Presenters

Shalini Wickramatilake serves as Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In this role, she coordinates with State, local, and Tribal governments on drug policy issues. Before joining ONDCP, Shalini served as Policy Director for 2020 Mom, focused on maternal mental health. Before that, she was…

Michael Askew is the Deputy Director of The Office of Recovery.  In his role at Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse to manage, provide leadership, and ensure SAMHSA’s needs are met.  established to evaluate and initiate policy, programs and services with a recovery focus…

 Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, is CEO of the American Psychological Association, the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States.  Before joining APA in March 2017, Dr. Evans spent 12 years as commissioner of Philadelphia’s $1.5 billion Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. In that post, he emphasized a…

Will M. Aklin, Ph.D., is Chief of the Clinical Research Grants Branch of the Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and director of the Behavioral Therapy Development Program. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland—College Park. Dr. Aklin’s areas of research include…

LaTrisha is proud to serve Ward 4 in North Minneapolis on the City Council. LaTrisha loves the diversity and small-town feel of Ward 4. She started her career in public service twenty years ago when she left the corporate world and started working in community health. LaTrisha served as the Director of Health Policy and…

Dr. Aghenta completed her Family Medicine Residency at Hennepin Healthcare. Following residency, she started practicing as a Hospitalist caring for hospitalized adult patients. She is completing her fellowship in Addiction Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Aghenta is committed to eliminating healthcare disparities and improving access to evidence-based substance use treatment for vulnerable populations.

The Opioid Crisis in 2023: Meeting the Moment

Dr. Alister Martin is an ER physician and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Kennedy School and was a former Chief Resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was a former Biden Administration appointee serving as an advisor in the Office of the Vice President under Kamala Harris as an appointed White House…

Dorothy West is a person in long term recovery with over 19 years of continuous sobriety. She is the Executive Director for the Center for Recovery and Wellness Resources (CRWR); a CAPRSS accredited RCO in Houston Texas. She has been employed as a Program Director and Recovery Coach Trainer with CRWR for 10 years. Her career in behavior health began as a technician as she pursued her education.  Upon receiving her license as Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) in 2009,…

Overdose Prevention and Response: Challenges and Opportunities

Ms. Burden is a Senior Advisor with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.  In this capacity she works to advance substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery support services, providing technical assistance and training to a wide range of organizations and participants. Ms. Burden has extensive experience in providing technical assistance to nonprofits on translating knowledge…

Liz Folie has a B.A. in International Relations from The University of Southern California and a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from USC’s Rossier School of Education. She did her post-graduate study at the renowned Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills, working in both the adolescent and adult tracks. Liz has since worked in…

An Inclusive Recovery Ecosystem and Quality Recovery Housing.

Tony has been committed to long-term recovery since July 2003. He has over 12 years of experience as a Program Director of two residential, long-term, peer-led, peer-driven, social model recovery programs in rural eastern Kentucky. Each center had a minimum of 100 beds, serving the homeless, marginally housed, and criminal justice-involved men seeking recovery. As…

Identifying the mental health needs of people living with opioid use disorder through Promoting Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care (PIPBHC) in outpatient treatment programs

Dr. Minerva Francis is a social scientist specializing in health and behavior research. She completed a T32 pre-doctoral fellowship with NIDA’s Behavioral Science Training (BST) program in Drug Abuse Research at New York University. As a second-year postdoctoral fellow in Addiction Research and Evaluation with the Partnership to End Addiction, Dr. Francis is responsible for…

Dynamic Prevention in the Age of Generation Z and Alpha

Jesse Kaplan (he/him), RCPF, CPRSR-AS, CPS, is a person in long-term recovery who is currently serving the recovery community through his role as a CPRS Supervisor, overseeing a statewide team of AmeriCorps Recovery Navigators at Mn Prevention & Recovery Alliance and providing others with Peer Recovery Support Services (PRSS) training through his Recovery Coach Professional…

Dynamic Prevention in the Age of Generation Z and Alpha

Macy Hyland, BA CPRS, is currently overseeing statewide community peer recovery support services (PRSS) as the Recovery Advocate Manager at Mn Prevention & Recovery Alliance (MnPRA). Throughout her work, travel and volunteer experiences, the theme of engaging individuals from difficult backgrounds using hope-focused interventions has been present. Macy is honored to celebrate and serve the…

With 11 years of experience working with teenagers in recovery at MaryHaven Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, Jennifer Belému brings a unique and vital perspective to Heartland High School as the school’s Recovery Coach. Most importantly, however, she is a living example of thriving in recovery. Jen’s passion for healthy, productive and meaningful personal growth…

Dr. CJ holds a PhD in Rehabilitation Counseling and Administration. She is also a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist, a Certified Clinical Supervisor, and credited with being a founding member and coordinator of Aggies for Recovery, the first collegiate recovery community at an HBCU, at North Carolina Agricultural…

Integrated SUD and MH Recovery in the African American Community: Boots On

 Jonathan Lofgren is a native Minnesotan, lives a life of long-term recovery (est. Labor Day, 1987). Jonathan holds a Ph.D. in Education, specializing in Training & Performance Improvement from Capella University and a Master of Arts degree in Community Counseling Psychology from Springfield College. Jonathan is a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor and a Co-occurring…

Abu As-Sidiq is a person in long-term recovery. Abu grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1989. Since the early 1990s, Abu struggled with addiction. For many years, he was in and out of correctional facilities and treatment centers. Growing sick of a cycle of addiction and incarceration, Abu ended…

COO, Faces and Voices of Recovery

Philip Rutherford is the Chief Operating Officer at Faces & Voices of Recovery. He is a recovery coach, a passionate member of the Recovery Community and possesses a self-described Doctorate from the school of Hard Knocks. As COO, he is responsible for multiple lines of business within the Faces & Voices ecosystem. Phil is credited…

Let’s Talk about getting the Bag – Let’s talk about enhancing your budget- Where is the Money$$$

Anita Bradley is the founder and Executive Director of the Northern Ohio Recovery Association (NORA). Anita is a graduate of Kent State and Cleveland State Universities. She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice studies and a master’s degree from Cleveland State, respectively. Bradley founded the Northern Ohio Recovery Association in 2004 to prevent the…

CRCC- Chicago Recovering Communities Coalition Founder/Executive Director

Executive Director: Chicago Recovering Communities Coalition 35 yrs. long term recovery from substance use disorder and mental illness 25 years’ experience in the field of alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and recovery. 10 years’ experience in clinical supervision in residential inpatient treatment programs, outpatient services for women involved in the DCFS and Recovery Home settings.…

The Impact of the War on Drugs and the Recovery Movement for Black Communities

As Legal Action Center’s Senior Vice President of Policy Advocacy, Tracie oversees both the New York and Federal policy advocacy work on LAC’s core issues related to substance use, harm reduction, and criminal legal system reform. Tracie has worked more than 30 years in the health and social services policy arena as a policy advocate, trainer,…

George Lewis is the CEO of Motivational Consulting provides services and resources to substance use treatment, education, therapy, and mental health professionals. Motivational Consulting currently has contracts with several treatment facilities. The organization’s services include motivational lectures, discussion groups, Bami Soro (Culturally Directed Healing) curriculum and Addict Chronicles DVDs aimed at bridging the communication gap…

Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC is CEO of On The Mark Consulting and Founder of the Museum of African American Addictions Treatment and Recovery.

Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Recovery Research Institute

Dr. Vilsaint is a principle investigator at the Recovery Research Institute and Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and research fellow at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on addiction recovery capital, reducing discrimination among individuals in recovery, and racial health equity in remission and recovery. Dr. Vilsaint is a community psychologist whose…

Executive Director & CEO The CARES Justice Institute, Inc.

Mark C. McGuire, Sr. is a native Daytonian, and the CEO and Bishop of The Potter’s House- Dayton International Ministries. He is also currently a Staff Pastor and Youth Director of The Potter’s House International Ministries, of Jacksonville, Florida, where he is affectionately known as PMac (Pastor McGuire). He is a spiritual son of Bishop…