

Ms. Ashley Bolton is the Director of the Office of Drug Surveillance and Misuse Prevention at the Pennsylvania Department of Health.  Ms. Bolton leads many successful statewide programs, including the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), overdose surveillance, and overdose prevention efforts.

Claire Brennan, B.S.

Supervisory Diversion Investigator, Liaison Section Chief, Diversion Control Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Bio

Supervisory Diversion Investigator, Liaison Section Chief, Diversion Control Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Ms. Claire Brennan is a supervisory diversion investigator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and is currently the Chief of the Liaison Section for the Diversion Control Division in Arlington, Virginia.  In this role, Ms. Brennan is responsible for the Liaison Section, ensuring that program objectives are met and serving as a liaison between DEA registrants and other partners in the prevention of diversion of controlled substances.  Throughout her 26-year career with the DEA, Ms. Brennan has worked in the New Jersey; Seattle, Washington; and New England Division Offices as a diversion investigator, diversion group supervisor, and diversion program manager, respectively.  Ms. Brennan holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Scranton.

Darigg Brown, Ph.D., MPH

Behavioral Scientist and Program Manager, RTI International

Bio

Behavioral Scientist and Program Manager, RTI International

Dr. Darigg Brown is a researcher and manager in the Substance Use, Prevention, and Evaluation Research Program at RTI International.  He conducts community-based research and evaluation in substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion.

Jasper Bruner

Chief of Police, Neah Bay, Washington, Public Safety

Bio

Chief of Police, Neah Bay, Washington, Public Safety

As the current Chief of Police for Neah Bay, Washington, Public Safety, Chief Jasper Bruner is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the following departments:
Police, Corrections, Natural Resources Enforcement, Volunteer Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services, Animal Control, and Emergency Management.  Chief Bruner’s career has spanned more than 21 years and has given him the opportunity to work with many great people and many different tribes from across the United States.
He is a firm believer in teamwork, working well with others, identifying and solving problems, and the betterment of Indian Country law enforcement.  He also believes
that Indian Country law enforcement can serve as a great partner in community relations and public outreach.  As part of his duties, he creates, maintains, and fosters effective relationships with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, and their related entities in order to successfully collaborate on
cross-jurisdictional, cooperative operations and situational responses, as required.

Alex Buben, ScM

Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Bio

Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Mr. Alex Buben is an epidemiologist and public health analyst at Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International.  He was a lead analyst for Georgia’s Social Indicator Study and has collaborated with health departments across multiple states to improve substance use surveillance and data integration.

Allison Burrell, MPH

Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) Program Manager, Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)

Bio

Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) Program Manager, Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)

Ms. Allison Burrell is the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) Program Manager with the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area (HIDTA).  She received her master’s degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and a bachelor of science degree in public health from Oregon State University.

LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/ali-burrell/

ODMAP Website:  www.odmap.org

Jason Butler, M.S., B.A.

Certified Peer Recovery Coach, Community Health Representative Manager, Tribal Health and Human Services Department, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes

Bio

Certified Peer Recovery Coach, Community Health Representative Manager, Tribal Health and Human Services Department, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes

Mr. Jason Butler is an enrolled member of the Ute Indian Tribe of Fort Duchesne, Utah, and is also part of the Mojave and Cherokee tribes.  He currently resides in Pocatello, Idaho, with his wife and four children, who are all enrolled members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.  Mr. Butler first moved to Southeast Idaho with his wife in 2001.  After moving to Arizona in 2003 to pursue his education, they returned to the area in 2008.  Mr. Butler graduated from Idaho State University in 2012 with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and earned his master of science degree in family and human development at Arizona State University in 2019.  Mr. Butler is a certified peer recovery coach through the Idaho Board of Alcohol/Drug Counselor Certification.  He is employed by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ Tribal Health and Human Services Department.  He spent the past three years as the Recovery Service Coordinator for the Four Directions Treatment Center and recently accepted the position of Community Health Representative Manager.  Today, he is loving life and all that it has to offer.  Mr. Butler is thankful to have found jobs that he loves and is extremely fond of the communities of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, the place that he has come to call home.

AnaBell Cadena

Program Specialist, City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Department of Family and Community Services

Bio

Program Specialist, City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Department of Family and Community Services

Ms. AnaBell Cadena is a program specialist for the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Department of Family and Community Services’ Behavioral Health and Wellness Division.  She has remained committed to serving the needs of children, families, and individuals for more than 25 years. Currently, she works supporting and executing federally funded grant initiatives for adults diagnosed with mental illness and substance use disorder and those experiencing homelessness. Ms. Cadena believes wraparound care and connecting individuals with practical information and resources can make a positive impact in someone’s life, changing it for the better.

For more information on the City of Albuquerque’s Department of Family and Community Services, visit:  https://www.cabq.gov/family/services.

Assistant Deputy Superintendent Melinda Cady, M.Ed., LADC-I, CAMS II

Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Office

Bio

Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Office

Assistant Deputy Superintendent Melinda Cady, an advanced clinical supervisor, has been with the Hampshire, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Office since March 2004.  Her career in corrections has included a number of roles with classification, treatment, reentry, contracts, volunteers, and most recently, medication for opioid use disorder services.

Benjamin Campbell, M.A.

Administrator, First Responder Consulting and Training, Center for Health (CHJ) and Justice at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Bio

Administrator, First Responder Consulting and Training, Center for Health (CHJ) and Justice at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Mr. Benjamin Campbell works with first responder agencies at the Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) to help them implement services that deflect people with substance use disorders away from the front end of the justice system and into treatment and other community services.

Jac Charlier, MPA

Executive Director, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Bio

Executive Director, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Mr. Jac Charlier is the Executive Director of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities’ (TASC) Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) and the Executive Director and cofounder of the Police, Treatment, and Community Collaborative (PTACC).  Mr. Charlier is an internationally recognized cofounder and leader of the deflection movement and serves in a wide variety of roles related to deflection, from research to policy to practice.  CHJ serves as the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) technical assistance provider for law enforcement deflection and first responder (fire, emergency medical services [EMS]) diversion.  PTACC, composed of 53 organizations and growing, is the national voice for the field of deflection in all its forms—co-responder, community responder, and pre-arrest deflection.  Prior to CHJ, Mr. Charlier served in the Illinois State Parole Division and was promoted through the ranks, from officer to District Commander to Deputy Chief of Northern Operations.  As Deputy Chief, he started the division’s first domestic violence units and human trafficking response teams, as well as the first women’s gender-specific trained officers. 
Mr. Charlier is a successful civic leader in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.  He is a U.S. military veteran and a member of the American Legion.  He is also an Eagle Scout and a recipient of the Outstanding Eagle Scout Medal.  Mr. Charlier received his master of public administration degree from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at
The Ohio State University and his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana.

Jennifer Christie, M.A.

Senior Program Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Senior Program Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Ms. Jennifer Christie is a senior program associate at Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP).  She has extensive expertise in applying evidence-based practices
in criminal justice settings.  She works with probation and parole agencies toward changing a punitive approach to a research-driven, supportive, and behavioral
change approach through collaboration, relationship building, and translating research into pragmatic solutions.  Ms. Christie works to improve criminal justice services nationwide and has provided training and technical assistance to 18 states.  She led the implementation of juvenile justice reform in Kansas, Kentucky, and Iowa and the implementation of adult probation and parole in Utah.  Her work encompasses multiple agencies, where she has been involved in developing, advancing, and implementing policy changes that reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for both juveniles and adults involved in and leaving the justice system.  Ms. Christie earned her master’s degree in criminology from the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

Roberta C. Churchill, LMHC

Senior Criminal Justice Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Senior Criminal Justice Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Ms. Roberta C. Churchill, a senior criminal justice associate with Advocates for Human Potential (AHP), has more than 25 years of experience working with
justice-involved people living with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, trauma, and multiple needs.

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberta-c-churchill-ma-lmhc-capecod143/

Kelly Dennis

Director, Health Promotion and Quality Improvement, Ross County, Ohio, Health District

Bio

Director, Health Promotion and Quality Improvement, Ross County, Ohio, Health District

Mr. Kelly Dennis has worked in public health for more than 15 years.  He joined the Ross County, Ohio, Health District in 2005, serving until 2012, and returning in 2017, serving to date.  Mr. Dennis is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and has a bachelor of science degree in education life sciences.  From 2005 to 2017, Mr. Dennis worked primarily in the environmental health field for several environmental health programs, conducting inspections and enforcements—including food safety, residential water and sewage programs, solid waste, and other environmental health programs for the health district.  Beginning in 2017, Mr. Dennis began working on Ross County’s local community health assessments and health-improvement planning for the health district.  The planning efforts opened opportunities for grant funding for various population health-improvement initiatives.  These initiatives included tobacco cessation and prevention, creation of healthy communities, mobility management, and several opioid- and substance use disorder-focused grants such as the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) grant for improving cross-sector data collection and the BJA Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) grant for the peer recovery support/housing program and the naloxone distribution program.  Currently, Mr. Dennis supervises the health district’s grant programs and staff with hopes of improving health outcomes for all of Ross County’s residents through program development, planning, and implementation.  Mr. Dennis also serves as the Ross County Health District’s accreditation coordinator, ensuring that agency programs, policies, and services meet standards set forth under the Public Health Accreditation Board.

Robert DeVries

Program Coordinator, Mohave Substance Treatment, Education and Prevention Partnership, Arizona

Bio

Program Coordinator, Mohave Substance Treatment, Education and Prevention Partnership, Arizona

Mr. Robert DeVries is the Program Coordinator for the Mohave Substance Treatment, Education and Prevention Partnership in Kingman, Arizona.  Previously, he served as Chief of Police of the Kingman, Arizona, Police Department, retiring in April 2020.

Lori J. Ducharme, Ph.D.

Health Scientist Administrator, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Bio

Health Scientist Administrator, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Dr. Lori Ducharme is a program official at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).  She oversees a portfolio of research and training grants that explore ways to increase the adoption and sustained use of evidence-based treatments, enhance the integration of addiction treatment in general medical settings, improve service access and utilization, and build organizational linkages between the criminal justice and public health systems.  Dr. Ducharme currently serves as the Health Scientist Administrator for NIDA’s Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN), which is a large Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL)-funded initiative designed to address the opioid crisis by improving treatment linkages for individuals in the justice system (www.JCOINctc.org).  Previously, she led the development of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Alcohol Treatment Navigator®, an online resource offering a strategy to help individuals find evidence-based alcohol treatment services (https://alcoholtreatment.niaaa.nih.gov/).

Scott Duff, B.A., Special Agent Supervisor (Retired)

Director, Fairfield County, Ohio, Overdose Response Team (Project FORT)

Bio

Director, Fairfield County, Ohio, Overdose Response Team (Project FORT)

Mr. Scott Duff is a retired special agent supervisor formerly with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.  He was responsible for the Meth Unit and the Cannabis Suppression Unit, as well as for supervision of the Technical Operations Unit and the Southwest Ohio Narcotics Unit.  Mr. Duff also was the Law Enforcement Liaison for the Ohio Attorney General’s Heroin Initiative.  Currently, he is the Director of the Fairfield County Overdose Response Team, a Quick Response Team located in Lancaster, Ohio.   This team connects people suffering from substance use disorders to treatment and recovery in Fairfield County, in addition to providing families with recovery support options.  The team also responds to overdose deaths.

Sarah Duhart Clarke, Ph.D., M.S.

Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Bio

Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Dr. Sarah Duhart Clarke is a public health analyst at RTI International who has worked in behavioral health research for nearly ten years.  Her work focuses on people’s experiences in the justice system, drug use behaviors, and harm-reduction practice.

Steve Durham

Assistant Director, Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Department of Corrections

Bio

Assistant Director, Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Department of Corrections

Mr. Steve Durham, a University of Louisville D. Brandeis School of Law graduate, a graduate of the first class of the American Jail Association’s Jail Executive Development Program, and a 2018 Leadership Louisville Bingham Fellow, has served as the Assistant Director of the Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Department of Corrections since 2015 with a focus on correctional professional development, communication, program sustainability, and legal matters.  Mr. Durham began his justice-involved career representing men and women facing criminal charges, from street crimes to capital murder.  After a decade of law practice, he began representing justice officials in civil rights litigation.  Thereafter, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky chose him to serve as General Counsel for the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KYDOC), where he oversaw the delivery of legal services to corrections officers across 11 Kentucky prisons.  In that role, Mr. Durham represented corrections professionals in significant cases in federal and state courtrooms across Kentucky, addressing conditions of confinement, classification, due process, First Amendment, search and seizure, deliberate indifference, use of force, and applications of immunity.  As appellate counsel for KYDOC, he presented oral arguments to panels of judges in the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the Kentucky Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which resulted in numerous published court opinions.  He was admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court in a case involving the civil rights impact of moving a community custody inmate back to secure detention after an immigration hold was lodged against the inmate.  Mr. Durham has been involved in the National Alliance on Mental Illness Family-to-Family program.

For more information on the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/corrections.

Ben Ekelund

Director of Consulting and Training, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TAS

Bio

Director of Consulting and Training, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TAS

Mr. Ben Ekelund is currently the Director of Consulting and Training with the Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC).  In his current position, he oversees a number of projects educating officials within the criminal justice system on reforms to address the needs of individuals with behavioral health disorders in an effort to reduce recidivism.  Prior to this, he was a project manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, developing resources and training for smaller law enforcement agencies in the areas of leadership, management, and community engagement.  He served as an outreach coordinator for Project Safe Neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois, coordinating services for ex-offenders with the aim of reducing gun violence and recidivism.  He has also worked as a linkage team coordinator for a community mental health center in Chicago, providing linkage case management to dually diagnosed patients being discharged from state psychiatric facilities.  He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Viterbo University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Illinois Chicago.

Erin Etwaroo, LPC

Analyst, Altarum

Bio

Analyst, Altarum

Ms. Erin Etwaroo is a licensed professional counselor with more than 15 years of experience, particularly working with justice-involved individuals.  She has provided technical assistance with Altarum for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP)/Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) grantees, implementing peer recovery support services since 2019.

Michele Farry, B.A.

Regional Health Information Exchange and Drug Addiction Recovery Team Manager, Northampton, Massachusetts, Health Department

Bio

Regional Health Information Exchange and Drug Addiction Recovery Team Manager, Northampton, Massachusetts, Health Department

Ms. Michele Farry holds a bachelor’s degree with a focus on addiction studies, public health, health information technology and entrepreneurship.  She is the Regional Health Information Exchange (HIE) and Drug Addiction Recovery Team (DART) Manager serving Western Massachusetts, addressing the opioid overdose crisis and high-risk substance use impacts.  She has contributed to the rapid expansion and development of DART by organizing community partners in regional cross-sector collaborations, identifying community needs, and implementing key initiatives.  Ms. Farry also is the principal lead on the research, planning, and design for the HIE database.  This database also serves as the case management system of DART, driven in part by the programmatic dashboarding needs of the DART program.  With the opportunity to embrace these new emerging roles in the field of public health, Ms. Farry has excelled in providing care strategies that integrate multidisciplinary approaches of partnering with public safety, recovery coaching, and harm-reduction specialists, among others.  She has a background in program and project development with for-profit business, nonprofits, needs assessment, patient rights, and product development.  During her career, Ms. Farry has spent many years addressing health issues and chronic disease by striving to support people with complex health needs.

Hope Fiori, MPPA

Administrator of Consulting and Training, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Bio

Administrator of Consulting and Training, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Ms. Hope Fiori provides technical assistance and strategy development at the Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) for justice system agencies, with a primary focus on first responder diversion for individuals with behavioral health conditions, including substance use and mental health disorders.

https://www.centerforhealthandjustice.org/chjweb/tertiary_page.aspx?id=110&title=Hope-Fiori

Chantell Frazier, Ph.D.

Deputy Director, Center for Behavioral Health, Altarum

Bio

Deputy Director, Center for Behavioral Health, Altarum

Dr. Chantell Frazier is the Deputy Director of Altarum’s Center for Behavioral Health.  She is a medical sociologist and an expert in women’s health; veterans’ and military health; patient experience; and health equity—particularly access and quality of care for women of color.  In her evaluation work with the Veterans Health Administration, she developed metrics and criteria for measuring the effectiveness of suicide prevention and mental health services, including physicians’ opioid prescribing practices.  Her work has been published in Health Affairs, The Journal of Patient Experience, AIDS and Behavior, and numerous government reports.  Dr. Frazier earned a doctorate degree in sociology from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University.

Melody Freeman

Opioid Project Manager, Shelby County, Tennessee, Division of Community Services

Bio

Opioid Project Manager, Shelby County, Tennessee, Division of Community Services

Ms. Melody Freeman, a Memphis, Tennessee, native, always knew she would be supporting institutions on the front lines of social issues, inequality, and upward mobility among minorities and disadvantaged individuals.  She is a passionate, results-oriented servant with more than ten years of experience challenging systemic social injustice, moving policy into action, and creating cross-sector collaborations that help the most vulnerable.  Ms. Freeman joined the Shelby County, Tennessee, Government in July 2019 to manage an opioid project under the Division of Community Services.  In this role, Ms. Freeman manages organizations that enhance collaboration and strategic decision-making of regulatory entities, law enforcement agencies, and public health officials in the wake of the opioid epidemic in Shelby County.

Sally Friedman, J.D.

Vice President of Legal Advocacy, Legal Action Center (LAC)

Bio

Vice President of Legal Advocacy, Legal Action Center (LAC)

Dr. Sally Friedman is the Legal Action Center (LAC) Project Co-Lead for the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information and the Vice President of Legal Advocacy at LAC, a nonprofit law and policy organization that fights discrimination against people with conviction records, substance use disorders, and HIV/AIDS.

D. Abraham Gardner, CPC

Program Coordinator, Mason County, Washington, Community Services—Public Health

Bio

Program Coordinator, Mason County, Washington, Community Services—Public Health

Mr. D. Abraham Gardner has been working for Mason County, Washington, Community Services—Public Health for four years.  He is currently a program coordinator, spearheading a coordinated effort to improve the behavioral health and recovery support system in Mason County.

Michelle Geiser, Ed.D., LCMHC-A, NBCC, LSC

Program Director, Hope Coalition, Henderson County, North Carolina

Bio

Program Director, Hope Coalition, Henderson County, North Carolina

Dr. Michelle Geiser is a trauma-specialized mental health professional who serves as the Program Director for Hope Coalition.  She is a leader in substance use prevention and treatment within Henderson County, North Carolina, working with children, adolescents, and families to regain their personal power through education, prevention, advocacy, and recovery.  Dr. Geiser maintains an active counseling practice, specializing in trauma, substance use disorders, and anxiety disorders.  Dr. Geiser’s signature role throughout her career has been to focus on the public health goal of reducing substance use within communities.

For more information about Hope Coalition, visit elementsofhope.org.

Kimberly Gentry Sperber, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Health and Human Services Research at Talbert House

Bio

Director, Center for Health and Human Services Research at Talbert House

Dr. Kimberly Gentry Sperber is the Director of the Center for Health and Human Services Research (CHHSR) at Talbert House.  Her work has focused on evidence-based practice implementation for more than 20 years.  She is a principal investigator for the Ohio Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) Project.

CHHSR website link:  https://www.talberthouse.org/social-enterprises/center-for-health-+-human-services-research-3/

Lieutenant Sarko Gergerian, M.S., MHC, CARC

Winthrop, Massachusetts, Police Department

Bio

Winthrop, Massachusetts, Police Department

Lieutenant Sarko Gergerian is a founding member of the Winthrop, Massachusetts, Recovery Model.  He is privileged to be an outreach, peer support, and health and
fitness officer at the Winthrop Police Department, where he has been working for more than ten years.  Lieutenant Gergerian has a bachelor of science degree in philosophy and religion, with a minor in psychology, from Northeastern University.  He earned his master of science degree in mental health counseling and psychological services from Salem State University.  He practices psychotherapy with adults at night.  His education, work, and life experiences have shaped the way he practices policing in his community.

For more information on the Winthrop Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery (CLEAR) Program, visit https://winthropclear.com/.

James Giglio

Senior Project Coordinator, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC), Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Bio

Senior Project Coordinator, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC), Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Mr. James Giglio is a senior project coordinator for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).  His work supports the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC).  Mr. Giglio has more than 40 years of professional experience in the fields of public health and law enforcement at the state and national levels.

Joan Gillece, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Innovation in Health Policy and Practice, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors

Bio

Director, Center for Innovation in Health Policy and Practice, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors

Dr. Joan Gillece has 40-plus years of experience working in the behavioral health field, specializing in systems transformation through the implementation of
trauma-informed responses and the prevention of seclusion and restraint.  As the Director of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors’ (NASMHPD) Center for Innovation in Health Policy and Practice, she oversees contracts and provides training and technical assistance, helping transform systems
across various disciplines, including mental health, substance abuse, adult and juvenile justice, and homeless services through various federal, state, local, and private contracts.  Fortunate to have the opportunity to advance many systems across the country through various contracts, she has overseen partnerships with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Center for Trauma Informed Care; the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime’s services to underserved populations; the Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice; the Washington, DC, and New York Departments of Correction; the California Department of Behavioral Health; the Casey Family Programs; the Baltimore City, Maryland, Health Department; and many more.  She champions the cause of full consumer integration in the development of culturally competent programs.  Dr. Gillece is committed to strength-based support by implementing trauma-informed values with the overreaching theme of healing.  Prior to joining NASMHPD in 2005, Dr. Gillece served as the Director of Special Populations for Maryland’s Mental Hygiene Administration.

Malinda Gowin, MPH

Research Specialist and Data Analyst, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Bio

Research Specialist and Data Analyst, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

Ms. Malinda Gowin is a data analyst in the Office of Behavioral Health Prevention and Federal Grants at the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.  Her work focuses on adequate data collection used for planning and reporting.

Michael Graziano, MPA

Project Director, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Bio

Project Director, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Mr. Michael Graziano serves as the Project Director for the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information at Cicatelli Associates Inc. (CAI). He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College and is certified as a health care improvement advisor by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.  Mr. Graziano has more than 20 years of experience working in health care settings, including in hospital systems, behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment organizations, and city health departments.  Preceding his work at CAI, Mr. Graziano served as vice president of strategic analysis and information management at a nonprofit organization in New York City.  Prior to that, he was assistant director of quality improvement at a hospital system in New York City, where he oversaw implementation of quality and patient safety initiatives and supported regulatory compliance.

A. Elizabeth Griffith, J.D.

Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Bio

Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance

A. Elizabeth Griffith is currently the Acting Deputy Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), overseeing the work of the Policy Office. BJA is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which administers national criminal justice policy and grants, as well as training and technical assistance (TTA) for state, local, and tribal justice systems. Ms. Griffith is also an Associate Deputy Director of the Courts, Communities and Strategic Partnerships team at BJA.  She leads cross-cutting strategic efforts such as hate crime prevention and other violent crime and place-based initiatives; tribal justice; courts and adjudication including drug courts, conviction integrity, wrongful conviction, and enforcing the Sixth Amendment; coordination of TTA; efforts to prevent overdose and increase access to justice and treatment; and integration of research and data into program and policy development.  At BJA, Ms. Griffith has also served as the Acting Deputy Director of Planning and the Associate Deputy Director for Justice Systems, working on the issues of courts, corrections, substance abuse/mental health, and tribal justice.  She started her career at DOJ in the National Institute of Justice as the Director of Development.  Before that, Ms. Griffith worked for more than a decade on criminal justice issues at the local level, serving as the Director of the Mayor’s Office on Criminal Justice for the City of Baltimore, Maryland, where she advised the Mayor and managed criminal justice initiatives and grants, including the development of the Baltimore Drug Court Program and the Comprehensive Communities Program.  She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

Assistant Chief Kevin Hall

Tucson, Arizona, Police Department

Bio

Tucson, Arizona, Police Department

Assistant Chief Kevin Hall is a 29-year member of the Tucson, Arizona, Police Department.  He has held the positions of patrol officer, detective, patrol sergeant,
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) sergeant, investigative sergeant, patrol lieutenant, Field Services Bureau executive officer, patrol captain, and now assistant
chief.  He has worked in various assignments within the department to include Operations Divisions South, Midtown, East, the Gang Unit, Physical Child Abuse Unit,
Internal Affairs, Homicide, and the Home Invasion/Kidnapping Unit.  Assistant Chief Hall developed and implemented a comprehensive pre-arrest deflection program
in 2018 in Tucson for both misdemeanor and felony nonviolent charges associated with substance misuse.  The collaborative program includes peer support specialist
co-responders embedded within the police department, active outreach, self-referral, and harm-reduction practices.  He oversees the mental health, substance misuse,
and homeless outreach teams in the police department.  Assistant Chief Hall has completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, as well as programs with the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police, Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety, and the School of Police Staff and Command.  In addition, he completed the University of Arizona’s Eller Executive Education’s Southwest Leadership Program and the Foundations of Public Sector Leadership Program.  He holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Riverside
and a master’s degree from Arizona State University.

Lisa Hartman

Instructional Designer, JustGrants Training Team, Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Bio

Instructional Designer, JustGrants Training Team, Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Ms. Lisa Hartman has a background in technical writing, training, and instructional design for multiple federal and commercial organizations.  She is currently supporting the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management as an instructional designer.  Her previous experience includes work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Finance Office, U.S. House and Senate offices, a number of state governors’ offices, and multiple federal agencies.  Currently, she is working with the JustGrants team to produce training materials and facilitate training and demonstrations of the JustGrants system.

Carina Havenstrite, B.S.

Program Manager, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney’s Office

Bio

Program Manager, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney’s Office

Ms. Carina Havenstrite currently serves as the Program Manager of the Overdose Fatality Review Team at the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney’s Office. She and her husband also own a working alpaca farm, where they live with their children.

Melissa Heinen, R.N., MPH

Senior Research Associate, Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Bio

Senior Research Associate, Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Ms. Melissa Heinen is a senior research associate for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).  She is responsible for providing overdose fatality review training and technical assistance.  She has more than 20 years of experience working in injury and violence epidemiology and prevention at the local, state, regional, and national levels.

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-heinen-94660929/

Jordana Hemberg, MPH

Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Bio

Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Ms. Jordana Hemberg is a public health analyst at RTI International.  She conducts community-based research examining associations among substance use, criminal legal system involvement, and health care utilization within vulnerable populations.

Adam Henderson

Vice President of Sales, American Prison Data Systems

Bio

Vice President of Sales, American Prison Data Systems

Mr. Adam Henderson joined American Prison Data Systems in July 2018.  His focus is on providing education to correctional facilities across the country.  Mr. Henderson has many years of experience in the education space from both small and large publishers and educational tech companies.  He brings with him a deep knowledge of adult education and pedagogical practices for programmatic success.

Haley Hershey, MPH

Epidemiologist, Metro Public Health Department of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

Bio

Epidemiologist, Metro Public Health Department of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

Ms. Haley Hershey is an epidemiologist for the Overdose Response Program at the Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee.  Her efforts are focused on supporting prevention and treatment strategies in Middle Tennessee, using timely and accurate data analyses.

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/haley-hershey-mph-3b6926b0

MPHD drug overdose information:  https://www.nashville.gov/departments/health/drug-overdose-information

Tom Hill, MSW

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Bio

Senior Policy Advisor, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Mr. Tom Hill is currently serving as a political appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration as Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.  Prior to his appointment, he worked at the National Council for Behavioral Health as both Vice President of Practice Improvement and Senior Advisor on Addiction and Recovery.  Mr. Hill also served as a political appointee in the Obama Administration, both as Acting Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and Senior Advisor at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  He has also held senior positions at Altarum Institute and Faces & Voices of Recovery.

Mr. Hill identifies as a gay man in long-term recovery from addiction.  As a pioneer of the recovery advocacy movement, his commitment to helping individuals, families, and communities get better has been demonstrated through his efforts to advance recovery-oriented systems of care that include a full continuum of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and peer recovery services.  Mr. Hill earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico and his master of social work degree in community organizing from Hunter College at the City University of New York.

Mr. Hill has served on numerous boards of directors, advisory boards, committees, and task forces—both on grassroots and national levels.  He is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship in Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse and the America Honors Recovery 2020 William L. White Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award.

Susan James-Andrews

President and Chief Executive Officer, James-Andrews and Associates

Bio

President and Chief Executive Officer, James-Andrews and Associates

Ms. Susan James-Andrews serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of James-Andrews and Associates, where she has provided training and consulting in all 50 states, 3 territories, the Caribbean, Africa, Cuba, and Canada.  Her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion for marginalized populations has been a major foundation in all her efforts.

Tim Jeffries, MSW

Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Bio

Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Mr. Tim Jeffries serves as a Senior Policy Advisor for Drug Policy at the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), coordinating all BJA drug policy-specific programming.  Mr. Jeffries has provided drug policy services for the last 20 years at the Office of Justice Programs through the Drug Court and Residential Substance Abuse programs and now assists in the delivery of the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) site-based training and technical assistance program.  Mr. Jeffries obtained his bachelor’s degree in psychology and obtained a master’s degree in social work.

Nicole Jenkins

Ohio Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) Project Coordinator, Cordata Healthcare Innovations

Bio

Ohio Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) Project Coordinator, Cordata Healthcare Innovations

Ms. Nicole Jenkins has worked in the criminal justice field for the last decade.  Her work focuses on behavioral health interventions and rehabilitation for justice-involved individuals.  Ms. Jenkins currently works for Cordata Healthcare Innovations as the Ohio Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) Project Coordinator.

Kiersten Johnson, Ph.D., M.S.

Research Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Bio

Research Public Health Analyst, RTI International

Dr. Kiersten Johnson is a behavioral health researcher at RTI International.  Her research focuses on community-based health services, with an emphasis on program evaluation and treatment outcomes among at-risk populations.

Kali Joseph, B.A.

Program Coordinator, Tulalip Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, Washington

Bio

Program Coordinator, Tulalip Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, Washington

Ms. Kali Joseph is currently a graduate student at the University of Washington earning a master’s degree in social work.  She has recently started an internship with Seven Directions, an indigenous public health institute.  Ms. Joseph earned her bachelor’s degree in community health promotion at Portland State University.  She is a member of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington and resides on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, where she serves the community as the Program Coordinator for the Tulalip Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program.

Stephen Keller

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Technical Assistance Coordinator and Research Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Technical Assistance Coordinator and Research Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Mr. Stephen Keller is the Technical Assistance Coordinator for Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Training and Technical Assistance, which includes facilitating virtual trainings and in-person site visits, managing website content, producing training videos, and delivering program resources to grantees.  He also works as a research associate at Advocates for Human Potential’s (AHP) Center for Research and Evaluation and leads a program evaluation of a medication-assisted treatment program in a correctional facility.

Melissa Kelly, LAC

Clinical Director, Treatment Programs and Services, Community Counseling and Correctional Services

Bio

Clinical Director, Treatment Programs and Services, Community Counseling and Correctional Services

Ms. Melissa Kelly is the Clinical Director of Treatment Programs and Services for Community Counseling and Correctional Services, a nonprofit agency based out of Butte, Montana.  Ms. Kelly has held various positions, including case manager, licensed addiction counselor, clinical director, and program administrator, and has also been a private practice clinician.  She has 25 years of experience working in the corrections field and has provided quality services and oversight to justice-involved clients who struggle with methamphetamines.  Ms. Kelly holds a license as an addiction counselor and a certified complex trauma professional.  She currently serves on the Montana Criminal Justice Oversight Council and is a certified auditor of the Correctional Program Checklist, which assesses how closely correctional programs meet known principles of effective intervention and capacities to consistently deliver effective programming.

William Kellibrew IV

Director, Office of Youth Violence Prevention, Baltimore City, Maryland, Health Department

Bio

Director, Office of Youth Violence Prevention, Baltimore City, Maryland, Health Department

Mr. William Kellibrew IV serves as the Director for the Office of Youth Violence Prevention at the Baltimore City, Maryland, Health Department.  Mr. Kellibrew has served more than ten years as a global advocate for human, civil, children, and victims’ rights.  He works closely with top leaders to address trauma, violence, abuse, and neglect across multiple fields including local, state, and federal agencies; Native American reservations and communities; nonprofit organizations; businesses; and community leaders in order to serve individuals, families, and communities.  In 2011, Mr. Kellibrew was recognized by the White House as a “Champion of Change,” and in 2013, he received the Voice Award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for his work across the country as a peer/consumer leader.  In 2014, he accepted the Capitol Probe Award at the District of Columbia Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony; in 2015, he received the U.S. Congressional Victims’ Rights Caucus Eva Murillo Unsung Hero Award; and in 2016, he received the Ruby Campbell-Pulliam Love You More Award from the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.  

Additional biography information:  www.facebook.com/willkelli and www.williamkellibrew.com

Jennifer King, M.A., CFRE

Executive Director, The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Recovery Organization - Achieving Community Together (PRO-ACT)

Bio

Executive Director, The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Recovery Organization - Achieving Community Together (PRO-ACT)

Ms. Jennifer King is the Executive Director of The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, which supports several advocacy and recovery support initiatives, including the Pennsylvania Recovery Organization-Achieving Community Together.   She has a master’s degree in communication from La Salle University in Pennsylvania and serves
as the Board Vice President of the Bucks-Mont Collaborative.

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenking300/

Andrew R. Klein, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Senior Scientist, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Dr. Andrew R. Klein is a senior scientist for criminal justice at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP).  His areas of expertise include substance abuse, criminal justice, domestic violence, court administration, and institutional and community corrections.  For the past decade, Dr. Klein has directed training and technical assistance for prison and jail substance use disorder treatment programs across the nation and U.S. territories.  In this position, he has championed medication-assisted treatment and utilization of Medicaid expansion resources for aftercare.  Before joining AHP, Dr. Klein served as a Massachusetts chief probation officer in an adult and juvenile court, creating the first domestic violence court in the county as well as model restitution programming.  He is the author of Alternative Sentencing, Intermediate Sanctions and Probation,
The Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence
, and Abetting Batterers:  What Police, Prosecutors, and Courts Aren’t Doing to Protect America’s Women.  He obtained a doctorate degree from Northeastern University in law, policy, and society and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Patrick Knue

Director, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC), Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Bio

Director, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC), Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Mr. Patrick Knue was employed with the Texas Department of Public Safety, serving for 28 years in the Narcotics Service as a crime analyst, a crime analyst supervisor, and a program manager; spending 18 years specializing in prescription abuse; and serving 9 years as a program manager of the Texas Prescription Program.  He retired from the Texas Department of Public Safety in January 2012.  Mr. Knue has been working as the Program Coordinator and is now the Director of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC) through a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).  He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983.

Dan Krause, B.S., LAC

Chief Operations Officer, Boyd Andrew Community Services

Bio

Chief Operations Officer, Boyd Andrew Community Services

Mr. Dan Krause has worked in the substance prevention and treatment field for 23 years.  He has served as a clinical supervisor and an administrator overseeing multiple American Society of Addiction Medicine levels of care.  His recent work has focused upon leading an overhaul of service delivery within a correctional treatment center that serves female inmates with stimulant use disorders, co-occurring mental health disorders, and criminal thinking patterns.

Ali Lazarus

Outreach Worker, Social Media Manager, West Oakland, California, Punks With Lunch

Bio

Outreach Worker, Social Media Manager, West Oakland, California, Punks With Lunch

Ms. Ali Lazarus is a community-based, harm-reductionist public health worker who focuses on syringe access and operates from a disability and racial justice framework. Ms. Lazarus is a volunteer for West Oakland, California, Punks With Lunch, where she assists program participants directly and manages social media channels.  In addition, she serves as the Syringe Access Services Coordinator on GLIDE Foundation’s Harm Reduction team.

For more information on the West Oakland Punks With Lunch program, visit https://www.punkswithlunch.org/.

Joe Liberto, M.D.

National Mental Health Director for Substance Use Disorders, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Bio

National Mental Health Director for Substance Use Disorders, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Dr. Joe Liberto is the National Mental Health Director for Substance Use Disorders in the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  His past roles include several leadership positions in the areas of mental health, substance use disorders, and education.  In addition, Dr. Liberto has been an active participant in National Institute on Drug Abuse/VA cooperative studies examining pharmacologic interventions for opioid and cocaine addiction and has worked as a co-principal investigator to identify barriers and facilitators of sublingual buprenorphine treatment within VA.  He is also a past president of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and was a previous member of the American Medical Association Opioid Task Force.

Sharon Lincoln

Community Opportunity, Network, Navigation, Exploration, and Connection Team (CONNECT) Operations Coordinator, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Bio

Community Opportunity, Network, Navigation, Exploration, and Connection Team (CONNECT) Operations Coordinator, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Coming soon!

Tiffany Lombardo, M.A., LISW-S, LICDC-CS

Associate Executive Director, Addiction Services, Butler County, Ohio, Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board

Bio

Associate Executive Director, Addiction Services, Butler County, Ohio, Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board

Ms. Tiffany Lombardo currently serves as the Associate Executive Director of Addiction Services for the Butler County, Ohio, Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board.  She is a licensed independent social worker-supervisor and a licensed independent chemical dependency counselor-clinical supervisor in the state of Ohio and has worked in the field of behavioral health for more than 15 years.  Ms. Lombardo received a master’s degree in social service administration from the University of Chicago and is passionate about working with the most vulnerable populations, focusing on developing partnerships and collaborations to improve behavioral health systems. 
Ms. Lombardo currently serves as President for the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Anita Lossiah, J.D.

Policy Analyst/Police Commissioner, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Bio

Policy Analyst/Police Commissioner, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Ms. Anita Lossiah is a policy analyst within the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Executive Office, a Cherokee police commissioner, and a former tribal council representative.  She brings 17 years of experience within the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribal government.  Her work focuses on policy development, strategy,
and implementation within the top governmental priorities.

LoVina Louie

Associate, National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) of Fox Valley Technical College

Bio

Associate, National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) of Fox Valley Technical College

Ms. LoVina Louie is schitsu'umsh (Coeur d’ Alene Tribe), nselxcin, sny7xast (Okanogan/Lakes Colville Tribe), nimipu (Nez Perce).  She is a descendant of
Chief Morris Antelope of the schitsu'umsh and Chief Manuel Louie of the Inkaneep Band in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada.  She is a graduate of the
University of Idaho, where she received her bachelor’s degree in organizational sciences with an emphasis in community and tribal wellness.  She was
recently featured on Lifetime Movie Network’s “50 Women in 50 States” and was a speaker at the TEDx Coeur d’Alene event.  Ms. Louie is a board member
for the Native Wellness Institute and a national trainer and facilitator in youth leadership development, strategic planning, family constellations, community
healing, and wellness planning.  She also has certifications from the Healthy Native Communities Fellowship and the Na’ah Illahee Fellowship.  She has worked
with youth and adults in wellness and healing for more than 20 years throughout North America.  Ms. Louie is the visionary behind the newly developed and
revolutionary exercise series “Powwow Sweat” and co-directed the American Indian Film Festival’s and Red Nation Film Festival’s award-winning music video
“We Shall Remain.”  As a former Miss Indian World, she traveled to hundreds of tribal communities; this experience expanded her world view and her desire to
help all indigenous people.  Ms. Louie is a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and an amazing human being.  Her passion and zest for
life is infectious.

Josh Love, MPH

Epidemiologist, Metro Public Health Department of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

Bio

Epidemiologist, Metro Public Health Department of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

Mr. Josh Love is an epidemiologist for the Metro Public Health Department Overdose Opioid/Overdose Response and Reduction Program of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Butler University and a master of public health degree from Indiana University.  Mr. Love’s primary interests include advancing the intersection between public safety and public health to mitigate the drug overdose epidemic and identifying and integrating data systems for the rapid identification of and response to acute overdose events occurring in the community.

Marco Macaluso, M.A., LPC

Program Manager and Behavioral Health Consultant, Pueblo County, Colorado, Sheriff’s Office and The Steadman Group

Bio

Program Manager and Behavioral Health Consultant, Pueblo County, Colorado, Sheriff’s Office and The Steadman Group

Mr. Marco Macaluso is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado.  Throughout his career, he has worked in psychiatric facilities and outpatient treatment centers.  
For the past ten years, Mr. Macaluso has been focused on behavioral health program development within county jails and criminal justice settings, specializing in the implementation of medication for opioid use disorder/medication-assisted treatment induction programs in jails and the reintegration of the incarcerated population.

Kristen Mahoney, J.D.

Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance

Bio

Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance

Ms. Kristen Mahoney serves as the Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Office of Justice Programs.  She has comprehensive and practical experience creating criminal justice policies, programming, and technical assistance that aid state, local, and tribal communities.  In 2016, Ms. Mahoney was recognized for her work developing the Violence Reduction Network (now the National Public Safety Partnership) and was awarded the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive by President Barack Obama.

From 2006 to 2012, Ms. Mahoney served as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention for the State of Maryland.  She came to state government after serving as the Chief of Technical Services for the Baltimore, Maryland, Police Department and the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice for the City of Baltimore.  Ms. Mahoney received her bachelor of arts degree from Sweet Briar College and her juris doctorate from the University of Baltimore.

Karen Maline

Project Manager, International Association of Chiefs of Police

Bio

Project Manager, International Association of Chiefs of Police

Ms. Karen Maline is a project manager with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).  She manages IACP’s First Responder Partnerships Training and Technical Assistance Initiative and works with the Center for Health and Justice at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities to provide training and resources on
first responder diversion.

Kevin Mariano

Project Coordinator, National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) of Fox Valley Technical College

Bio

Project Coordinator, National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) of Fox Valley Technical College

Mr. Kevin Mariano was the Chief of Police with the Pueblo of Isleta Department for more than 7½ years.  He has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience, capitalizing on supervisory experience, operational management, staff development, administrative and finance management, motivational leadership, and decision making.  He served as the liaison between the Pueblo of Isleta and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and surrounding law enforcement agencies to build relationships related to community safety.  He has been working closely with diverse teams to successfully receive federal grant funding, implement memorandum of understanding agreements, develop policies and procedures, and implement and manage the Sex Offender Registry Program.  Mr. Mariano has numerous credentials, certifications, and licenses as a result of continued education, including Fox Valley Technical College’s Chief of Police Executive Officer Training.  He has been an associate with the National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College for more than ten years and joined the team as a full-time project coordinator, providing instruction and hands-on training services for tribal police departments implementing components of tribal-oriented policing strategies.  He is a graduate of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, the New Mexico Corrections Department Academy, and the BIA Executive Leadership School.

Anita Marton, J.D.

Senior Vice President/Deputy Director, Legal Action Center (LAC)

Bio

Senior Vice President/Deputy Director, Legal Action Center (LAC)

Dr. Anita Marton is the Legal Action Center (LAC) Project Co-Lead for the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information and the Senior Vice President/Deputy Director at LAC, a nonprofit law and policy organization that fights discrimination against people with conviction records, substance use disorders, and HIV/AIDS.

Gregory Mason, M.A., MBA, LPC/SC, LAC

Division Director, Addiction Recovery Services, South Carolina Department of Corrections

Bio

Division Director, Addiction Recovery Services, South Carolina Department of Corrections

Mr. Greg Mason is the Division Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections’ Division of Addiction Recovery Services.  He also is a traditional guardsman with the South Carolina Air National Guard and an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran.

Additional biography information:  https://linkedin.com/in/greg-mason-ma-mba-b512b5109

Reverend Michelle Mathis

Executive Director/Cofounder, Olive Branch Ministry

Bio

Executive Director/Cofounder, Olive Branch Ministry

Reverend Michelle Mathis is the Executive Director and cofounder of the Olive Branch Ministry, a faith-based harm reduction agency serving ten counties in the North Carolina Foothills/Piedmont area.  She is the director of a tri-county overdose response team, as well as the director of Points of Hope, a justice-centered education and syringe access program.  Reverend Mathis is Board President for the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition and serves in the National Faith in Harm Reduction Movement.  She believes that honoring an individual’s journey, with compassion and love, is the key to a successful connection.  While her faith is the motivation behind her work, extending hope and extending life is her mission.

Pamela A. Mautte, M.S., NCHES, CPS

Director, BHcare, Alliance for Prevention and Wellness

Bio

Director, BHcare, Alliance for Prevention and Wellness

Ms. Pamela A. Mautte, a certified prevention specialist, is the Director of BHcare, Alliance for Prevention and Wellness.  Ms. Mautte has more than 20 years of experience in health, wellness, and prevention.  Her dedication to the field of substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion prompted her to develop, obtain funding for, and implement specialized programs to reduce the risk of substance abuse and promote good mental health among various populations.  In addition to developing programs, she builds and leads coalitions and task forces that address critical behavioral health issues.  She also develops policies, implements organizational and community change models, and engages in legislative advocacy for critical prevention issues.  Ms. Mautte has extensive education and training in several evidence-based curricula, has been featured in national drug educational videos, and has assisted in developing curriculum modules.  Ms. Mautte has presented prevention/information/training sessions to professionals across the nation.  She is respected for her expertise in the field and is an adjunct professor.

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/pub/pam-mautte/2/baa/a77

Taylor McAndrew

Incoming Community Opportunity, Network, Navigation, Exploration, and Connection Team (CONNECT) Project Manager, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Bio

Incoming Community Opportunity, Network, Navigation, Exploration, and Connection Team (CONNECT) Project Manager, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Coming soon!

Sheila E. McCarthy, LMSW

Senior Program Manager, Center for Court Innovation

Bio

Senior Program Manager, Center for Court Innovation

Ms. Sheila E. McCarthy is a senior program manager for the Technical Assistance Department at the Center for Court Innovation.  In her position, she provides a wide range of on-site and remote expert assistance on implementation and enhancement of specialty court programs as well as teleservices initiatives across the country.  Prior to joining the Technical Assistance team, Ms. McCarthy worked for the New York State Unified Court System for more than a decade in several capacities within family court.  Her last position before joining the center was providing training and technical assistance on a statewide initiative aimed at improving the child welfare, family court, and chemical dependency systems.  In addition to her macro-level work, Ms. McCarthy has experience directly serving clients, ranging from victims of sexual assault and domestic violence to criminal justice-involved individuals with co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorders.  She holds a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Boston College and a master of social work degree from Columbia University School of Social Work.

Jonathan McGrath, Ph.D.

Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice

Bio

Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice

Dr. Jonathan McGrath serves as a senior policy analyst with the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, in Washington, DC.  He led the department’s needs assessment of forensic laboratories and medical examiners’/coroners’ offices and manages the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence program.  Dr. McGrath collaborates with the Bureau of Justice Assistance on forensic science aspects of the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) and other forensic science programs.  He also collaborates with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on projects that support the medical examiner/coroner communities, including establishment of the Federal Interagency Medicolegal Death Investigation Working Group.  Prior to joining NIJ in 2015, he served as a forensic scientist and a program manager at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Laboratories and Scientific Services in Houston, Texas, and Washington, DC, where he supported trade, forensic, and weapons of mass destruction operations programs.

Chip McHugh, CARC

Peer Recovery Coach, Winthrop, Massachusetts, Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery Program

Bio

Peer Recovery Coach, Winthrop, Massachusetts, Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery Program

Mr. Chip McHugh is a person in long-term recovery from drugs and alcohol and is a Certified Addiction Recovery Coach through the state of Massachusetts.  He is currently working as a peer recovery coach with the Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery Program town in Winthrop, Massachusetts.

Additional biography information:  https://winthropclear.com/our-team/

Debra L. McLaughlin

Coordinator, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Bio

Coordinator, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Ms. Debra L. McLaughlin has more than 25 years of experience in the social policy field specializing in public-private partnership models and practices to effect social change in the areas of substance misuse, community development, after-school, early childhood education, and youth development.  She has expertise in sustainability and strategic planning, project management, grant writing, meeting facilitation, and marketing.  Since February 2017, she has served as the Coordinator for the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region.  Led by the Franklin County Register of Probate, the Franklin County Sheriff, and the Northwestern District Attorney, the Opioid Task Force—through its Executive Council and five active working committees—addresses housing, workforce development, health, public safety, education, prevention, treatment, and recovery issues.  Ms. McLaughlin has held previous executive or senior management positions with Building Bright Futures, the Center for Arts at the Armory, the Massachusetts Special Commission on After School and Out of School Time, Boston’s After-School for All Partnership, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health & Human Services, and the Franklin County Commission (now the Franklin Regional Council of Governments).  A native of Southeastern Ohio,
Ms. McLaughlin graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in organizational communications from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

For more information about the Opioid Task Force, visit www.opioidtaskforce.org.  
For more information about Ms. McLaughlin, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/debramclaughlin/.

Niki Miller, M.S., CPS

Senior Research Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Senior Research Associate, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Ms. Niki Miller is a senior research associate at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP) with more than 30 years of experience working with communities and systems to improve the lives of individuals with addictive disorders and multiple vulnerabilities.  Before joining AHP, she was an administrator of women offenders, part of the executive team for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, overseeing policies and programs statewide.  She was also founding executive director of the New Hampshire Task Force on Women & Recovery, a nationally recognized advocacy organization dedicated to the service needs of women and girls with addiction, trauma, or domestic violence and justice system involvement.  At AHP, she served as lead writer and content expert for Decisions in Recovery:  Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, a Web-based, shared decision-making tool on medication-assisted treatment, as part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy.  She currently supports the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) grantees as a subject-matter expert, providing research and consultation.  She collects and analyzes data on grantee needs, best practices, and innovative programs.  She has contributed to publications for the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, the American Correctional Association, and SAMHSA’s Recovery to Practice Initiative and has developed training and program evaluation tools for the U.S. Department of Justice, SAMHSA’s Pregnant and Postpartum Women program, and the Homeless Resource Center.

Danielle Mimitz, M.Ed., LMHC

Mental Health Clinical Supervisor, Opioid Treatment Program Director, Hampden County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Department

Bio

Mental Health Clinical Supervisor, Opioid Treatment Program Director, Hampden County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Department

Ms. Danielle Mimitz currently serves in the roles of Mental Health Clinical Supervisor for the Hampden County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Department and Program Director for the CODAC Opioid Treatment Program (operating in the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department in collaboration with CODAC Behavioral Healthcare).  She began with the department in 2014, when she interned with the Mental Health Department.  Not long afterwards, she moved into the role of mental health counselor.  Ms. Mimitz continued to progress, becoming a mental health clinician and ultimately the Mental Health Clinical Supervisor in 2020.  In the meantime, as the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department began to operate an in-house opioid treatment program (OTP) in September 2019, Ms. Mimitz eagerly jumped aboard.  Using her vast experience with patients who suffer from co-occurring and substance use disorders, she took on the role of OTP Program Director.  Ms. Mimitz holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Springfield College (Massachusetts) and is a licensed mental health counselor.

Kathy Mitchell, M.Ed.

Program Manager, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Bio

Program Manager, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Ms. Kathy Mitchell is a Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention within the Office of Justice Programs.  
Her work supports states and communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs to improve the juvenile justice system so that it protects public safety and provides treatment and rehabilitative services tailored to the needs of juveniles and their families.  Through her extensive grant portfolio, she has worked on universal recidivism reduction principles and successful prevention and implementation strategies that have created alternative pathways for youth and effective and equitable juvenile justice systems.  Ms. Mitchell received her certification in Federal Grants Management in 2013 and holds a bachelor's degree in communication studies and a master’s degree in education and instructional technology from the University of Maryland Global Campus, with a focus on international application for student learning and assessment.

Mercedes Mondragón, MPAff

Director of Policy, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Bio

Director of Policy, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Ms. Mercedes Mondragón is the Director of Policy for Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) and its Center for Health and Justice (CHJ).  Prior to joining TASC, she served as a policy advisor under Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

Additional biography information: https://www.tasc.org/tascweb/tertiary_page.aspx?id=11&title=Mercedes-Mondragon

Siobhan Morse

Director of Clinical Services, Universal Health Services

Bio

Director of Clinical Services, Universal Health Services

Ms. Siobhan Morse, Director of Clinical Services at Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS), spearheads substance use disorder research, clinical operations, and product development for UHS.  She regularly presents and publishes original research and was awarded a 2020 National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month
Presidential Proclamation.

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/siobhanmorse/

Anjali Nandi, Ph.D., LAC, MAC

Instructor, National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College; Chief Probation Officer, 20th Judicial District, State of Colorado

Bio

Instructor, National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College; Chief Probation Officer, 20th Judicial District, State of Colorado

Dr. Anjali Nandi is an instructor with the National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College.  She is also the Chief Probation Officer for the
20th Judicial District for the state of Colorado.  Dr. Nandi has designed and delivered a variety of training seminars in the fields of behavior change, addictions, and corrections to state and local agencies throughout the country on topics as varied as implicit bias; implementation science; restorative practices; program evaluation; organizational development; skills for effective supervision; evidence-based practice; evidence-based sentencing for judges; impaired driving research; adult and juvenile assessment; group facilitation skills; curriculum building; vicarious trauma and staff wellness; cognitive skill-building; and basic and advanced motivational interviewing.
She has presented at numerous regional and national conferences around the country and aids agencies in developing implementation teams and moving towards becoming learning organizations.  In addition, Dr. Nandi is a published author, having co-authored nine books.

Lori Nesbitt

Opioid Program Manager, Yurok Tribe, California

Bio

Opioid Program Manager, Yurok Tribe, California

Ms. Lori Nesbitt is currently the Opioid Program Manager for the Yurok Tribe in Klamath, California.  Ms. Nesbitt is passionate about restorative justice, cultural healing, traditional dance, and keeping her people alive.  She is a member of the Yurok tribal community.  Ms. Nesbitt has spent nearly 11 years as a substance abuse counselor and promotes positive changes in many people’s lives, helping families in the reunification process.  Prior to joining the Yurok Tribal Court staff department, she worked for several years in a wide range of occupations, including retail and transportation for the school system, and at one time, she was self-employed as a commercial beekeeper. Ms. Nesbitt is currently responsible for the management of employees and the coordination of referrals and services.  As a proactive team leader ensuring that the wellness needs of children and families are met, Ms. Nesbitt understands the importance of leadership and empathy, and she is passionate about creating awareness of the value of cultural competence to effectively assist diverse populations.  She successfully serves her community by coaching her staff and planning, promoting, and participating in family wellness gatherings and multidisciplinary meetings.  Through Ms. Nesbitt’s experienced guidance, she is leading her team to identify the needs of tribal children affected by the opiate crisis, helping them overcome the trauma and the waterfall of challenges cast upon them.

Passionate about tribal wellness and diverse possibilities, Ms. Nesbitt now leads her team to help tribal families live in their clean environment, desire cultural foods, and sustain family values.  She shares with her team and families the importance of self-care, as she loves the outdoors and fishing for anything.

Commander Patrick Neubert, MSPH, MSW

Coordinator, Opioid Rapid Response Program (ORRP), Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Bio

Coordinator, Opioid Rapid Response Program (ORRP), Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Commander Patrick Neubert, U.S. Public Health Service, serves as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Coordinator for the Opioid Rapid Response Program.  At HHS-OIG, he serves as an advisor to further priorities relating to controlled substance prescribing and
treatment services, ensuring the availability of quality services.  Commander Neubert earned his master of science in public health degree in health services research
from Emory University and his master of social work degree from Case Western Reserve University.  Before arriving at HHS-OIG, he worked for ten years at the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he focused on investigating Medicare fraud through data analytics.

Mallory O’Brien, Ph.D., M.S.

Consultant, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Bio

Consultant, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Mallory O’Brien is trained as an epidemiologist and is currently serving as a consultant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the overdose fatality review (OFR) subject-matter expert and as a senior research advisor to the U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice.  She has extensive experience developing, leading, and training on incident reviews.  Dr. O’Brien developed and piloted the Wisconsin OFR process and data collection tool.  During her time with the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), she led the OFR efforts.  Dr. O’Brien is an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. 

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallory-o-brien-26701a10/

Officer Jason Olson

Dayton, Ohio, Police Department

Bio

Dayton, Ohio, Police Department

Since 2016, Officer Jason Olson has led Dayton, Ohio’s Get Recovery Options Working (GROW) team, conducting follow-up with those experiencing overdose and connecting them to treatment and other resources.  He is a certified mental health first aid instructor and serves on the Dayton Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team.

Jessica Pete

St. Louis County, Minnesota

Bio

St. Louis County, Minnesota

Coming soon!

Erin Pfeltz

Supervisory Grants Management Specialist, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Bio

Supervisory Grants Management Specialist, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Coming soon!

Stacy Phillips, DSW, MSSW

Victim Justice Program Manager, Office for Victims of Crime

Bio

Victim Justice Program Manager, Office for Victims of Crime

Dr. Stacy Phillips is the Victim Justice Program Manager with the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).  Dr. Phillips works on the Discretionary Team and the Human Trafficking Team, where she assists OVC in developing, implementing, and monitoring victimization-related efforts and programs.  
Dr. Phillips has more than 20 years of experience in the victim services field and is a children and youth expert within OVC focusing on trauma, polyvictimization, and brain science.  She represents OVC on the DOJ Prison Rape Elimination Act Working Group and the Federal Interagency Workgroup on Child Abuse and Neglect.  She also addresses crime victims’ rights enforcement and legal wraparound networks, law enforcement-based direct services, and post-conviction initiatives.  In addition, Dr. Phillips has spearheaded demonstration initiatives on polyvictimization and reducing child fatalities and recurring serious child injuries, and she leads the opioid/drug addiction crisis initiative.  She is a social innovation strategist working on developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and systemic issues.

Before joining OVC, Dr. Phillips spent 15 years working in child welfare.  As the Grant Coordinator and Planning Specialist at the Washington, DC, Child and Family
Services Agency (CFSA), she coauthored several successful federal grant applications on child abuse prevention and started the Washington, DC, Parent Advisory Council.  
Dr. Phillips also assisted in developing the districtwide Children’s Justice Act Task Force, served on the district’s Human Trafficking Task Force, and worked on child and family protective services issues, including grants and program management, needs assessment, resource development, and policy development.  Prior to her role with CFSA, she served as a Child Protective Services investigations supervisor conducting adoption, foster care, and kinship licensing studies at the Travis County, Texas, Domestic Relations Office and the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services; and she began her career as a Child Protective Services investigator at the Department of Children and Families in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Dr. Phillips holds a doctorate of social work from the University of Southern California with a focus on smart decarceration specifically with youth; a master of arts degree in clinical psychology from Southern Connecticut State University; and a master of social work degree from The Catholic University of America.  She is a sought-out speaker at many national conferences and has advised research teams in their development of nationwide toolkits.

Paige Presler-Jur, M.S.

Research Public Policy Analyst, RTI International

Bio

Research Public Policy Analyst, RTI International

Ms. Paige Presler-Jur is a research public policy analyst at RTI International.  She works to address challenges that communities encounter in criminal justice and public health contexts, including effective responses to illicit substance use and misuse.

Additional biography information:  https://www.rti.org/expert/paige-presler-jur

Alison Proctor

Community Opportunity, Network, Navigation, Exploration, and Connection Team (CONNECT) Interim Project Manager, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Bio

Community Opportunity, Network, Navigation, Exploration, and Connection Team (CONNECT) Interim Project Manager, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County, Massachusetts, and North Quabbin Region

Coming soon!

Alexandra Punch, MPA

Associate Director, Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at Syracuse University

Bio

Associate Director, Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at Syracuse University

Ms. Alexandra Punch is the Associate Director of the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at Syracuse University with ten years of experience in the field of public health.  She earned a master’s degree in public administration from Northeastern University in 2012 and is currently pursuing her doctorate in law and public policy at Northeastern University.  Her research interests are at the intersection of drug user health and public policy.  She has dedicated her career to improving health outcomes for vulnerable populations, including her work as the director of drug user health for an HIV/AIDS nonprofit organization and as an epidemiologist for a local health department.  Ms. Punch is the chair of the Subcommittee on Harm Reduction for the Onondaga County Drug Task Force and sits on the advising board for Central
New York’s State Opioid Response Grant.

Michelle Putnam, MPH

Team Lead, Office of Policy, Planning, and Partnerships, Division of Overdose Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Bio

Team Lead, Office of Policy, Planning, and Partnerships, Division of Overdose Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ms. Michelle Putnam has been with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Division of Overdose Prevention since January 2017 and has served as Team Lead for the Division’s Office of Policy, Planning, and Partnerships since 2018.  Prior to joining NCIPC, she worked as a communications contractor with CDC’s Office of the Associate Director for Policy and Strategy.  She has also held policy positions at Georgia-based nonprofits, including Hemophilia of Georgia and Health Students Taking Action Together, Inc. (HealthSTAT), which she counts as very valuable boots-on-the-ground experience.  Ms. Putnam earned her master of public health degree at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and her bachelor of arts degree at Georgia State University.

Pam Rainer, MSW

Senior Program Manager, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Senior Program Manager, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Ms. Pam Rainer is a senior program manager at Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP).  She has extensive experience managing federally funded projects in the areas of criminal justice, medication-assisted treatment, behavioral and community mental health, homelessness, recovery, trauma, and trauma-informed approaches.  She is currently the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), which includes developing comprehensive training and technical assistance strategies to respond to the substance use epidemic in jail-based treatment settings and community corrections.  Before joining AHP, she served as regional president and board member of a statewide housing group and chaired several committees at the local planning level.  She was formerly the mental health services director for a large human services organization in upstate New York, where she developed model programs, policies, and procedures. Ms. Rainer received her master of social work degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

Annette Redding, CBHPSS

Director of Peer Support, Rimrock Foundation

Bio

Director of Peer Support, Rimrock Foundation

Ms. Annette Redding has been a Certified Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialist (CBHPSS) with Rimrock since 2018 and took over supervision of Rimrock’s peer support program in July 2020.  Ms. Redding graduated from Felony Drug Court in 2016 and immediately began advocating within the recovery community.  As the supervisor of Peer Support Services, she leads 14 CBHPSSs in integration of all Rimrock programs, including detox, inpatient, and outpatient services; treatment courts; and Programs of Assertive Community Treatment (PACT).  She has also led the implementation of peer support into the Billings, Montana, community through the Detention Center, the Psychiatric Center, the Department of Family Services, and local sober-living programs.  Ms. Redding continues her advocacy as a member of the Board of Gratitude in Action, a local nonprofit supporting the recovery community.  She is currently working on her bachelor’s degree in psychiatric rehabilitation at Montana State University in Billings.

John Robertson, B.S.

Chief Technology Officer, OmniCore USA

Bio

Chief Technology Officer, OmniCore USA

Mr. John Robertson is the Chief Technology Officer of OmniCore USA and provides innovative thought leadership in the areas of enterprise architecture, business intelligence, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain solutions.

Sam Robertson, MPH

Community Drug Overdose Prevention Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Health

Bio

Community Drug Overdose Prevention Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Health

Mr. Sam Robertson is a community drug overdose prevention coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Section and graduated from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities with a Master of Public Health last July.  Prior to joining public service, he coordinated infectious disease and overdose prevention programming at a local non-profit in Minneapolis serving Minnesotans who use drugs.  Mr. Robertson’s professional and academic interests focus on improving and protecting the health of communities impacted by drug overdoses and other health disparities that stem from stigma and discrimination.

Jeri Ropero-Miller, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Center for Forensic Sciences of the Applied Justice Research Division, RTI International

Bio

Senior Director, Center for Forensic Sciences of the Applied Justice Research Division, RTI International

Dr. Jeri Ropero-Miller is the Senior Director within the Center for Forensic Sciences of the Applied Justice Research Division, RTI International.  Prior to this, she was the Deputy Chief Toxicologist for the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.  She is certified as a Fellow Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology.  She has served as the principal investigator and published nationally and internationally on the topics of postmortem drug studies, emerging drug threats, hair drug studies, overdose fatalities, drug surveillance and intelligence, training and technical assistance, workforce development, and technology evaluation and adoption.  Dr. Ropero-Miller is the current Project Director of the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.  She is the immediate past president (2021–2022) of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a member of the Forensic Science Standards Board of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science.

Rebecca M. Rose

Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Bio

Senior Policy Advisor, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Coming soon!

Jon Ross, Ph.D.

Director of Research and Evaluation, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Bio

Director of Research and Evaluation, Center for Health and Justice (CHJ) at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

Dr. Jon Ross leads internal and external projects that collectively advance knowledge regarding evidence-based practices at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities’ (TASC) Center for Health and Justice (CHJ).  This includes CHJ’s research and evaluation portfolio and its federal work with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)/
the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)/the RAND Corporation.

Additional biography information: https://www.centerforhealthandjustice.org/chjweb/tertiary_page.aspx?id=127&title=Jon-Ross

Kathy Rowings, J.D.

Senior Research Associate, Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Bio

Senior Research Associate, Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Ms. Kathy Rowings is a senior research associate at the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).  She helps rural and urban communities across the country address the substance use crisis under Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) demonstration projects.

Additional biography information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-rowings-8b028462/ 

Stephanie K. Rubel, MPH

Health Scientist and Coordinator, Opioid Rapid Response Program (ORRP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Bio

Health Scientist and Coordinator, Opioid Rapid Response Program (ORRP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ms. Stephanie Rubel is a health scientist within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Overdose Prevention, where she works on the Public Health and Public Safety Team, supporting coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement and other first responders, criminal justice entities, and public health officials to reduce overdose deaths and associated harms.  Ms. Rubel received her master of public health degree in behavioral science and health education from Emory University and has 20 years of public health program and evaluation management experience.  She specializes in multisector coordination and serves as CDC’s coordinator for the Opioid Rapid Response Program, a federal interagency program designed to help states mitigate overdose risk among patients impacted by disruptions in care due to legal or regulatory actions against a prescriber.

Syncia Sabain, Ed.D, M.S.

Chief of Treatment and Community Services, District of Columbia Department of Corrections

Bio

Chief of Treatment and Community Services, District of Columbia Department of Corrections

Dr. Syncia Sabain is a seasoned, accomplished senior leader in the healthcare and workforce development industry.  With almost two decades in behavioral health research, trauma-informed care, clinical psychology, program evaluation, and development of workforce training programs to transform the health and human service arena, Dr. Sabain leverages her data analytic experience to make informed decisions about an organization’s success and how to create realistic programs with sustainable outcomes.  As a researcher, she has expertise in conducting mental health assessments, quality assurance, and developing guidelines and databases to report outcomes.  Dr. Sabain utilizes her background in informatics to create innovative substance use treatment programs at the District of Columbia Department of Corrections.  In her role as Chief of Treatment and Community Services, she oversees the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) program.

Lieutenant Stacie Schaner

Tucson, Arizona, Police Department

Bio

Tucson, Arizona, Police Department

Lieutenant Stacie Schaner has been with the Tucson, Arizona, Police Department since 2004.  Currently, she serves as the Patrol Services Bureau Executive Officer and has command over the Mental Health Support Team, the Substance Use Resource Team, and the Homeless Outreach Team.

Stephanie Schmidt, M.A.

Corrections Counselor and Medication-Assisted Treatment Navigator, St. Louis County, Minnesota, Corrections

Bio

Corrections Counselor and Medication-Assisted Treatment Navigator, St. Louis County, Minnesota, Corrections

Ms. Stephanie Schmidt was raised on a farmstead in Davenport, North Dakota.  Having spent her childhood familiarizing herself with hard labor and overcoming obstacles, she developed a passion to empower others.  As a community advocate, she has vested herself in serving the needs of justice-involved individuals.  Ms. Schmidt has more than ten years of experience working in the human service field, including public safety, homeless outreach, crisis intervention, and justice-involved advocacy.  Throughout her efforts to make a difference, she has participated in various community outreach programs associated with homeless response systems, providing a continuum of care for individuals with severe mental illness, and substance abuse prevention.  As a visionary in the human service field, Ms. Schmidt has aided in the development of the Behavioral Health Unit, known as the River Project, at Clay County, Minnesota, Correctional Facility.  To better serve those in her community, she strives to improve herself through education and training.  In 2013, Ms. Schmidt completed an associate degree in criminal justice at Minnesota State Community and Technical College and the Law Enforcement Skills program through Alexandria Technical & Community College.  In 2017, she completed a bachelor’s degree in social work at Minnesota State University, and in 2021, she earned a master’s degree in human services and forensic behavioral health through Concordia University.  For the past year, Ms. Schmidt has had the honor to assist in the development of the Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program at St. Louis County, Minnesota, Corrections.  As a MAT Navigator, she has been able to utilize her skills and promote public safety by streamlining access to recovery services for justice-involved individuals.

Coralee Schmitz, MBA

Chief Operations Officer, Rimrock Foundation

Bio

Chief Operations Officer, Rimrock Foundation

Ms. Coralee Schmitz has been with Rimrock in many roles since 2001 and has served in her current role as Chief Operations Officer since 2012.  She holds master’s degrees in psychology and business administration and is licensed by the state of Montana as an addiction counselor.  She also holds accreditation from NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, as a master’s-level addiction counselor.  Ms. Schmitz is certified by the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities as a surveyor.  She is responsible for managing the general operations at Rimrock, to include a full continuum of substance use disorder and mental health services.

Levin Schwartz, LICSW

Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Clinical and Reentry Services, Franklin County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Office

Bio

Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Clinical and Reentry Services, Franklin County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Office

Mr. Levin Schwartz is the Assistant Deputy Superintendent and an implementation specialist for clinical and reentry services at the Franklin County, Massachusetts,
Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), which includes the FCSO’s Opioid Treatment Program.

www.levinschwartz.com

Jacqueline Seitz, J.D.

Health Privacy Lead, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Bio

Health Privacy Lead, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Ms. Jacqueline Seitz is the Health Privacy Lead for the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information and the Senior Staff Attorney for Health Privacy at the Legal Action Center (LAC), where she provides legal counsel and technical assistance on various health privacy laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 2.  She also conducts trainings on federal and state health privacy laws to providers, government agencies, and individuals.  Prior to joining the LAC, Ms. Seitz was an Excelsior Fellow at the New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs.  She graduated with distinction from the University of California at Berkeley and received her juris doctor degree from New York University School of Law, where she was a Dean’s Scholar.

June Sivilli

Senior Advisor, Office of Public Health, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Bio

Senior Advisor, Office of Public Health, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Coming soon!

Edith Smith

Program Manager, Access to Recovery Program, Pine Point Community Council, White Earth Reservation, Minnesota

Bio

Program Manager, Access to Recovery Program, Pine Point Community Council, White Earth Reservation, Minnesota

Ms. Edith “Edie” Smith’s Ojibwe name is “Bi-na-se-quay,” meaning Thunderbird Women.  She is part of the Bear Clan from the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota.
She obtained her degree in human resources management; however, she was led down a different path as she felt in her heart that she needed to help people with their addiction issues and give back to her community.  She is currently the Program Manager for the Aanjibimaadizi/Access to Recovery Program, and she is also a part of the Pine Point Community Council.  Recognizing the disparities in her own community and the other communities of the reservation, she strives to lead the Aanjibimaadizi/Access to Recovery Program effectively, guiding her relatives in their recovery journeys.

Amy L. Solomon

Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs

Bio

Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs

Ms. Amy L. Solomon was appointed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and named Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) in May 2021.  She leads the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) principal funding, research, and statistical component, overseeing about $5 billion annually in grants and other resources to support state, local, and tribal criminal and juvenile justice activities and victim service programs.

Before she was appointed to lead OJP, Ms. Solomon was Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures, where she launched and led a corrections reform portfolio.  The new investment portfolios aimed to reduce the reach and transform the culture of prisons; spark a fundamental shift in the focus of community supervision from catching failure to promoting success; and expand economic opportunities for people with a criminal record.  Ms. Solomon actively collaborated with other philanthropies, serving on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Funders Forum and the founding Clean Slate Advisory Board.

Prior to joining Arnold Ventures, Ms. Solomon served for seven years in the Obama Administration as Director of Policy for OJP and as a senior advisor to OJP’s Assistant Attorney General.  She worked with DOJ leadership and the White House to shape, launch, and implement a broad range of domestic policy initiatives focused on criminal justice reform, urban policy, and building trust between the justice system and communities of color.  Ms. Solomon was also Executive Director of the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, a cabinet-level body established by President Obama that comprised more than 20 federal agencies.  The Council spearheaded substantial policy reforms, including the federal Ban the Box rule, fair housing guidance, the Second Chance Pell initiative, Medicaid guidance for the justice-involved population, and a critical modification related to child support.

Before joining the Obama Administration, Ms. Solomon spent ten years at the Urban Institute, where she directed projects relating to prisoner reentry and public safety.  Through foundational reentry roundtables and seminal reports, Ms. Solomon was part of a small team that defined and established reentry as a national concern.  She previously worked at OJP’s National Institute of Justice, where she developed community crime-reduction and reentry initiatives.  Ms. Solomon helped shape and manage the country’s first national prisoner reentry efforts; the Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI); the Community Mapping, Planning and Analysis for Safety Strategies (COMPASS) Initiative; and the Crime Policy for the 21st Century Initiative.  She has also managed a community service program for justice-involved individuals; developed reentry strategies for a state department of correction; and worked with juveniles in probation, halfway house, and school settings.

Ms. Solomon has served on numerous advisory councils and boards, helping shape innovative approaches to criminal justice challenges in collaboration with policymakers and practitioners, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, and the advocacy community.  She has received several awards for her pioneering work, including the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Leadership to the Cabinet-Level Reentry Council.  Ms. Solomon holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan.

Glenn Sterner III, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Abington Campus

Bio

Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Abington Campus

Dr. Glenn Sterner III is an assistant professor of criminal justice at The Pennsylvania State University, Abington Campus, where he serves as the Coordinator of the university’s Criminal Justice Research Center’s Greater Philadelphia Office.  As an expert on the opioid epidemic, he is an appointed member of the Opioid Overdose Task Force for the state of Pennsylvania.  He is also a founding member of the Penn State Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction, and he co-chairs the Substance Use Stigma Reduction Collaborative.  Dr. Sterner has been awarded more than $8.1 million in local, state, and federal grants to study and address opioid abuse networks, illegal opiate distribution, networks of legitimate opioid distributors and overdose deaths, hot spots of opioid availability, intelligence-based interventions in rural areas, and stigma associated with opioid and other substance use disorders.  Dr. Sterner collaborates extensively with law enforcement agencies at the local, state, and federal levels in his work to address the opioid crisis and other substance use issues.  He is dedicated to a collaborative criminal justice approach to addressing key issues associated with drug markets, sales, trafficking, and use, and he actively works across agencies and organizations to promote this ethos in his research and outreach endeavors.

Sergeant Ericka Stropka

Tucson, Arizona, Police Department

Bio

Tucson, Arizona, Police Department

Sergeant Ericka Stropka has been a member of the Tucson, Arizona, Police Department since 1999.  Her former assignments have included patrol officer, bike officer, lead police officer, and detective.  While assigned as a detective, she spent five years investigating crimes against vulnerable adults.  She is currently assigned as a sergeant in the Community Outreach Resources and Engagement Section, working specifically on the Substance Use Resource Team.  In addition, she assists as a supervisor with the Hostage Negotiations Unit and has ten years of previous experience as a negotiator.  Sergeant Stropka is a graduate of Arizona State University with a bachelor of science degree in communication studies with an emphasis in interpersonal relationships.  She has been a lead instructor for a variety of communication classes taught at the basic and the post-basic officer training levels.

Susan Sturges, M.A., MPA

Statewide Opioid Court Coordinator, New York State Unified Court System

Bio

Statewide Opioid Court Coordinator, New York State Unified Court System

Ms. Susan Sturges is the Statewide Opioid Court Coordinator for the New York State Unified Court System.  In this role, she oversees the development, policies, practices, and sustainment of all opioid courts throughout New York State.  Ms. Sturges is the former project director of the Brooklyn, New York, Treatment Court, where she was responsible for managing the court’s operations, including the Driving While Intoxicated Court, the Veterans Court, the Co-Occurring Disorders track, and the Opioid Court.  Ms. Sturges received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton and holds a master’s degree in forensic psychology and a master’s degree in public administration, both from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  Ms. Sturges has conducted numerous workshops and presentations at the national and international levels.  She has coauthored several articles examining the factors related to substance abuse and criminality among adolescents cross-culturally, with a specific focus on the impact of trauma.

J. Cherry Sullivan, MPH

Program Coordinator, Northampton, Massachusetts, Health Department

Bio

Program Coordinator, Northampton, Massachusetts, Health Department

Ms. J. Cherry Sullivan holds a master of public health degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  She is the Program Coordinator of Hampshire Heroin/Opioid Prevention & Education, a coalition addressing the opioid overdose crisis in Western Massachusetts, based in the Northampton, Massachusetts, Health Department.  In this role, she convenes community partners in regional, cross-sector collaboration to assess community needs, identify key strategic initiatives, and evaluate outcomes.  She has experience as a research assistant with a focus on women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) veterans; as a college health educator; and in addressing chronic health issues for those with serious mental health challenges.

Amy Tenney

Chief Executive Officer, Boyd Andrew Community Services

Bio

Chief Executive Officer, Boyd Andrew Community Services

Ms. Amy Tenney has 22 years of experience in corrections and treatment.  She has worked as a probation and parole officer, was a licensed addiction counselor for
15 years, has operated a prerelease center for adult male inmates, and has been the Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Andrew Community Services for the last eight years.

Carrie Toy

Senior Court Operations Consultant, Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator

Bio

Senior Court Operations Consultant, Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator

Ms. Carrie Toy is a senior court operations consultant with the Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator.  Ms. Toy has worked in the early childhood field for more than 25 years and has specialized in child welfare practice and policy for more than 14 years.  Serving as Florida’s Court Improvement Program Director, Ms. Toy primarily oversees the statewide Early Childhood Court and Family Dependency Drug Court initiatives.  Prior to assuming her current role, she worked for ZERO TO THREE as a technical assistance specialist and a statewide community coordinator for the Quality Improvement Center for Research-Based Infant-Toddler Court Teams.  She received her bachelor of science degree and completed additional graduate-level studies in child development at Florida State University.

Linda Truitt, Ph.D.

Senior Social Science Analyst, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice

Bio

Senior Social Science Analyst, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice

Dr. Linda Truitt is a senior social science analyst at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), U.S. Department of Justice.  Dr. Truitt coordinates NIJ’s drugs and crime research portfolio across social, forensic, and technology science disciplines.  Those research interests include drug trafficking, markets, and use, as well as drug-related violence and other crimes.  Current drug priorities include fentanyl and other opioids, methamphetamine and other stimulants, marijuana, and polydrug use.  She also manages NIJ’s criminal court research portfolio, in which current interests include veterans and other problem-solving courts, prosecution and defense, and pretrial and criminal court adjudication.  Dr. Truitt’s prior positions include research associate at Abt Associates, Inc.; graduate student research assistant at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research; research assistant at the New York City Criminal Justice Agency; and research intern at the New York State Office of Substance Abuse Services.

Patricia Tucker, MBA, M.A.

Senior Program Manager, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Bio

Senior Program Manager, Advocates for Human Potential (AHP)

Ms. Patricia Tucker is a senior program manager at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP).  She is an experienced trainer with special expertise in housing, employment, peer involvement, supervision in a community setting, and other issues affecting people with behavioral health and/or substance use disorders.  She also trains community-based health care agencies and staff in fair housing, trauma-informed care, permanent supportive housing, supported employment, harm reduction, motivational interviewing, supervision, and staff retention.

Additional biography information:  https://www.ahpnet.com/Meet-our-Experts/Senior-Leadership/Patricia-(Pat)-Tucker

Ericka Turley, Ed.D., MSW

Substance Use Disorder Services Manager, King County, Washington, Public Health Department, Jail Health Services

Bio

Substance Use Disorder Services Manager, King County, Washington, Public Health Department, Jail Health Services

Dr. Ericka Turley is the Substance Use Disorder Services Manager at Jail Health Services with the King County, Washington, Public Health Department.  Her team provides brief interventions, overdose safety planning, and warm handoffs to community substance use disorder providers.

Jamie Turpin, PharmD

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Administrator, Arkansas Department of Health

Bio

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Administrator, Arkansas Department of Health

In November 2018, Dr. Jamie Turpin started in the position of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) administrator for the Arkansas Department of Health.  As the PDMP administrator, she is responsible for educating health care providers and other interested parties about the PDMP, assisting users of the PDMP with the website, facilitating PDMP Advisory Committee meetings, ensuring that the program is following state regulations and statutes pertaining to the PDMP, managing and applying for grant funding, and publishing various reports for the PDMP website.  Dr. Turpin is an Arkansas native.  She received a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2013 and a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Sewanee:  The University of the South in 2006.  Prior to working at the Arkansas Department of Health, she worked in a retail chain pharmacy for more than 12 years.

Karen Via, M.S.

Director of Adult and Family Services, WestCare Ohio, East End Community Services

Bio

Director of Adult and Family Services, WestCare Ohio, East End Community Services

Ms. Karen Via works for WestCare Ohio, coordinating the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) grant and supervising certified peer supporters working with the Get Recovery Options Working (GROW) team.  In addition to supporting COSSAP, she administers other successful peer-supported programs in the community.

Don Vogt

Senior Project Coordinator, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC), Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Bio

Senior Project Coordinator, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC), Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR)

Mr. Don Vogt is a senior project coordinator for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).  He is responsible for providing prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) technical training and coordination.  He has more than 40 years of public service and private industry experience in law enforcement, government policy, and PDMP administration.

Additional biography information:  Don Vogt - Senior Project Coordinator - Institute for Intergovernmental Research | LinkedIn

Scott M. Wells, J.D.

Privacy Law Compliance Senior Associate, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Bio

Privacy Law Compliance Senior Associate, Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information

Mr. Scott Wells serves as the Privacy Law Compliance Senior Associate for the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information at Cicatelli Associates Inc. (CAI).  Before joining CAI, Mr. Wells worked for New York State’s appointed protection and advocacy organization, engaging in impact litigation on behalf of individuals living
with disabilities.  Mr. Wells also served as a senior appellate attorney for the New York State Unified Court System, where he litigated scores of appeals.  His work
included successfully arguing a landmark decision before the New York State Court of Appeals, which unanimously upheld the federal privacy protections under the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for individuals receiving court-ordered mental health treatment.  Mr. Wells received his juris doctor degree
from the City University of New York School of Law in 2007 and is a cum laude graduate of the University of Pittsburgh.

Camile Williams, MPH, FACHCA

Deputy Director, Programs and Supplementary Services, District of Columbia Department of Corrections

Bio

Deputy Director, Programs and Supplementary Services, District of Columbia Department of Corrections

Ms. Camile Williams is a multidimensional executive with demonstrated success spanning healthcare, government administration, and technology strategy with an exceptional track record of initiating, promoting and marshalling health and social services programs, projects, policies, and initiatives at the local, state, and national level.  
In her career, she has served under three different Mayoral Administrations and served in both the executive and legislative branch of Federal government, with some private sector experience as well.  Leveraging her extensive experience transforming sustainable change and improving organizational performance, the District of Columbia Department of Corrections has begun to rethink the corrections culture through a public health lens while also successfully implementing rehabilitation and reentry efforts to successfully prepare formerly incarcerated individuals to become productive members of society as they return to their communities.  She is committed to the importance of rehabilitation rather than harsh punishment and believes the research is clear from a public health and public safety point of view.

Christopher Williams

Project Coordinator, Rural Responses to the Opioid Epidemic, Memorial Regional Health

Bio

Project Coordinator, Rural Responses to the Opioid Epidemic, Memorial Regional Health

Mr. Christopher Williams joined the Rural Responses to the Opioid Epidemic project with a background in paramedicine, event medicine, and harm reduction.  He brings a forward-thinking, harm reduction-focused perspective to substance use discussions and initiatives in Northwest Colorado.

Keisha Williams, R.N., MSN, BSN, CCHP

Director of Nursing, Hampden County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Department

Bio

Director of Nursing, Hampden County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Department

With more than 25 years of experience in the medical field, Ms. Keisha Williams has established herself as an esteemed nurse leader working primarily with the underserved population in the correctional environment.  Starting as a per-diem nurse at the Hampden County, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Department, she has grown
within the Health Services Department, holding the integral roles of nurse educator and nursing supervisor at the Pre-Release Center prior to becoming the Director of Nursing.  Having served in this role for more than four years, Ms. Williams oversees the nursing staff at each of the four Hampden County Sheriff’s Department housing facilities.  She has been an instrumental component of many new program endeavors, most notably the augmentation of a full health services program for the Stonybrook Stabilization and Treatment Center (serving male Section 35 civil commitments), which opened fully in July 2018, as well as the implementation of the Opioid Treatment Program, which opened in September 2019.  Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Williams has exemplified servant leadership, a core value of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department.  Not only serving the patient population, but she has also been at the forefront of creating protocols for patients and staff members alike that promote health and safety throughout each facility.  Ms. Williams holds a master of science in nursing degree from Elms College in Massachusetts.

Stefanie Wyatt

Chief Probation Officer, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Colorado

Bio

Chief Probation Officer, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Colorado

Ms. Stefanie Wyatt’s professional career began in the area of early childhood education in 1991, attending college for child growth and development and obtaining her director’s certification.  Ms. Wyatt remained in the early childhood education field for 16 years.  As her children grew, she found herself needing to change.  In 2004,
Ms. Wyatt was blessed with the opportunity to take a position with the Southern Ute Tribal Police Department as a community resource officer, where she provided interventions, community outreach, and education to the community and its youth.  Ms. Wyatt was tasked with instructing Camp Courage, a part of the Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program, and she created a youth and family archery challenge.  In 2006, Chief Judge Elaine Newton asked if she would be interested in working with juveniles sentenced to probation.  Her career as a juvenile probation officer and adult wellness court case manager began.  Chief Judge Newton enrolled
Ms. Wyatt into the first Tribal Probation Academy provided by Fox Valley Technical College in 2007.  In 2008, she was offered another opportunity to evoke change within the community.  A position with the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council and the Ignacio, Colorado, School District was created just for her.  For four years, Ms. Wyatt developed programming and worked with families struggling with attendance issues and education, grades K–12, and the tribe’s Montessori Academy.  In 2014, she returned to the Southern Ute Tribal Probation Department as a senior probation officer and wellness court case manager.  In 2018, Ms. Wyatt became the Chief Probation Officer for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.  Since her return to tribal probation services, she has been able to work with tribal entities to provide a more trauma-informed approach to engaging with defendants sentenced to probation and the wellness court program.

Pick Your Pathway Pathway