2018 Speakers
 
 
The Rx Summit annually gathers leading field experts, researchers, policy makers, and others to present a comprehensive and diverse agenda. Below are 2018 speakers.
 
 
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Paul Earley
Paul Earley
MD, Georgia Professionals Health Program, Inc.
President-Elect, Federation of State Physician Health Programs
Dr. Paul Earley has been an addiction medicine physician for over 30 years. He specializes in the assessment, treatment and management of healthcare professionals with addictive disorders. He also works with patients already in recovery, providing long-term therapy. He is the author of two books and numerous articles on addiction and its treatment. He is a contributing author to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) textbook, "The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine," and the ASAM criteria. His most recent book, "RecoveryMind Training," is an innovative and comprehensive process designed to reengineer addiction treatment. His work was featured in the documentary series on addiction entitled "Close to Home" by Bill Moyers. Earley is the Medical Director of the Georgia Professionals Health Program, Inc., the Physicians Health Program for the state of Georgia, and the President-elect of the Federation of State Physician Health Programs. He is the President-elect of ASAM. Earley is the recipient of the ASAM Annual Award in 2015.
Improving Addiction Outcomes: Lessons from the Physician Health Program Model


Doug Edwards
Doug Edwards
Director
Institute for the Advancement of Behavioral Healthcare
Doug Edwards is Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Behavioral Healthcare, which produces the National Conference on Addiction Disorders, the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, the Summits for Clinical Excellence, and other conferences for behavioral healthcare professionals and allied stakeholders. He previously was the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of both Addiction Professional and Behavioral Healthcare magazines. Edwards has been serving the mental health and addiction treatment community for more than 17 years. Noted for his behavioral healthcare market expertise, Edwards presents at conferences and moderates expert panel discussions around the country. He earned his master's degree in business administration from Franklin University and his bachelor's degree from The University of Akron.

Welcome and Opening Plenary Session


Jose' Esquibel
Jose' Esquibel
Director, Office of Community Engagement
Colorado Office of the Attorney General
Since 2013, José Esquibel has served as the Vice Chair of Prevention for the Colorado Statewide Substance Abuse Trend and Response Task Force, a legislatively mandated task force chaired by Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman. His role includes active participation in a collaborative and comprehensive approach to addressing multiple issues related to Rx drug abuse through the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention. The consortium serves as the official Rx drug abuse prevention committee of the task force and is focused on implementing the goals of the Colorado Plan to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan related to public awareness, provider and prescriber education, the prescription drug monitoring program, and disposal of unused household medications. Esquibel's experience in substance abuse prevention includes work at the community level and within state government.
Colorado AmeriCorps Community Opioid Response Program


Greg Fabisiak
Greg Fabisiak
Environmental Integration Coordinator
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Greg Fabisiak joined the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in 2009 following a 27-year career in water and wastewater utility management. As the department’s Environmental Integration Coordinator, he provides leadership in formulating and implementing approaches to address emerging environmental issues and those that fall outside of traditional, media-specific regulatory programs. This includes developing the department’s strategy to reduce impacts to public health and the environment from improperly disposed pharmaceuticals. In this role, Fabisiak manages the Colorado Household Medication Take-Back Program and works with a diverse group of stakeholders to expand and promote this program statewide, so that all residents have may access to safe and environmentally-sound options for medication disposal. Fabisiak also serves as co-chair of the Safe Disposal Work Group at the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention.
Safe Disposal in Colorado: A State-Led Approach


Laura Fanucchi
Laura Fanucchi
MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Kentucky
Laura Fanucchi, MD, MPH, is a general internist with additional board certification in addiction medicine. She obtained her medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine, completed internal medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical College, and is currently Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. Fanucchi’s clinical and research focus is on improving the care of hospitalized and medically complex patients with substance use disorders. She is currently providing treatment for opioid use disorder in HIV primary care at the University of Kentucky Bluegrass Care Clinic.
Do the Next Right Thing: A Family-Centered and Multidisciplinary Approach to Substance Abuse Treatment among Perinatal Women


Victor Fazio
Victor Fazio
EdD, MACJ, Detective Sergeant
Ventura County (California) Sheriff’s Office
Victor Fazio has 23 years of law enforcement experience and has been assigned to the Narcotics Bureau at the Ventura County (California) Sheriff’s Office for over 15 years. He is considered an expert throughout the country in pharmaceutical drug diversion and heroin investigations. He began investigating criminally operating physicians and the unlawful practices of pharmaceutical companies in 2002. He was the architect and task force commander of the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit, which investigates any crime involving a pharmaceutical drug or heroin including drug dealing resulting in death. He supervises the Major Narcotics Violator team for the Ventura County Narcotics Task Force known as VCAT. Fazio has investigated and supervised many multi-jurisdictional / international cases involving both Rx drugs and heroin. He has instructed thousands of law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and attorneys for the California Narcotics Officers Association, the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, and other agencies and organizations throughout the country. Fazio has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, a master's degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California. His research interests are focused on reducing harms caused by opioids through physician education.
The Intersection of Law Enforcement and Healthcare: Increased Utilization of California's PDMP


Sean T. Fearns
Sean T. Fearns
Chief, Community Outreach Section, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Sean Fearns has served as the Chief of Community Outreach for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) since 2015, a position that includes management of the DEA Museum, as well as the DEA Community Outreach and Prevention Support section. In this capacity, Fearns is responsible for guiding a diverse and creative staff to develop and implement strategic national partnerships with other organizations that help educate the public on the current drug threats facing the country, communicate key Administration drug prevention messages, and reduce the demand for those drugs, including implementing the DEA 360 Strategy.
Update from the DEA Diversion Control Division


Karina Forrest-Perkins
Karina Forrest-Perkins
MHR, LADC, Chief Executive Officer
The Wayside House, Inc.
Karina A. Forrest‐Perkins is a national speaker and consultant on systems improvement and primary care integration within the behavioral health field. Forrest-Perkins also serves as the Chief Executive Officer for The Wayside House, a women’s chemical dependency and co-occurring treatment center in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Prior to this appointment, she served as the President and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota and Minnesota Communities Caring for Children. Forrest-Perkins has served as a staff member or task force appointee in three Oklahoma governors’ administrations and is a current appointee to the Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Medical Cannabis Research. In addition to her position as CEO of The Wayside House, she has served in executive roles in residential adolescent co-occurring treatment, outpatient co-occurring treatment and substance abuse prevention. She currently consults as a subject matter expert for the National Addiction Technology Transfer Center, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Excellence on Opioid Abuse for Pregnant and Postpartum Women, and SAMHSA’s Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies. Forrest-Perkins is a 2017 Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow and lives in Robbinsdale with her husband, Jack, and cat, Gus.
Opioid Prevention 2.0: Innovative Strategies for Staying Ahead of the Trends


Shai Fuxman
Shai Fuxman
EdD, Senior Research Scientist
Education Development Center
Dr. Shai Fuxman, a Senior Research Scientist with the Education Development Center, is an experienced researcher in the fields of public health and education. He serves as a Senior Training and Technical Assistance Associate for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT), a training and technical assistance center supporting the substance abuse prevention efforts of the country’s states, tribes and jurisdictions. At the CAPT, Fuxman leads the opioid response team, providing research and technical support to states and communities regarding best practices for reducing opioid misuse and overdoses. He has presented to various audiences on risky and protective factors related to opioid misuse, as well as effective strategies for reducing opioid misuse. His subject and skill expertise include positive and healthy youth development, program evaluation, and culturally responsive approaches to health promotion. He has published articles on efforts to engage parents and youth in efforts to reduce risky behaviors among youth. He earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University.
Opioid Prevention 2.0: Innovative Strategies for Staying Ahead of the Trends


Luigi F. Garcia Saavedra
Luigi F. Garcia Saavedra
MPH, Substance Use Epidemiologist Supervisor
New Mexico Department of Health
Luigi F. Garcia Saavedra was born and raised in Lima, Peru. His undergraduate studies were made at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, from where he graduated with a major in Science with focus in Biology. In Lima, he undertook advanced studies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and worked as teacher and researcher. In 2013 he graduated from the Masters in Public Health program at University of New Mexico, with a concentration in Epidemiology. In 2014 he joined the New Mexico Department of Health as Substance Abuse Epidemiologist, where he focused on surveillance, epidemiology translation, and data analysis on substance abuse. In May 2017 became the Substance Use Epidemiologist Supervisor under the NM Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance grant.
States with Fast Data: Lessons Learned from Kentucky, New Mexico and Wisconsin


Trip Gardner
Trip Gardner
MD, Chief Psychiatric Officer and Medical Director of Homeless Health Services
Penobscot Community Health Care
Dr. Trip Gardner is the Chief Psychiatric Officer and Medical Director of Homeless Health Services at Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC), a Federally Qualified Health Center in Bangor, Maine. PCHC provides 350,000 patient visits a year to 65,000 individuals, in 16 locations. In 2004, Gardner created a model that fully integrates mental health services including addiction into primary care. He has presented about integration more than 25 times throughout the country and has served on expert panels for HRSA, SAMHSA and NACHC. Gardner was the project director of the 2005 “Integrated Medical, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for People Who are Homeless” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant that helped establish the first homeless health center in the country to receive level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home certification. This homeless health center was featured in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s “A Guidebook of Professional Practices for Behavioral Health and Primary Care Integration.” Gardner previously served for three years as a regional Medical Director for the State of Maine Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services.
Pharmacists and Physicians: Strategies for Effective Collaboration in Pain Management and MAT


Andrea Gelzer
Andrea Gelzer
Sr. VP & Corporate Chief Medical Officer
AmeriHealth Caritas
Andrea Gelzer, MD, MS, FACP, is the Senior Vice President and Corporate Chief Medical Officer for AmeriHealth Caritas. She is responsible for setting and overseeing the organization’s overall population health management, informatics, quality and provider network contracting strategies, as well as clinical policy development and data analytics oversight for all AmeriHealth Caritas’ health plans and ancillary businesses. Previously, Gelzer served as the Chief Medical Officer for Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan. She also served multiple roles, including Senior Vice President of Clinical Public Affairs at CIGNA Corporation, and for 16 years worked in private practice in Internal Medicine. Gelzer serves on several national committees. She earned her undergraduate degree from Tufts University and her Doctor of Medicine from St. George’s University. She also received a master’s degree in preventive medicine/administrative medicine at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in clinical informatics.
Health Plans Address America’s Opioid Epidemic with Evidence-Based Strategies


Roshni Ghosh
Roshni Ghosh
MD, MPH, Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer
Premier, Inc.
Dr. Roshni Ghosh had more than 15 years of experience in healthcare, with a focus on the delivery of care, health outcomes, health quality and population health management, with a focus on change management, clinical workflow design and business process reengineering skills and overall quality improvement. Ghosh has extensive experience analyzing trends in health information technology development and health informatics to increase efficiencies in patient care as well as improve quality and access to care while decreasing costs. Prior to joining Premier, Ghosh served as the Chief Medical Information Officer for Deloitte’s federal health practice. There she drove health analytics and reform, care coordination and population health across all major federal health agencies, the Military Health System and Veteran’s Affairs, as well as in the commercial marketplace. As a SME and a certified Project Management Professional, she also managed the development and deployment of the Department of Defense’s global electronic health record system, as well as the Joint Interagency Program’s clinical informatics and requirements department. At Premier, Ghosh is a VP, Chief Medical Information Officer, as well as Premier’s Government Services Lead. She is also the Program Director for Premier’s Hospital Improvement Innovation Network for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. In addition, Ghosh is spearheading numerous opioid focused pilots and initiatives at Premier focusing on different aspects of the crisis, specifically around pharmacy data and quality, safety and quality outcomes, and the patient experience. Ghosh, an adjunct professor at George Washington University, earned her medical degree from Rutgers University and her master’s in public health from Columbia University.
Hospitals in Action: Creating Safer Post-Operative Management to Reduce Opioid-Related Harm


Patrick Glynn
Patrick Glynn
MA, NREMT, Lieutenant Detective-Commander
Special Investigations and Narcotics Units, Quincy (Massachusetts) Police Department
Lieutenant Detective Patrick Glynn is a 32-year veteran of the Quincy (Massachusetts) Police Department and the Commander of the Special Investigations and Narcotics Units and the Director of the South Shore Drug Task Force. He has been training police officers for the past 25 years. He is a Senior Staff Instructor for the Municipal Police Training Committee, presenter for numerous community groups and adjunct faculty for Eastern Nazarene College. He is a founding member of the Norfolk County Prescription Monitoring Program. In addition, he is the Director of the the Quincy Naloxone Program and has spoken throughout the country on the “Quincy Model." He received the 2013 President’s Advocate for Action Award, presented by Office of National Drug Control Policy, the 2014 Gary P. Hayes Award, presented by the Police Executive Research Forum, and the 2012 Quincy Community Hero Award. Glynn holds a bachelor's degree in human services from New Hampshire College and a master's degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College.
Changing Attitudes: Law Enforcement, Public Health and Naloxone


Bruce A. Goldberger
Bruce A. Goldberger
PhD, Professor and Chief, Division of Forensic Medicine, Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
Dr. Bruce Goldberger is a Professor and the Chief of the Division of Forensic Medicine in the Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Goldberger is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, is a past-President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the President of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and Society of Forensic Toxicologists. Goldberger received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Zoology from Drew University and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Forensic Toxicology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry. He has published numerous articles, reviews and chapters related to forensic toxicology and is co-editor of the "Handbook of Workplace Drug Testing, On-Site Drug Testing and Garriott’s Medicolegal Aspects of Alcohol, 6th Edition."
The National Opioid Overdose Epidemic: It’s Not Just Opioids


Mark Gold, MD
Mark Gold, MD
Cocaine and Addiction Researcher
Mark S. Gold, MD, is a teacher, translational researcher, author, mentor and inventor best known for his work on the brain systems underlying the effects of opiate drugs, cocaine and food. He has worked as an advisor to several White House drug czars, National Institute on Drug Abuse directors and National Institute of Mental Health directors over his more than 40-year career. Gold was co-inventor of the use of clonidine in opioid withdrawal and the dopamine hypothesis for cocaine addiction and anhedonic withdrawal. He pioneered the use of clonidine and lofexidine in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Gold has earned a number of national awards for his research, including the Foundations Fund Prize, the McGovern Award for Lifetime Achievement, the National Leadership Award from the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers, the DARE Lifetime Achievement Award and the PATH Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award--presented to him by drug czar Michael Botticelli. He was awarded distinguished alumni awards from Yale University and Washington University.
America's Hidden Drug Epidemic: It's More than Opioids


Sean Goodison
Sean Goodison
PhD, Deputy Director and Senior Research Criminologist
Police Executive Research Forum
Dr. Sean Goodison is a Deputy Director and Senior Research Criminologist at the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). His work focuses on quantitative research, research methodology, program evaluation, police use of technology and national data collection efforts. He is a member of the FBI’s Use of Force Data Task Force and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) LEADS Agencies Coordinating Council. Prior to joining PERF, he was an analyst and civilian researcher for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Goodison has been the Primary Investigator on a number of studies, including a randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of body-worn cameras on citizen perceptions, and a project to collect and analyze 15 years of homicide data from official records in Washington, D.C. He has worked on numerous other policing-related grants. Goodison has published and presented on various criminological issues, such as firearms, homicide and the history of criminological thought. He received his doctorate in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland and has two master’s degrees, one in forensic science and another in criminal justice, from The George Washington University.
Law Enforcement and Harm Reduction: Merging Public Safety and Public Health Roles


Eric Goplerud
Eric Goplerud
PhD, MA, Vice President and Senior Fellow Public Health
NORC at the University of Chicago
Eric Goplerud, PhD, Vice President and Senior Fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago, has more than 25 years in senior federal and non-governmental leadership directing numerous studies and task forces on behavioral health. At the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), he led the agency’s policy and planning office, directed the agency’s managed care, quality and finance office, and served as first director of SAMHSA’s science to service program to speed transmission of evidence-based practices into everyday clinical practice. In the 15 years since leaving federal service, he has directed major government and foundation-supported programs to integrate behavioral health into acute and primary care settings, including hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and workplace programs. Goplerud led the successful effort to secure new substance use screening and brief intervention CPT codes from AMA and new SBI HCPCS II codes from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and was instrumental in getting Medicare to cover primary care SA screening and brief intervention as a preventive service.
Real Costs of Rx Pain Meds, Opioids and Substance Use in the Workplace: What Employers and Communities Can Do


Thomas Gorman
Thomas Gorman
Director
Rocky Mountain HIDTA
In 1968, Tom Gorman graduated from San Jose State University and joined the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. He served 10 years as an undercover agent. He made 1,000 undercover purchases and received two Purple Hearts from being shot and later stabbed. He was promoted in 1990 to Deputy Chief in charge of statewide drug enforcement operations. In 1997, he retired to become the director of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Gorman is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and is past President of the California Narcotic Officers Association and the National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies. He is President of the National HIDTA Directors Association. He authored "The Myths of Drug Legalization and Marijuana Legalization: The Issues." He authored a recently published book titled "To Believe or not Believe, That is the Question - An Undercover Agent’s Quest for the Truth."
Marijuana: Reading Between the Lines and Understanding the Impact


Scott  Gottlieb
Scott Gottlieb MD
MD, Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Scott Gottlieb, MD, was sworn in as the 23rd Commissioner of Food and Drugs on May 10, 2017. Dr. Gottlieb is a physician, medical policy expert, and public health advocate who previously served as the FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs and before that, as a senior advisor to the FDA Commissioner.

He also worked on implementation of the Medicare drug benefit as a Senior Adviser to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he supported policy work on quality improvement and the agency's coverage process, particularly as it related to new medical technologies.

In 2013 Dr. Gottlieb was appointed by the Senate to serve on the Federal Health Information Technology Policy Committee, which advises the Department of Health and Human Services on healthcare information technology.

Dr. Gottlieb was previously a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the New York University School of Medicine in Manhattan, where he also practiced medicine as a hospitalist physician.

He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, New York and is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, where he studied Economics.


Plenary Session: Agency Update Part 2