2021 Virtual National Forum on Overdose Fatality Review

Amy Park

L.C.S.W.-C.
Division Chief, Local Addictions Authority
Baltimore County Department of Health

Ms. Amy Park is the Division Chief for the Local Addictions Authority at the Baltimore County Department of Health.  In this role, she assists with the planning, managing, and monitoring of publicly funded behavioral health services in Baltimore County, Maryland.

Amy Parry

M.P.H.
Medical College of Wisconsin

Ms. Amy Parry provides training and technical assistance to Wisconsin Overdose Fatality Review teams and facilitates the Milwaukee County team.  She has prior experience with child death review.  Ms. Parry has an M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Anastasia Edmonston

M.S., CRC
Maryland Brain Injury Partner Grant Project Coordinator
Maryland Behavioral Health Administration

Ms. Anastasia Edmonston currently works for the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration.  Her work focuses on training behavioral health professionals and others on the topics of traumatic brain injury and person-centered thinking and planning and their intersection with brain injury, substance use, and mental health.  She has worked in the field of rehabilitation services for individuals with traumatic and acquired brain injuries for more than 30 years, in both inpatient and outpatient services, as a case manager, program coordinator, advocate, and vocational rehabilitation counselor.  She obtained her master of science degree in rehabilitation counseling from Boston University, is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, and earned a postgraduate certificate from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in instructional systems development.  She is a certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor and Person-Centered Thinking Trainer.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasia-edmonston-8848095/

April Wisdom

Ph.D., M.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. April Wisdom is a health scientist in the Division of Overdose Prevention and a member of the Applied Prevention Science team since 2018.  Dr. Wisdom supports the funding recipients of the Division’s Overdose Data to Action cooperative agreement as the strategy lead for peer-to-peer technical assistance and a prevention science officer.

Becky Berkebile

M.A.
Senior Program Associate
Advocates for Human Potential

Ms. Becky Berkebile is a senior program associate at Advocates for Human Potential (AHP), where she serves as the deputy director of training and technical assistance (TTA) for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), overseeing and coordinating all TTA events, including grantee requests, planning and hosting informational webinars, and development of a peer-to-peer mentor program focused on jail-based treatment programs.  Ms. Berkebile has more than a decade of experience working 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 had led to her continued success as a leader in state government.

Bill Newell

Drug Intelligence Officer
Rocky Mountain HIDTA and Utah Department of Public Safety

Mr. Bill Newell retired in December 2018 after a 32-year career as a special agent/criminal investigator in the U.S. Department of Justice.  He has worked all over the world and, as a result, experienced a wide range of approaches to combatting violent crime; drug abuse; and varying degrees of public health/public safety partnerships to address drug addiction.  In May 2020, Mr. Newell became the Utah Drug Intelligence Officer as part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Overdose Response Strategy.  Utah offers a unique ability to partner public health and public safety due to a clear understanding by public and private entities within the state that a new approach is needed to address the serious issues surrounding overdoses by opioids, stimulants, and other substances.

Brad Ray

Ph.D.
Center for Behavioral Health and Justice
Wayne State University, School of Social Work

Dr. Brad Ray joined Wayne State University’s School of Social Work as an associate professor and Director of the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice in 2019.  Dr. Ray received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in Sociology and Anthropology in 2012 and spent seven years at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, where he served as a research director at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute.  He is a community-engaged researcher that focuses on mental health and substance use, particularly where these populations intersect with criminal-legal systems.

Brooke Marshall

Adult Addiction Services

Carina Havenstrite

B.S.
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.

Christopher Jakim

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Special Agent Christopher Jakim has served with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for more than 29 years.  He has served in both domestic and foreign posts, including New York City, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Newark, New Jersey; and Colombia, South America.  While assigned to DEA Headquarters, Special Agent Jakim served as the Deputy Chief of the Congressional and Public Affairs Unit.  He currently serves as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the DEA New Jersey Division and is also the Commander of the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area for the state of New Jersey.

Courtney Geiger

M.P.H.
Public Health Strategist
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Health Department

Ms. Courtney Geiger is a public health strategist concentrating on overdose prevention and awareness.  She is also the grant manager of the National Association of County and City Health Officials Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Overdose Response Initiative (MORI) grant.  She has been working on fighting the opioid epidemic and overdose prevention strategies since April 2019.  In her first year, Ms. Geiger secured more than $1.25 million to help implement strategies at the local level to combat the opioid epidemic.

Darren Rausch

Ph.D. (candidate), M.S., C.P.H.
Health Officer/Director
Greenfield Health Department

Mr. Darren Rausch has served as the health officer/director of the Greenfield Health Department since June 2007.  He is responsible for oversight and management of all public health programs and services for the nearly 37,000 residents within the city of Greenfield.  Prior to this position, Mr. Rausch served as the epidemiologist/communicable disease supervisor for Waukesha County Public Health.  Mr. Rausch has served on multiple state and regional public health committees, on the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission Board of Directors, and as a site visit chair and reviewer with the Public Health Accreditation Board.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-rausch/

Desiree Whyte

M.A., C.P.M.
Director
Monmouth County Division of Behavioral Health

With more than a dozen years of experience in the field of behavioral health, Ms. Desiree Whyte is a professional who serves with passion and commitment to individuals with mental health and substance use disorders.  Ms. Whyte holds a master of arts degree in counseling psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University and currently serves as the Director of the Monmouth County Division of Behavioral Health located within the Monmouth County Department of Human Services.  Additionally, Ms. Whyte co-facilitates the Monmouth County Overdose Fatality Review Team and is dedicated to overdose prevention.

Donna Jean Lindquist

M.S.
Senior Project Coordinator/Senior Manager
Institute for Intergovernmental Research

Ms. Donna Jean Lindquist has supported various U.S. Department of Justice programs of national scope for more than 27 years during her tenure with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR), including the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program; the Office on Violence Against Women's Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Collaborative; the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative/Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Attorney General; and the National Gang Center.  She specializes in fostering and strengthening partnerships, outreach and communications, resource development, and executing national training events.  From 2015 to 2017, she also served as communications director for the National Fusion Center Association.  Ms. Lindquist’s experience outside of IIR includes writing, public relations, and teaching positions in the private and public sectors.

Emily Costello

M.P.H., M.S.W.
Evaluation Officer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ms. Emily Costello is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow with the Division of Overdose Prevention, where she serves as an evaluation officer for the Overdose Data to Action cooperative agreement.  While Ms. Costello is a native of North Carolina, she received her master of public health from the Colorado School of Public Health, with a concentration in community and behavioral health sciences, and her bachelor of arts degree in political science and master of social work from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.  During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dog and fiancé, visiting family and friends virtually, and exploring new places throughout the Southeast.

Erin Etwaroo

L.P.C.
Analyst
Altarum

Ms. Erin Etwaroo provides research, consulting, and technical assistance for Altarum’s Center for Behavioral Health.  She is a licensed professional counselor with more than 14 years of experience as a mental health provider in a variety of social service health settings to include rural, urban, inpatient, outpatient, incarcerated, and reentering populations.  Ms. Etwaroo specializes in working with individuals involved in the criminal justice system and at-risk youth and is skilled in the development and implementation of provider trainings.  Prior to joining Altarum, Ms. Etwaroo was an outpatient therapist, a program coordinator with the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center, and a research coordinator with CBH Health, LLC, on multiple clinical trials investigating the safety and efficacy of psychiatric medications.

Erin Russell

M.P.H.
Chief, Center for Harm Reduction Services
Maryland Department of Health

Ms. Erin Russell serves as the Chief of the Center for Harm Reduction Services at the Maryland Department of Health.  The center envisions a Maryland where health and social service systems meet the needs of people who use drugs in a comprehensive, community-based manner.  Her portfolio includes coordination of statewide naloxone distribution, syringe service programs, a harm reduction grant program, and local capacity building initiatives.  She has been at the forefront of integrating harm reduction into larger behavioral health, opioid response, and infectious disease prevention programming in the department.  Ms. Russell obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and is currently pursuing a doctorate in public health with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a Bloomberg American Health Initiative Fellow.

Additional Biography Information:  www.linkedin.com/in/erin-russell-850b022b

Grant Baldwin

Ph.D., M.P.H.
Director, Division of Overdose Prevention
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Grant Baldwin is the Director of the Division of Overdose Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.  He leads the division in monitoring trends in the drug overdose epidemic and other emerging drug threats, identifying and scaling up prevention activities to address the evolving drug crisis, and supporting local drug-free community coalitions.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Baldwin served as the Director of the Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention for 11 years, where he helped raise the profile of motor vehicle injury prevention, advanced work in older adult fall prevention and traumatic brain injury prevention, and established the initial CDC response to the prescription opioid overdose epidemic.

As the scope, scale, and complexity of America’s drug overdose epidemic changed, the Division of Overdose Prevention was created to serve as a necessary and essential focal point to CDC’s more expansive and diversified work in the area. Dr. Baldwin has served at CDC for more than 20 years.

Dr. Baldwin received his doctorate in health behavior and health education at the University of Michigan.  He received a master’s of public health in behavioral sciences and health education from Emory University and is currently an affiliated professor at Emory University.  Dr. Baldwin has given keynote addresses and provided remarks at more than 100 state, national, and international conferences and meetings; has authored or coauthored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications; and has received awards of excellence for his leadership and teaching.

Hope Fiori

M.P.P.A.
Administrator of Consulting and Training
Center for Health and Justice at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities

Ms. Hope Fiori provides technical assistance and strategy development for justice system agencies, focusing on alternatives to incarceration and linkages to care for individuals with behavioral health conditions, including substance use and mental health disorders.

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

Jaime Hoebeke

M.P.H., MCHES
Chief Strategy Officer
City of Manchester, New Hampshire, Health Department

Ms. Jaime Hoebeke has been employed by the City of Manchester Health Department in New Hampshire for 18 years and is currently serving as the Chief Strategy Officer.

Jamie Jacobs

M.S.W., L.S.W.
Bereavement Counselor
Center for Hospice Care

Ms. Jamie Jacobs has been a social worker for more than ten years and has worked with bereaved individuals for more than six years, including facilitating the Loss After Addiction grief support group.  Ms. Jacobs has provided individual, family, and group counseling to those coping with a death from overdose.

James Giglio

Senior Project Coordinator
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center

Mr. James Giglio is a senior project coordinator with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).  He works on the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), supporting the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC).  In this capacity, he coordinates and delivers PDMP-focused training and technical assistance to the field.  Mr. Giglio has expertise in policy development, legislation and regulatory development, management of PDMPs, project management, and grant management.  Mr. Giglio served as a management consultant and director of the PDMP TTAC when the program was supported by Brandeis University.  His responsibilities included providing support, resources, and strategies to state PDMPs, federal partners, national organizations, and other stakeholders to further the efforts in curtailing prescription drug abuse and diversion; planning for and hosting regional and national conferences; and assisting in the planning and implementation of new PDMPs across the country.  Mr. Giglio has 40 years of professional experience in the fields of public health and law enforcement, including serving as Executive Director of the Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Programs and as Director of the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement at the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).  During his tenure with NYSDOH, he also served as Chief of the Controlled Substance Management Section and the Enforcement Section.

Jason Schaak

EMT-P/CP
Assistant Chief
Community Risk Reduction
West Allis Fire Department

Assistant Chief Jason Schaak is the Chief of Community Risk Reduction for the West Allis Fire Department and the Director of their Community Paramedic program, which provides a 24/7 real-time response to substance use disorder incidents.  Assistant Chief Schaak also participates on local and county overdose fatality review teams.

Jeffrey Coady

Psy.D., ABPP
Regional Administrator
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Captain Jeffrey Coady is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and a board-certified clinical psychologist.  Since 2011, he has served as the Region 5 Administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an operating division in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Region 5 includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin and 34 federally recognized tribes.

In his role, Captain Coady represents the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use at the regional level in fulfilling the agency’s mission of reducing the impact of mental illness and substance use disorder on America’s communities.  He provides strategic consultation to national and regional healthcare stakeholders on policy, financing, and innovations to advance behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery.  Captain Coady is committed to advancing behavioral health through developing multisector collaborations, promoting public and private partnerships, and fostering resilient communities.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/leadership/biographies/jeffrey-coady

Jennifer Skolaski

Ph.D.
Community & Nonprofit Leadership Consulting, LLC

Dr. Jennifer Skolaski is the owner of Community & Nonprofit Leadership Consulting, LLC, which provides services including:  nonprofit program management, fund development, nonprofit event planning, and nonprofit management transitions, as well as board development training, professional teaching, and facilitation.  She has vast experience working with various nonprofits throughout the state of Wisconsin on multiple projects.  Specific to this conference, Dr. Skolaski has served as the facilitator of the Winnebago County Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) project since March 2018, and the Tri-County OFR project in June 2020.  She has experience building the review process from the beginning; tailoring it to the needs of the community; identifying, training, and building relationships with partners; participating in the required grant expectations on behalf of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security; representing the OFR process at statewide conferences and at the national level; and serving as a consultant for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.

Additional Biography Information:  www.canpl.com; www.linkedin.com/in/canpl-skolaski-542b069

Jeri D. Ropero-Miller

Ph.D., F-ABFT
Senior Director
Center for Forensic Sciences, RTI International

Dr. Jeri Ropero-Miller is the Senior Director within the Center for Forensic Sciences of the Applied Justice Research Division, RTI International.  With expertise and board certification in the discipline of forensic toxicology, she has published nationally and internationally on topics of postmortem drug studies, emerging drug threats, hair drug studies, drug surveillance and intelligence, and technology evaluation and adoption.  She is the Program Director for the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence and its Criminal Justice Technology Evaluation Consortium.  Dr. Ropero-Miller is also the current Project Associate Director for the Drug Enforcement Administration-funded National Forensic Laboratory Information System project and the Co-Director for the Bureau of Justice Statistics-funded 2018 Census of Medical Examiners/Coroners’ Offices and 2019 Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories.  She received her doctorate in clinical chemistry and forensic toxicology from the University of Florida’s College of Medicine.  She is the 2020–2021 President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Jesse Carlton

St. Joe County Adult Probation Department

Jessica Wolff

M.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ms. Jessica Wolff is a lead health scientist in the Division of Overdose Prevention and oversees the public health arm of the Overdose Response Strategy, a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

Jimmy Cornish

John Horsley

Vice President of Adult and Addictions Services
Oaklawn Psychiatric Center

Jon Dower

ICADC, SAP, CIP, CTP
Executive Director
West Virginia Sober Living

Mr. Jon Dower has served in an operational and supervisory role for the Quick Response Team (QRT) peer recovery support specialist (PRSS) implementation team.  He is the Executive Director of West Virginia Sober Living and is an adjunct professor at West Virginia University in the Department of Counseling and Learning Sciences.  He has nearly a decade of experience utilizing PRSS personnel as an intervention team from a community-based perspective.  His role on the QRT includes assisting with community stakeholder capacity building, supervision and training of PRSS staff, implementation of a standard operating procedure that follows best practices in PRSS service delivery, collating data tracking and collection requirements, and implementing quality improvement strategies to prioritize engagement outcomes for those we serve.

Jonathan Woodruff

Esquire
Senior Legislative Attorney
Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association

Mr. Jonathan Woodruff has considerable experience analyzing state and federal criminal justice and health care issues involving, among other things, the sharing of protected health information.  Mr. Woodruff received a bachelor of arts degree in physics from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Additional Biography Information:  https://legislativeanalysis.org/team/

Kacy Robinson

M.S.
Utah Department of Health/Bureau of Health Promotion/Violence and Injury Prevention Program

Ms. Kacy Robinson coordinates the state fatality review committees.  She coordinates the Opioid Fatality Review Committee, the Child Fatality Review Committee, the Sudden Death in the Young Advanced Clinical Review Team, and the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee.  As coordinator, Ms. Robinson is responsible for identifying cases for review; performing all research and record collection for review; meeting facilitation and collection of recommendations, which identify service gaps and populations vulnerable to violence/injury; and promote health and well-being for all Utahns.

Additional Biography Information:  http://health.utah.gov/vipp/

Karen Loebel

Deputy District Attorney
Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office

Ms. Karen Loebel served as an assistant district attorney in the Eau Claire County District Attorney’s Office (1985–1988) and as a clinical instructor at the University of Wisconsin Law School Legal Defense Project (1988–1990) before coming to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office in 1990.  Following her appointment as a Milwaukee County assistant district attorney, she worked in the Misdemeanor Team (1990–1991), the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Group (1991–2000), and the Homicide Unit (2000–2005).  Ms. Loebel became the Misdemeanor Team Captain and was appointed to supervise the Violent Crimes Unit in 2009.  In 2015, she was appointed Deputy District Attorney, where she continues to supervise the Violent Crimes Unit.  She is the District Attorney Liaison to various law enforcement initiatives, including the Project Safe Neighborhood Program.  Ms. Loebel also serves on the Milwaukee County Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Group Supervisory Commission, where she is a legal director, and on the Milwaukee City/County Opioid Task Force.  She represents the District Attorney’s Office in law enforcement and community incident reviews, including homicide reviews, shooting reviews, and overdose fatality reviews.  Ms. Loebel is an adjunct professor at the Marquette University Law School.  She is a 1982 graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and a 1985 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Kathleen Orr

Advocate and Family Survivor of the Opioid Crisis

Katharine (Kate) Callaghan

M.D.
Health Services Management Fellow
Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program – Beacon Health System

Dr. Kate Callaghan is a family medicine physician in South Bend, Indiana, at the Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program.  She is currently finishing a one-year fellowship in health services management.  Dr. Callaghan is a buprenorphine-waivered practitioner and offers medication-assisted treatment for several patients on her panel with opioid use disorder.

Kathy Rowings

J.D.
Senior Research Associate
Institute for Intergovernmental Research

Ms. Kathy Rowings is a senior research associate at the Institute for Intergovernmental Research, where she manages several projects that help communities across the county address the opioid and substance use epidemic.

Kevin Mariano

Project Coordinator
National Criminal Justice Training Center
Fox Valley Technical College

Kimberly Reilly

M.A., L.P.C.
Ocean County Health Department

Ms. Kimberly Reilly has a masters in counseling psychology and is a licensed professional counselor in New Jersey.  She is the coordinator for the Department of Substance Abuse, Addiction, and Opioid Dependency at the Ocean County Health Department and has been the lead in the Ocean County Overdose Fatality Review since December 2016.

Additional Biography Information  www.OCHD.org

Kristen Mahoney

J.D.
Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance
Deputy Director for Programs

Ms. Kristen Mahoney serves as the Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Office of Justice Programs.  As such, she is responsible for the management of nearly 7,916 awards totaling $4,491,467,168.  She has comprehensive and practical experience creating criminal justice policies, programming, and technical assistance that aid state, local, and tribal communities.  Ms. Mahoney has provided national leadership and outreach on criminal justice issues by identifying and supporting evidence-based programs, best practices, and innovative approaches to challenges facing criminal justice stakeholders.  In 2016, she was recognized for her work developing and implementing 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 2006–2012, Ms. Mahoney served as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention for the State of Maryland.  She came to state government after serving as the Chief of Technical Services for the Baltimore Police Department and the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice for the City of Baltimore.  Ms. Mahoney received her J.D. from the University of Baltimore and her B.A. from Sweet Briar College.  She is a member of the Maryland Bar and has practiced law with the Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland, specializing in the representation of abused and neglected children.

Kristin Stainbrook

Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
Institute for Intergovernmental Research

Dr. Kristin Stainbrook is a senior research associate for national policy engagement sharing initiatives at the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.  Currently, Dr. Stainbrook serves as Program Manager for the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program Statewide Expansion and Response project and the Partnerships to Support Data-Driven Responses to Emerging Drug Threats demonstration projects.

Lauren Savitskas

M.P.H.
Indiana Department of Health

Ms. Lauren Savitskas has served as the Suicide/Overdose Fatality Review Program Manager for the state of Indiana since 2018. This program was selected as a peer-to-peer technical assistance site by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a mentor site for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and is a BJA pilot site for data entry.  Ms. Savitskas also chairs the Suicide Learning Collaborative and the Pediatric Suicide Child Fatality Review Team.  She received her master’s of public health with a concentration in social and behavioral sciences from the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.  Her bachelor’s degree is in journalism from Indiana University.

Lee B. Smith

M.D., J.D.
Executive Director and County Health Officer
Monongalia County Health Department

Dr. Lee Smith serves as CEO and County Health Officer.  His career in emergency medicine at West Virginia University has helped the school be recognized as an Academic Health Department and he has brought a morbidity and mortality conference to the Monongalia County Quick Response Team as a quality improvement tool.

Linda Mattirsch

Quality Assurance Supervisor
Milwaukee County Office of Emergency ManagementGreater Milwaukee Area

Lindsey Kato

M.P.H., C.H.E.S.®
Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator
Overdose Response Strategy

Ms. Lindsey Kato is a highly skilled public health professional who specializes in multidisciplinary work to strategically address complex issues at the intersection of health and safety.  She currently serves as the training and technical assistance coordinator for the Overdose Response Strategy, a national initiative funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Center for Disease Control, where she supports the ongoing education and collaboration of public health and safety teams across the country.

In the past, she has consulted with criminal justice systems and law enforcement agencies across the country to minimize overdose risk by working with public/behavioral health partners to implement sustainable solutions based on meaningful partnerships.  In 2016, Ms. Kato worked within the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program to enhance complex relationships across the state.  She successfully facilitated law enforcement/treatment/public health focus groups and guided the development of a relationship building tool for organizations to cross-educate, work past differences, and set common goals around a shared vision.

In 2017, Ms. Kato worked with the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office to plan and coordinate the first multisector opioid conference in the state—including treatment, enforcement, prevention, education, and criminal justice sectors—and as a result, was awarded the U.S. Attorney’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cooperative Law Enforcement.

She holds a master of public health in epidemiology from the Colorado School of Public Health and a bachelor of science in public health, focused on health promotion and behavior, from Oregon State University.  In addition, Ms. Kato is a certified health education specialist credentialed by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.

Additional Biographical Information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseykato/

Lisa Bullard-Cawthorne

M.P.H.
Overdose Data to Action Program Planning and Partnership Coordinator
Wisconsin Division of Public Health

Ms. Lisa Bullard-Cawthorne has more than 35 years’ experience in health promotion and disease and injury prevention, with a focus on program planning, implementation and evaluation, community health assessment, and data analysis.  Previously, she worked in England for ten years in a disease prevention capacity.  In addition, she served for 20 years at Public Health Madison and Dane County, Wisconsin, where she spent much of her time focused on injury prevention, including drug harm prevention and several types of fatality reviews.  Currently, Ms. Bullard-Cawthorne is the Program Planning and Partnership Coordinator for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drug overdose grants (Prescription Drug Overdose:  Prevention for States and Overdose Data to Action) at the Wisconsin Division of Public Health and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.  She earned a master’s of public health in community health/epidemiology.

LuAnn Beck-Day

R.N., B.S.N., M.Ed.
Data and Grants Specialist
Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County

Ms. LuAnn Beck-Day accepted a position with the Carroll County, Maryland, Health Department in 2017 as the first dedicated Overdose Fatality Review Team coordinator, where she developed policies, procedures, and programs for both fatality reviews and outreach to families and the community.  She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Nursing with 20 years of experience working in all aspects of addiction.

Lynn Chernich

Program Manager
National Criminal Justice Training Center
Fox Valley Technical College

Mallory O’Brien

M.S., Ph.D.
Senior Research Advisor, IPA
Centers for Disease Control
National Institute of Justice

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, 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/

Matthew Barter

Lieutenant
Chief of Staff
Manchester, New Hampshire, Police Department

Lieutenant Matthew Barter has been with the Manchester, New Hampshire, Police Department for 12 years and is the Chief of Staff for the agency.  He was previously the unit supervisor for a violent crime reduction unit and a task force officer with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Lieutenant Barter has implemented numerous evidence-based policing practices within the agency, to include a data-driven hotspot policing concept and violent crime reduction initiatives.  His current work surrounds use of social network analysis for harm reduction and crime prevention activities.  He holds a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and pursues research regarding violent crime and place-based crime strategy.  Lieutenant Barter is a member of the 2018 National Institute of Justice Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science Scholar Program.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-barter-6096581a/

Megan Broekemeier

M.P.H.
Drug Overdose Prevention Research Coordinator
Utah Department of Health, Office of the Medical Examiner

Ms. Megan Broekemeier is an epidemiologist in the Office of the Medical Examiner at the Utah Department of Health.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 2009 and a master’s degree in public health in 2015.  She is passionate about improving our understanding of the circumstances that contribute to a fatal overdose and uses psychological autopsy as a tool to do so.  When not in the office, Ms. Broekemeier loves to be outside with her family.

Meghan McCormick

M.P.H.
Health Program Administrator
Rhode Island Department of Health

Ms. Meghan McCormick is a health program administrator in the Rhode Island Department of Health Drug Overdose Prevention Program.  She co-facilitates Rhode Island’s overdose fatality review and is an overdose data to action peer-to-peer learning coordinator.

Melissa Heinen

R.N., M.P.H.
Subject Expert
Institute for Intergovernmental Research

Ms. Melissa Heinen is a senior research associate for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.  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/

Melissa Weisel

M.S.W., L.C.S.W., M.S.M. P.H./P.P.
Clinical Social Worker and Researcher
New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Ms. Melissa Weisel is a licensed clinical social worker with over a decade of experience in social work in various roles from case management to private practice.  Currently a psychotherapist and researcher, Ms. Weisel provides support for the Overdose Fatality Review Teams by conducting clinical interviews with next of kin following overdose deaths.  The information gathered is then used to inform policies, procedures, and processes on local and state levels in an effort to reduce overdose deaths.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-weisel-05350948/

Nava Bastola

M.P.H.
Public Health Analyst
CDC Foundation

Ms. Nava Bastola is a public health professional with the CDC Foundation.  Since 2017, Ms. Bastola has been working as a public health analyst for the Overdose Response Strategy (ORS).  The ORS is a unique public health and public safety partnership between the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that is designed to help communities reduce overdoses.  As a public health analyst, she helps agencies and organizations in New York and New Jersey build partnerships and develop data sharing and response efforts.  Prior to her current role, she worked at the Institutional Review Board of Rutgers University dedicating her work to the protection of human subjects engaged in research.  In addition to her professional responsibilities, Ms. Bastola has volunteered at various local and global maternal and child health agencies, working to reduce health disparities.  She earned a master’s of public health in health education and behavioral health sciences.

Niel L. Thoreson

Regional Chief
Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Division of Community Corrections, Milwaukee County

Mr. Niel Thoreson is a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate and has previously worked as a Bilingual Probation and Parole Agent and Corrections Field Supervisor.  He has served as the Regional Chief for Probation and Parole in Milwaukee since 2013.

Patrick Knue

Senior Project Coordinator
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center

Mr. Patrick Knue is a senior project coordinator with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.  He works on the Bureau of Justice Assistance Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), serving as the Director for the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC).  In this capacity, he oversees daily operations and administration of the PDMP TTAC services for the field.  In addition, he provides expert assistance to PDMPs, oversees the implementation of national and regional meetings, provides assistance to the new data-driven pilot grantees, and maintains communication with national and federal partners.  He also assists in the development of PDMP TTAC website content, supports the development of a library of training/education curricula and resources, participates in the production of the COSSAP newsletter, and assists in the update of COSSAP grantee profiles.  Before joining the PDMP TTAC, Mr. Knue served more than 30 years with the Texas Department of Public Safety, including more than 15 years in the Narcotics Service Division’s Texas Prescription Program and Narcotics Analyst Section.

Paige Andrews

M.S.
Public Health Analyst
CDC Foundation

Ms. Paige Andrews has been a part of the Overdose Response Strategy as a public health analyst for Wisconsin since April 2020.  She has a master of science degree in epidemiology and has worked at the national, territorial, state, academic, and nonprofit levels.

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

Paige Presler-Jur

Research Public Policy Analyst
RTI International

Ms. Paige Presler-Jur is a research public policy analyst for RTI International’s Applied Justice Research (AJR) division.  Her research interests include health, social, and justice issues with projects focused on understanding the challenges and barriers that communities encounter while trying to solve problems in criminal justice and public health contexts.  Her present work is focused on building bridges across disciplines to provide improved services and support to victims of sexual assault and to facilitate effective responses to illicit substance use in order to improve access to treatment and recovery services.  The key to this work is developing training and technical assistance (TTA) that will address the unique challenges that jurisdictions face on many criminal justice and public health issues nationwide.  Ms. Presler-Jur serves as part of the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) TTA Team and as the TTA Coordinator for the RTI Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) TTA Team to provide a tailored and consistent response to both SAKI and COSSAP grantee needs.  Ms. Presler-Jur has more than 15 years of laboratory experience.  Before joining AJR, she was a research environmental scientist in the Center for Analytical Sciences.  In this role, she built and worked with diverse agencies for research projects that included air and water quality analysis to understand environmental exposures of underserved populations.  In both roles—public policy analyst and research scientist—she facilitates multidisciplinary teams with diverse operational skills, viewpoints, and professional lexicons to solve complex problems.

Peyton Attaway

Public Health Analyst
RTI International

Ms. Peyton Attaway, a public health analyst in RTI’s Applied Justice Research Division, has two years of experience in public health-related research.  Ms. Attaway has assisted on multiple research projects and presentations involving community well-being.  She has experience in providing training and technical assistance to state and local entities; conducting literature reviews, basic statistical analysis, and cognitive interviews; writing technical reports; and marketing.  Her research interests include sexual assault response, vicarious trauma in public safety, law enforcement coordination with public health, and police-community relations.  She has been approved by the American Cancer Society to lead workplace smoking cessation programs.

Robin Vida

St. Joe County Department of Health

Sam Robertson

Community Overdose Prevention Coordinator
Minnesota Department of Health

Sam Robertson is the Community Overdose Prevention Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Section.

Sarah Henery

Administrator
Division of Milwaukee Child Protection Services
Wisconsin Department of Children and Families

Sara Jesse

Community Health Strategist
Sauk County, Wisconsin, Public Health

Ms. Sara Jesse, as a community health strategist for Sauk County, Wisconsin, Public Health, has facilitated the Sauk County Overdose Death Review Team since its inception three years ago.  In addition to this role, Ms. Jesse manages several drug-related programs for the county, including Narcan training, a community-based prevention coalition, and soon-to-be-launched overdose Rapid Response Teams.  Ms. Jesse also works on community health assessments and plans for other health focus areas, with a special interest in health equity, the social determinants of health, and adverse childhood experiences.  Having lost her sister to opioid overdose in 2006, she is a passionate advocate for harm reduction and primary prevention services.

Sara Schreiber

Forensic Technical Director
Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office

Ms. Sara Schreiber is the Technical Forensic Director at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office and has worked in forensic science for more than 20 years.  Her career began at the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory in Milwaukee as a controlled substance analyst.  From there, her focus changed to extracting drugs and alcohol from biological specimens, assisting in the investigation of felony crimes at the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory in Milwaukee as a forensic toxicologist.  Since May 2013, she has overseen the toxicology laboratory at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office from method validation to data analysis and interpretation to report writing for death investigations.  Sara continues to advance her expertise by actively serving as a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS), the Wisconsin Coroners and Medical Examiners Association (WCMEA), the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME), and the Midwestern Association of Toxicology and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (MATT).  She is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology in Forensic Toxicology.  Ms. Schreiber is also an assessor for the accrediting bodies of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and the American Board of Forensic Toxicology.

Sarisa Roe

M.P.H.
Center for Disease Control Foundation

Ms. Sarisa Roe is an evaluation specialist with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Foundation assigned to the CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention, where she supports the evaluation of the Public Health and Safety Team (PHAST) toolkit.  Prior to her role at the CDC Foundation, Ms. Roe worked for Public Health–Seattle and King County as a performance metrics analyst and the King County Department of Community and Human Services a housing and homelessness evaluator.

Shannon L. Kelly

Director, National High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program
Assistant Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Ms. Shannon L. Kelly is the Assistant Director at the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Director of the HIDTA Program.

Sharon M. Burden

Executive Director
Alcohol & Addictions Resource Center

Ms. Sharon Burden has been with the Alcohol & Addictions Resource Center in South Bend, Indiana, since 1984.  She is a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, a Substance Abuse Professional, and an Indiana Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor.  In addition, she holds a National Certified Addiction Counselor II credential.  She has been the co-chair of the Overdose Fatality Review team in St. Joseph County, Indiana, since its inception in the spring of 2019.

Shaun Doyne

Captain
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Police Department

Captain Shaun Doyne has been a member of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Police Department for 25 years and is currently the commander of the Forensics Division.  Captain Doyne was previously a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer/group supervisor of Drug Gang Task Force Group 68 as part of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program.  He has participated in several overdose fatality reviews and roundtable discussions.  He was the chairman of the Law Enforcement Committee for the 2018 Summit on Opioid and Meth:  Making Progress Through Collaboration Conference.

Stephanie Noblit

Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association

Ms. Stephanie Noblit is a legislative attorney at the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association.  In this position, she conducts legislative and legal research on a variety of topics within the areas of public health, public safety, and criminal justice.

Additional Biography Information:  https://legislativeanalysis.org/

Stephanie Rubel

M.P.H.
Health Scientist
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ms. Stephanie Rubel’s work at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focuses on programs designed to enhance and leverage partnerships between public health and public safety to end the overdose epidemic.

Additional Biography Information:  www.linkedin.com/in/srubel

Stephen Barnes

Public Health Analyst
CDC Foundation

Mr. Steve Barnes joined the Overdose Response Strategy as Utah’s public health analyst in January 2020 and brings a background in epidemiology, biotechnology research, and academic research.  His experience in the field includes positions as an epidemiologist with the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenrbarnes/

Tammy Brown

Senior Policy Advisor
Bureau of Justice Assistance

Tammy Brown brings 20 years of experience in the criminal justice system to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) as a Senior Policy Advisor.  She oversees several projects related to law enforcement and prosecution including the Crime Gun Intelligence Centers, the National Resource and Technical Assistance Center for Improving Law Enforcement Investigations, developing best practices in prosecution, and improving homicide clearance rates.  Before coming to BJA, she served as the Chief of External Affairs for the Baltimore City, Maryland, State’s Attorney’s Office, where she was responsible for community affairs, victim services, prevention programming, communication, grants, legislation, and policy for the office.  In that capacity, she served as the front line to the community and spearheaded criminal justice reform.  Prior, she served as Governor Martin O’Malley’s Executive Director for the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, where she advised the Governor on criminal justice issues and oversaw the administration of more than $100 million in federal and state grant funds.  She was also responsible for coordination and collaboration with public safety agencies at the local, state, and federal levels to develop and implement effective strategies and tactics that helped lead to historic lows in violent crime in Maryland.  In this position, she led criminal justice reform in the areas of pretrial, gun laws, death penalty, reentry, human trafficking, domestic violence, diversion, and juvenile justice.

Terri Pate

Senior Manager
Institute for Intergovernmental Research

Ms. Terri Pate is a senior manager with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) and is an experienced project manager of multiple complex national-level programs.  In her current capacity, she manages the Justice and Public Health Initiatives Program within IIR, which includes the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) and the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP).  She is responsible for providing daily oversight and direction regarding COSSAP and PDMP activities and serves as IIR’s primary point-of-contact with the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s leadership.

Previously, Ms. Pate managed, provided oversight, and coordinated activities in support of the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative, the National Information Exchange Model Project, the National Juvenile Justice Information Sharing Training and Technical Assistance Project, the Crime Analysis Capability Building Project, and other related initiatives.

Prior to joining IIR, Ms. Pate served as a program administrator over the Investigations and Forensics Services Unit of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Tallahassee, Florida.  She was responsible for the management and oversight of the Investigations and Forensics Program’s budget, performance measurements, grants, and research functions.

Ms. Pate holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Florida State University.  She has more than 35 years of experience in the criminal justice field and more than 17 years of experience in technical assistance delivery.

Theresa C. Tobin

Behavioral Health Division, New York Police Department

Assistant Chief Theresa C. Tobin, also Commanding Officer of the Behavioral Health Division of the New York Police Department (NYPD), joined the NYPD in 1983 and began her career on patrol in South Jamaica, Queens.  She was promoted through the ranks to her current title of Assistant Chief.  As Commanding Officer of the Behavioral Health Division, Assistant Chief Tobin and her colleagues work with components of the criminal justice system, other government agencies in health care, mental health advocates, and community members.  Assistant Chief Tobin earned a Ph.D. and a master of arts degree in criminal justice; a master’s degree in social work; and a bachelor of science degree in sociology/social work.  She has been a New York State certified social worker since 1985.  Assistant Chief Tobin is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy; the Police Management Institute; and Harvard University’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program.

Tiffany Hicks

E.M.P.A., C.P.S.
Drug Intelligence Officer
Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Ms. Tiffany Hicks is an experienced criminal justice professional with expertise in illicit drug trends and trafficking.  She specializes in convening diverse partners and facilitating collaboration to plan and implement innovative strategies addressing community threats.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-hicks-59bb0950/

Todd Whitmore

Ph.D.
Certified Addiction Peer Recovery Coach

Dr. Todd Whitmore is a professor at the University of Notre Dame.  In his research, he draws upon ethnographic methods such as participant observation and the semi-structured interview to look at the opioid crisis.  To facilitate this and contribute to the wider community, Dr. Whitmore is also a Certified Addiction Peer Recovery Coach, and as such, he has worked directly with persons with substance use disorders for four years.

Tom Chelius

M.S.
Medical College of Wisconsin

Mr. Tom Chelius has worked at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) for more than 25 years.  He coordinates the MCW’s Epidemiology Data Resource Center and administers its REDCap server.  Mr. Chelius is part of the development team for the Overdose Fatality Review Data System REDCap tools.

Additional Biography Information:  https://www.mcw.edu/departments/epidemiology/people/thomas-chelius-ms

Zoe Soslow

M.S.
Philadelphia Department of Public Health

Ms. Zoe Soslow is the Central Administrator for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s Overdose Fatality Review, OD Stat. She has been with the department since August 2019.  Prior to her work with the Department of Public Health, she worked and studied in behavioral health and forensic medicine.