2018 Speakers

Daniel  Hicks
Daniel Hicks
Manager, Prevention Services
Ventura County Behavioral Health
Dan Hicks is Manager of Prevention Services for Ventura County Behavioral Health Department. A graduate of Princeton University, Hicks has been an alcohol and drug policy advocate more than 20 years, working closely with city and county governments, public safety agencies and retail establishments. He has facilitated policy discussions of among elected officials, police officers, parents groups and regional media; led policy change efforts to address underage and binge drinking and youth marijuana abuse; and has advanced Rx drug and heroin prevention strategies in cooperation with schools and law enforcement to achieve common goals. Physician outreach and education, direct mail and e-marketing, and paid media placement have all been employed to destigmatize overdose response and facilitate local action. Since October 2014, Hicks has co-led Ventura County’s Overdose Prevention and Rescue Project, reaching thousands of county residents with potentially life-saving information. The project places a heavy focus on quality data collection and analysis in order to target precious prevention resources. Today, fatal and nonfatal overdose data are combined with other community indicators to systematically expand and target overdose prevention efforts for this community of 850,000 residents.
The Intersection of Law Enforcement and Healthcare: Increased Utilization of California's PDMP


Seth S. Himelhoch
Seth S. Himelhoch
MD, MPH, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Seth S. Himelhoch, MD, MPH is a board-certified psychiatrist and a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Himelhoch completed his internship and residency at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and completed a fellowship in health services research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine under the auspices of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program (2001-2003). He is currently a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky. Himelhoch’s program of research focuses on developing and testing interventions to improve access and outcome of care for people with co-occurring psychiatric and drug use disorders. This work has been funded by The National Institutes of Mental Health, Drug Abuse, and Heart, Lung and Blood grants, among others. Throughout his career, he has published extensively in high impact journals, including the American Journal of Psychiatry, AIDS, JAIDS, American Journal of Addictions, and Psychiatric Services. Of note, he is currently a Fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program (2017-2020), where he and his team are working to develop interventions to assist rural communities suffering from the consequences of the opiate epidemic.
Do the Next Right Thing: A Family-Centered and Multidisciplinary Approach to Substance Use Disorder Treatment among Perinatal Women


Julianne Himstreet
Julianne Himstreet
PharmD, BCPS, VA Academic Detailing Service National Program Manager
VA Eugene VA Healthcare Center
Dr. Julianne Himstreet graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degrees in pharmacy and microbiology in 1995 and completed a Doctor of Pharmacy at Oregon State University/Oregon Health Sciences University in 1997. She then completed a PGY2 Residency in Ambulatory Care at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She worked for two years as a Pharmacy Supervisor at the U.S. Army Medical Clinic in Hohenfels, Germany, and then transitioned to the VA Roseburg Healthcare System-Eugene Healthcare Clinic, where she worked for 15 years as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Primary Care. During this time, she also worked for VA Central Office's Office of Public Health as the Senior Clinical Advisor, providing tobacco cessation education for clinical staff at VA medical facilities. She is now an Education and Training National Program Manager for VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Service's Academic Detailing Service and works out of Eugene, Oregon.
VA Best Practices: S.T.O.P. P.A.I.N Initiative and Practice Guidelines


Kim Holland
Kim Holland
MBA, Vice President, State Affairs
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Kim Holland is Vice President, State Affairs, for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. The Blue System is the nation's largest health insurer covering more than 106 million people – one-in-three Americans – providing coverage to individuals in every ZIP code across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In her role with BCBSA, Holland is responsible for ensuring that Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan interests are represented in the development of federal and state legislative and regulatory positions and priorities involving commercial insurance and Medicaid. Additionally, Kim she is BCBSA’s corporate lead in the association’s response to the nation’s opioid epidemic. Prior to joining BCBSA, Holland spent over 20 years as an employee benefit consultant and independent agency executive. In 2005, she was appointed Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner by Gov. Brad Henry to fill an unexpired term, and in 2006 became the first woman elected to the post. Holland resides in Ft. Worth, Texas, with her husband Jim and near her son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.
The Role of Third-Party Payers in Promoting Multi-Disciplinary Care


Jason Hoppe
Jason Hoppe
DO, Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Colorado
Dr. Jason Hoppe is an emergency physician and medical toxicologist at the University of Colorado and Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center with a career focus on Rx opioid safety and maximizing the utility of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). He serves as co-chair for Colorado’s statewide PDMP task force and is a founding member of the coordinating committee for the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention. Through these groups he has worked extensively to improve Colorado’s PDMP. His research using PDMPs has resulted in several published projects linking PDMP and clinical data. These projects have lead to further grant funding for three additional large scale PDMP implementation and evaluation projects. He has worked extensively with the Colorado Board of Pharmacy and the Department of Public Health to improve and evaluate the Colorado PDMP.
Improving Clinician PDMP Interventions: Unsolicited Reports, Provider Report Cards and Mandated Use


Sara Howe
Sara Howe
MS, CHES, Chief Executive Officer
Illinois Association for Behavioral Health
Sara Moscato Howe, MS, CHES, is Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health (IABH). Her responsibilities include state and federal policy analysis and advocacy efforts on behalf of the IABH's membership. Howe also oversees the planning and implementation of IABH’s substance abuse prevention programs: Operation Snowball and the Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute. She is Chair of the Illinois Department of Human Services Social Services Advisory Council, a member of Illinois’ Human Services Commission, and serves as Public Policy Chair of the National Council for Behavioral Health. Howe holds a master's degree in health promotion with a research emphasis in collegiate peer alcohol abuse prevention and a bachelor's degree in health promotion from Purdue University. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University.
A Parity Framework


Joseph Hsu
Joseph Hsu
MD, Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon
Carolinas HealthCare System
Joseph Hsu, MD, is Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon at Carolinas HealthCare System and has over 10 years of experience as an orthopaedic traumatologist. He has clinical expertise in surgical interventions, limb salvage, orthopaedic infections and fragility fractures. His current research interests are in lower extremity disability, Rx drug overdoses and fall prevention. Hsu has several peer-reviewed publications in the field of orthopaedic trauma and hip fractures, and he has experience working within clinical consortiums at a national and international level. He has extensive experience in the military and civilian organizations with creating and implementing clinical practice guidelines.
Using EHR-Based Clinical Decision Supports to Affect Opioid Prescribing Behavior


Jim Huizenga
Jim Huizenga
MD, Chief Clinical Officer
Appriss Health
Jim Huizenga, MD, has a professional career that spans multiple disciplines, including service as a United States Air Force (USAF) fighter pilot, military flight surgeon, emergency physician, software engineer and entrepreneur. His current focus is on the application of data science and cognitive ergonomics as they relate to substance use disorder. He is the Chief Clinical Officer of Appriss Health. Huizenga received his medical degree in 2000 from the University of Michigan and completed his residency in emergency medicine with the combined USAF and Wright State School of Medicine program in Dayton, Ohio. After serving in the military, he joined a private emergency medicine group in Dayton, where he continues to practice clinically. Huizenga has been involved in software development since 1994 and has served in the roles of programmer, architecture design and project manager. His experience includes the design and deployment of analytic and computational tools for the legal and healthcare professions. Huizenga melded his software and clinical experience when he oversaw the design and deployment of NarxCare, which required the collaboration of clinicians, administrators, government officials and developers. Huizenga continues to focus his clinical and software expertise on the opioid epidemic facing the country.


Courtney Hunter
Courtney Hunter
MPA, Director, Advocacy and Government Affairs
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids
Courtney Hunter joined the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, a national nonprofit that supports families struggling with their son or daughter's substance use, in 2009. She has worked in various roles at the Partnership, with the media relations department, state alliance program and the program department, managing The Meth Project. In her current role as Director, Advocacy and Government Affairs, Hunter works closely with families to advocate for more resources at the federal level and increased access to addiction treatment. Hunter graduated cum laude with a degree in political science and Spanish studies from the University of Minnesota. She received her Master in Public Administration degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in 2013.
Empowering Families: How to Address a Loved One’s Opioid Use and Become a Family Advocate


Edward Jacoubs, MSW
Edward Jacoubs, MSW
Director of Grants and Sponsored Projects
Plymouth County District Attorney's Office
Edward Jacoubs is director of grants and special projects for the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. He brings to the board experience designing and implementing programs for off-track youth, and he has authored and received numerous grants focused on supporting Map Academy’s target population. Jacoubs will help facilitate change for high-risk youth through his deep connections to local organizations that can provide resources and supports to Map Academy students and families. Additionally, he is the chair of the Map Academy Board of Trustees.
Drug-Endangered Children: How Law Enforcement, Child Protection Agencies and Schools Can Help


Sherani Jagroep
Sherani Jagroep
MPH, Public Health Analyst
Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA
Sherani Jagroep is a Public Health Analyst with the Atlanta Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), based in the North Carolina Division of Public Health. In the four years since receiving her Master of Public Health in evaluative sciences from Stony Brook University, Jagroep has worked as a Research Co-Investigator on a reproductive health study in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and as a Data Analyst with Physicians for Reproductive Health and Ipas. She joined the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch in February 2017 as a Public Health Analyst, supporting both the public health and public safety sector with data requests and surveillance of the opioid epidemic in North Carolina.
Data-Driven Initiatives to End Overdoses
It's More Than Opioids: Polysubstance Use in North Carolina


Frank James
Frank James
MD, JD, FASAM, FACLM, Vice Chair, Payer Relations Committee
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Dr. Frank James earned his law and medical degrees at Southern Illinois University. He is board certified in general, child and adolescent, and forensic psychiatry, as well as addiction medicine. James spent his clinical years providing inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services in underserved areas in the Ohio Valley. He developed a specialty outpatient clinic for opioid use disorder (OUD). His treatment model focused on the integration of group therapy and psychotropic medication management with the use of urine drug screens (UDS) and medication assisted treatment (MAT). For the last seven years, James has worked in managed care. He provides large behavioral health organizations guidance in drafting evidenced-based benefit guidelines specific to OUD treatment and service, including level of care determination, MAT prior authorizations, and UDS coverage determination. His current focus is medical/behavioral integration and alternative payment model development substance use disorder services. James is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Finance Committee, Vice Chair of ASAM’s Payer Relations Committee, and Alternate to ASAM’s Board of Directors for Region III. He helped develop ASAM’s Public Policy on Hepatitis C treatment, including recommendations for integrating Hepatitis C treatment in SUDs treatment programs, as well as looking at alternative payment models.
Drug Testing in Clinical Practice: When, What, Who and How


Margaret Jarvis
Margaret Jarvis
MD, DFASAM, Director of the Division of Addiction Medicine
Neurosciences Institute at Geisinger Health System
Margaret Jarvis, MD, DFASAM, is the Director of the Division of Addiction Medicine in the Neurosciences Institute at Geisinger Health System. She began her work at Geisinger by being the Medical Director for Marworth Treatment center, which she has done from 1999 to the present. She has worked extensively with the American Society of Addiction Medicine, serving on the board of directors (currently as Vice President) and on many committees. She also chairs the Quality Improvement Council and, in that capacity, has overseen the creation of the recent publication, “Appropriate Use of Drug Testing in Clinical Addiction Medicine.”
Drug Testing in Clinical Practice: When, What, Who and How


Nancy Jennings
Nancy Jennings
BSN, RN, Beyond Birth Nurse Navigator
University of Kentucky HealthCare
Nancy Jennings has more than 24 years of OB/GYN nursing experience. She earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Kentucky in 1986. Jennings currently serves as the lead Perinatal Recovery Facilitator for the PATHways Beyond Birth program at University of Kentucky HealthCare. The program provides women a treatment model to improve skills to actively manage their recovery and engage in attachment-based parenting, while also providing opportunities for continuing education and job training. These are all critical to long-term recovery and improving psychosocial and physical health.
Do the Next Right Thing: A Family-Centered and Multidisciplinary Approach to Substance Use Disorder Treatment among Perinatal Women


Christopher M. Jones
Christopher M. Jones
PharmD, MPH, Director, National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Member, National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board
Dr. Christopher M. Jones currently serves as the Director of the National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Prior to joining SAMHSA, he served as Acting Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science and Data Policy and Director of the Division of Science Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Office of Science and Data Policy is the HHS focal point for policy research, analysis, evaluation, and coordination of public health, science, and data policy activities, and provides authoritative advice and analytical support to HHS leadership on public health, science, and data policy issues and initiatives. Jones also has served as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Commissioner at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) drug abuse and overdose activities, where he focused on strategic policy development and implementation, engaging national and state partners, and conducting research to improve policy and clinical practice. During his career, Jones has served as Senior Public Health Advisor to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, led the FDA’s Drug Safety and Risk Communication team, and served on the Science Team in the CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile. He received his bachelor's degree from Reinhart College, his doctorate degree in pharmacy from Mercer University, and his master's degree in public health from New York Medical College, and he is currently completing his doctorate degree in public health at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Jones has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications on the topic of drug abuse and overdose. Jones is a member of the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit Advisory Board.
Addressing the Opioid Crisis Begins at the Border


Jeffrey Jordan
Jeffrey Jordan
President and Executive Creative Director
Rescue | The Behavior Change Agency
Jeffrey Jordan prioritizes social change. Observing the lack of effective social marketing services, he started Rescue when he was 17 years old. Jeffrey studied Marketing for his undergraduate degree and received a Master’s in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. Today, Jeffrey continues to lead Rescue, a behavior change marketing agency. As President and Executive Creative Director, he oversees the management of dozens of behavior change programs around the country as well as a staff of 150 change agents across five offices. As the developer of Social Branding®, Jeffrey focuses on the relationship between identity, culture and behaviour to cause behavior change across all age groups. Rescue’s work includes the FDA's national tobacco prevention campaign for multicultural teens and its LGBT young adult effort, as well as active contracts with over a dozen state and local health departments. Rescue and it’s partners are committed to advancing the science of behavior change marketing, collaborating on over a dozen published scientific articles.

Jeffrey Jordan
Jeffrey Jordan
President and Executive Creative Director
Rescue Agency
Jeffrey is President and Executive Creative Director of Rescue, a health behavior change marketing agency focused on making healthy behaviors easier and more appealing. Jeff studied Marketing for his undergraduate degree and received a Master's in Experimental Psychology. Since founding Rescue in 2001, he has led its growth to include dozens health behavior change programs across North America, tackling issues such as tobacco, sexual health, obesity, and substance use. Rescue's campaigns include the FDA's national tobacco prevention campaigns for multicultural teens and LGBT young adults, as well as active contracts with over a dozen state and local health departments. Over the past 2 years, Rescue has been applying its health behavior change expertise to opioid prevention, including the state of Vermont's new opioid prevention campaign, Over The Dose.
Not All Messages Are Worth Promoting: Developing the Right Prevention Communications for Different Opioid Risk Populations - Hosted by Rescue | The Behavior Change Agency


Jonathan Judge
Jonathan Judge
MA, Program Director
Rise Above Colorado
Jonathan Judge is the Director of Youth Engagement at Rise Above Colorado. He brings significant curriculum design and program management experience to his role leading youth outreach efforts for the organization. As director for the International Towne program at Young Americans Center for Financial Education from 2003-2008, Judge led curriculum creation, as well as overall program management of a middle-school, hands-on education program in global economics. Moving on to become the Program Manager for the Colorado Meth Project, he developed and led the organization’s volunteer network, oversaw statewide outreach to schools and youth serving agencies, and led an initiative to design and pilot a nationally utilized meth prevention curriculum. Judge designs, implements and monitors the organization’s social media activity and leads large-scale community art projects across Colorado.
#IRiseAbove: Social Media and Engagement Strategies for Youth Substance Misuse Prevention


Kavitha Kailasam
Kavitha Kailasam
MA, Director of Community Partnerships
Rise Above Colorado
Kavitha Kailasam is the Director of Community Partnerships and Capacity Building at Rise Above Colorado. She has worked in youth development programs for the last 12 years in a variety of capacities and locations, spanning the private and public sectors. At Rise Above Colorado, Kailasam is responsible for supporting community partners in implementing youth engagement and Rx drug misuse prevention strategies. Prior to joining Rise Above Colorado, she directed a youth violence and substance misuse prevention funding program for the State of Colorado. Kailasam received undergraduate and graduate degrees in international development from the University of Denver.
#IRiseAbove: Social Media and Engagement Strategies for Youth Substance Misuse Prevention


Mina "Mike" Kalfas
Mina "Mike" Kalfas
MD, Primary Care Physician
The Christ Hospital Health Network, Cincinnati
Mina Kalfas, MD, is a primary care physician with The Christ Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati, Ohio. A drug treatment clinic opened up near his primary care practice, and in time, Kalfas was pressed into service. The "accidental addiction doc" became a certified addiction specialist and an ally of advocacy groups bringing attention to the heroin epidemic. Kalfas received his medical degree at the University Of Kentucky College of Medicine and completed his residency at Bethesda Family Practice Program in Cincinnati. He consults with the Kenton County Detention Center and its addiction services programming.
Coordinating a Community Response: The Northern Kentucky Story - Hosted by Northern Kentucky University