Benjamin Watts
MBA, Health Services Administrator
Vermont Department of Corrections
Ben Watts is the Health Services Administrator for the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC), an expert in performance-based contracting for correctional jurisdictions, and has led the development of Vermont’s correctional medication assisted treatment program. Prior to joining DOC, he was a Research Associate for Community Oriented Correctional Health Services, focusing on the implications of the Affordable Care Act to address the needs of justice-involved individuals. Watts has 15 years of experience in the mental health and social service fields, both in delivering services directly to clients and in managing the administrative aspects of programs. He has a bacherlor's degree in psychology from the University of Vermont and a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in organizational change leadership from Norwich University.
Expanding Access to Treatment for Justice-Involved Populations: Lessons Learned from States
MBA, Health Services Administrator
Vermont Department of Corrections
Ben Watts is the Health Services Administrator for the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC), an expert in performance-based contracting for correctional jurisdictions, and has led the development of Vermont’s correctional medication assisted treatment program. Prior to joining DOC, he was a Research Associate for Community Oriented Correctional Health Services, focusing on the implications of the Affordable Care Act to address the needs of justice-involved individuals. Watts has 15 years of experience in the mental health and social service fields, both in delivering services directly to clients and in managing the administrative aspects of programs. He has a bacherlor's degree in psychology from the University of Vermont and a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in organizational change leadership from Norwich University.
Expanding Access to Treatment for Justice-Involved Populations: Lessons Learned from States
Tim Weber
APS, Drug Treatment and Education Liaison
Office of the State's Attorney, Carroll County, Maryland
Tim Weber is the Drug Treatment and Education Liaison for the States Attorney’s Office in Carroll County, Maryland. He is on the Carroll County Behavioral Health and Addictions Planning Committee, Opioid Response team and is the founding board member of the Triangle Recovery Club. He also founded The Weber Addiction Group and Weber Sober Homes. He is a published author of Gutters and Roses with notes from a sober home. Weber is certified through the Maryland Association of Prevention Professionals and Advocates as a prevention specialist and is completing his bachelor's degree in business studies. Weber was the 2011 Risky Business Award winner for substance abuse prevention and the DEA's Light of Hope Award winner in 2014, and in 2017, he received a governor's citation for his work in the field of prevention and treatment for substance use disorders. Most importantly, he is in long-term recovery since 2003 from heroin and all drugs and alcohol.
Stamp Out Heroin: One County's Three-Pronged Approach
APS, Drug Treatment and Education Liaison
Office of the State's Attorney, Carroll County, Maryland
Tim Weber is the Drug Treatment and Education Liaison for the States Attorney’s Office in Carroll County, Maryland. He is on the Carroll County Behavioral Health and Addictions Planning Committee, Opioid Response team and is the founding board member of the Triangle Recovery Club. He also founded The Weber Addiction Group and Weber Sober Homes. He is a published author of Gutters and Roses with notes from a sober home. Weber is certified through the Maryland Association of Prevention Professionals and Advocates as a prevention specialist and is completing his bachelor's degree in business studies. Weber was the 2011 Risky Business Award winner for substance abuse prevention and the DEA's Light of Hope Award winner in 2014, and in 2017, he received a governor's citation for his work in the field of prevention and treatment for substance use disorders. Most importantly, he is in long-term recovery since 2003 from heroin and all drugs and alcohol.
Stamp Out Heroin: One County's Three-Pronged Approach
Ellen Weber
JD, Vice President, Health Initiatives
Legal Action Center
Ellen Weber is the Vice President for Health Initiatives at the Legal Action Center (LAC). She helps lead LAC’s efforts to expand access to substance use treatment. Weber worked previously at the center from 1985-2002, during which time she conducted disability rights litigation, established the center’s office in Washington, D.C., and led the center’s national policy work. She led the field’s efforts to obtain protections for persons with substance use disorders under the Americans With Disabilities Act, participated in the first round of national healthcare reform legislation and advocated for a more balanced federal budget for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. Weber held an appointment as Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. She established and directed the Drug Policy and Public Health Strategies Clinic, in which she worked on implementation of the Affordable Care Act and Parity Act in public and private insurance in Maryland, and adoption of harm reduction legislation to address the opioid epidemic. Weber started her career in 1980 as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department. She graduated from Dickinson College and New York University School of Law.
A Parity Framework
JD, Vice President, Health Initiatives
Legal Action Center
Ellen Weber is the Vice President for Health Initiatives at the Legal Action Center (LAC). She helps lead LAC’s efforts to expand access to substance use treatment. Weber worked previously at the center from 1985-2002, during which time she conducted disability rights litigation, established the center’s office in Washington, D.C., and led the center’s national policy work. She led the field’s efforts to obtain protections for persons with substance use disorders under the Americans With Disabilities Act, participated in the first round of national healthcare reform legislation and advocated for a more balanced federal budget for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. Weber held an appointment as Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. She established and directed the Drug Policy and Public Health Strategies Clinic, in which she worked on implementation of the Affordable Care Act and Parity Act in public and private insurance in Maryland, and adoption of harm reduction legislation to address the opioid epidemic. Weber started her career in 1980 as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department. She graduated from Dickinson College and New York University School of Law.
A Parity Framework
Scott Weiner
MD, MPH, Director, Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education Program
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Scott G. Weiner, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM, is an Attending Emergency Physician and Assistant Clinical Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is the Director of B-CORE: The Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Approach and Education Program. Weiner completed his residency training at the Harvard-Affiliated Emergency Medicine Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and his master's degree in public health at Harvard School of Public Health. He is the President-Elect of the Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians. His research focuses on technological innovations that improve the care of emergency department patients presenting with pain, including usage and optimization of online prescription drug monitoring programs and tablet-based screening tools.
Improving Clinician PDMP Interventions: Unsolicited Reports, Provider Report Cards and Mandated Use
MD, MPH, Director, Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Response and Education Program
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Scott G. Weiner, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAAEM, is an Attending Emergency Physician and Assistant Clinical Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is the Director of B-CORE: The Brigham Comprehensive Opioid Approach and Education Program. Weiner completed his residency training at the Harvard-Affiliated Emergency Medicine Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and his master's degree in public health at Harvard School of Public Health. He is the President-Elect of the Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians. His research focuses on technological innovations that improve the care of emergency department patients presenting with pain, including usage and optimization of online prescription drug monitoring programs and tablet-based screening tools.
Improving Clinician PDMP Interventions: Unsolicited Reports, Provider Report Cards and Mandated Use
T.R. Williams
County Executive
Lawrence County, Tennessee
County Executive T.R. Williams is the chief executive officer of Lawrence County, Tennessee, and is the highest elected official. The position also serves as the chief financial officer for the county, as provided by law. Williams is responsible for the coordinated processing and analysis of all county legislative measures. Williams also is a businessman, pastor and active community leader. He has devoted much of his life to serving the people of Lawrence County. Along with his duties as pastor of a non-denominational church in Leoma, he has served on numerous civic boards including the Lawrence County Economic Development Board. Williams has been an integral part in building Lawrence County’s prevention, treatment and recovery community. With his leadership, Lawrence County started the Lawrence County Substance Abuse Coalition, Faith Based Recovery Coalition, and Lawrence County Recovery Court.
Faith-Based Recovery Support: What Works in Tennessee
County Executive
Lawrence County, Tennessee
County Executive T.R. Williams is the chief executive officer of Lawrence County, Tennessee, and is the highest elected official. The position also serves as the chief financial officer for the county, as provided by law. Williams is responsible for the coordinated processing and analysis of all county legislative measures. Williams also is a businessman, pastor and active community leader. He has devoted much of his life to serving the people of Lawrence County. Along with his duties as pastor of a non-denominational church in Leoma, he has served on numerous civic boards including the Lawrence County Economic Development Board. Williams has been an integral part in building Lawrence County’s prevention, treatment and recovery community. With his leadership, Lawrence County started the Lawrence County Substance Abuse Coalition, Faith Based Recovery Coalition, and Lawrence County Recovery Court.
Faith-Based Recovery Support: What Works in Tennessee
Jessica Wolff
MPH, Evaluator/Program Manager
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Jessica Wolff has six years of program evaluation and project management experience in a variety of public health fields, including global HIV/AIDS prevention, youth suicide prevention and children’s mental health services. She currently serves as project manager for the Heroin Response Strategy, a 20-state collaborative between public health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and public safety (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas) to address the opioid epidemic. Prior to her work with the Heroin Response Strategy, Jessica was a Senior Research Associate at a public health consulting firm, providing evaluation training and technical assistance to federally funded grantees.
Takeaways from the HIDTA/CDC Heroin Response Strategy and an Assessment of 911 Good Samaritan Laws
MPH, Evaluator/Program Manager
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Jessica Wolff has six years of program evaluation and project management experience in a variety of public health fields, including global HIV/AIDS prevention, youth suicide prevention and children’s mental health services. She currently serves as project manager for the Heroin Response Strategy, a 20-state collaborative between public health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and public safety (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas) to address the opioid epidemic. Prior to her work with the Heroin Response Strategy, Jessica was a Senior Research Associate at a public health consulting firm, providing evaluation training and technical assistance to federally funded grantees.
Takeaways from the HIDTA/CDC Heroin Response Strategy and an Assessment of 911 Good Samaritan Laws
Karen Wolownik Albert
MSW, LCSW, Executive Director
Gateway Foundation
Karen Wolownik Albert is the Executive Director of Gateway Foundation’s Lake County Treatment Services. She has more than 20 years of behavioral health experience and has worked in a variety of outpatient and residential settings throughout her career. Wolownik Albert earned her bachelor's degree and master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan, and she is a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois. She is an experienced trainer, presenting at local and national conferences on a wide array of topics. She is on the board of the Lake County Opioid Initiative, as well as a Co-Chair of the Treatment Committee, and a core member in the development of the county's law-assisted diversion program, A Way Out. Wolownik Albert is a member of the Lake County Underage Drinking and Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and she represented that organization at the national Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America conference this past year. She is also on the Steering Committee and co-chairs the Treatment Committee for the Chicago Area Opioid Task Force. Additionally, Wolownik Albert is an adjunct professor at the College of Lake County.
Project Warm Hand Off: From Rescue to Treatment
MSW, LCSW, Executive Director
Gateway Foundation
Karen Wolownik Albert is the Executive Director of Gateway Foundation’s Lake County Treatment Services. She has more than 20 years of behavioral health experience and has worked in a variety of outpatient and residential settings throughout her career. Wolownik Albert earned her bachelor's degree and master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan, and she is a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois. She is an experienced trainer, presenting at local and national conferences on a wide array of topics. She is on the board of the Lake County Opioid Initiative, as well as a Co-Chair of the Treatment Committee, and a core member in the development of the county's law-assisted diversion program, A Way Out. Wolownik Albert is a member of the Lake County Underage Drinking and Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and she represented that organization at the national Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America conference this past year. She is also on the Steering Committee and co-chairs the Treatment Committee for the Chicago Area Opioid Task Force. Additionally, Wolownik Albert is an adjunct professor at the College of Lake County.
Project Warm Hand Off: From Rescue to Treatment
Celia Woods
MD, Quality Medical Director
Ventura County (California) Behavioral Health
Dr. Celia Woods, President of Sterling Psychiatric Group, Inc., is passionate about quality care and evidence-based approaches to opioid risk, and currently serves as the Quality Medical Director for Ventura County Behavioral Health. She is a board-certified psychiatrist with both administrative and clinical experience serving a diagnostically and demographically diverse population, including out-patient mental health and clinics, partial psychiatric hospitals, in-patient psychiatric hospitals, group homes and nursing homes, and extensive experience with substance use disorders.
Safe Alprazolam Prescribing and Benzodiazepine Monitoring Program
MD, Quality Medical Director
Ventura County (California) Behavioral Health
Dr. Celia Woods, President of Sterling Psychiatric Group, Inc., is passionate about quality care and evidence-based approaches to opioid risk, and currently serves as the Quality Medical Director for Ventura County Behavioral Health. She is a board-certified psychiatrist with both administrative and clinical experience serving a diagnostically and demographically diverse population, including out-patient mental health and clinics, partial psychiatric hospitals, in-patient psychiatric hospitals, group homes and nursing homes, and extensive experience with substance use disorders.
Safe Alprazolam Prescribing and Benzodiazepine Monitoring Program
Peter Yellowlees
MD, MBBS, Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California Davis
University of California Davis
Dr. Peter Yellowlees lives in Sacramento, California, where he is Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California Davis. He is President of the American Telemedicine Association, a member of the National Academy of Sciences review committee evaluating the national VA mental health services for veterans, a member of the American Psychiatric Association workgroup on telepsychiatry, and co-founder of HealthLinkNow, Inc. An experienced speaker and media commentator, Yellowlees has written and produced over 180 video editorials on psychiatry for Medscape. He has multiple research interests and is presently working on the development and validation of asynchronous telepsychiatry, automated translation and clinical interpreting systems, internet e-mail and video consultation services and assessment and treatment protocols to improve physician health and wellness. Yellowlees is an expert in physician health and telepsychiatry. He chairs the UC Davis Health System Wellbeing Committee and has many physicians as patients. He has provided clinical consultations to patients on Indian health reservations via telemedicine for over a decade. He has worked in public and private sectors in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, including rural settings. He has published five books and over 200 scientific articles and book chapters.
Expanding Access to OUD Treatment: The Role of Telehealth
MD, MBBS, Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California Davis
University of California Davis
Dr. Peter Yellowlees lives in Sacramento, California, where he is Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California Davis. He is President of the American Telemedicine Association, a member of the National Academy of Sciences review committee evaluating the national VA mental health services for veterans, a member of the American Psychiatric Association workgroup on telepsychiatry, and co-founder of HealthLinkNow, Inc. An experienced speaker and media commentator, Yellowlees has written and produced over 180 video editorials on psychiatry for Medscape. He has multiple research interests and is presently working on the development and validation of asynchronous telepsychiatry, automated translation and clinical interpreting systems, internet e-mail and video consultation services and assessment and treatment protocols to improve physician health and wellness. Yellowlees is an expert in physician health and telepsychiatry. He chairs the UC Davis Health System Wellbeing Committee and has many physicians as patients. He has provided clinical consultations to patients on Indian health reservations via telemedicine for over a decade. He has worked in public and private sectors in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, including rural settings. He has published five books and over 200 scientific articles and book chapters.
Expanding Access to OUD Treatment: The Role of Telehealth
Chad Zadrazil
Managing Director
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
Chad Zadrazil is currently the Managing Director of the Wisconsin Controlled Substances Board and the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program at the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. He joined the Department in March 2010 to manage a multistate project to streamline the physician licensure process. Since November 2011, Chad has coordinated the development, operation, and enhancement of the WI PDMP. He was a Team Leader for Wisconsin’s participation in the National Governors Association Policy Academy to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse. Chad is currently the Co-Leader for the PDMP/EHR Integration & Interoperability Community of Practice for the CDC Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States project and is a member of the Prescription Monitoring Information eXchange (PMIX) Working Group Executive Committee and serves as the Chair of the PMIX Operations Subcommittee. Chad has a Bachelor of Arts degree and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Managing Director
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
Chad Zadrazil is currently the Managing Director of the Wisconsin Controlled Substances Board and the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program at the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. He joined the Department in March 2010 to manage a multistate project to streamline the physician licensure process. Since November 2011, Chad has coordinated the development, operation, and enhancement of the WI PDMP. He was a Team Leader for Wisconsin’s participation in the National Governors Association Policy Academy to Reduce Prescription Drug Abuse. Chad is currently the Co-Leader for the PDMP/EHR Integration & Interoperability Community of Practice for the CDC Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States project and is a member of the Prescription Monitoring Information eXchange (PMIX) Working Group Executive Committee and serves as the Chair of the PMIX Operations Subcommittee. Chad has a Bachelor of Arts degree and Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Emily Zarse
MD, Medical Director of Addiction Psychiatry
Eskenazi Health
Emily Zarse, MD, is the Medical Director of Addiction Psychiatry at Eskenazi Health and is Assistant Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine. In addition to working in a dual diagnosis clinic treating patients with comorbid mental illness and substance use disorders, Zarse is the addictions expert on the Eskenazi Health Opioid Collaborative to improve access to care for opioid dependent patients in a primary care setting. She is training primary care doctors on identifying patients with opioid use disorders and treating appropriate patients with buprenorphine. She is also collaborating with the Emergency Department on Project POINT with an aim to improve access to care for opiate overdose patients.
Integrating Peer Support Service in the ED: Benefits and Challenges
MD, Medical Director of Addiction Psychiatry
Eskenazi Health
Emily Zarse, MD, is the Medical Director of Addiction Psychiatry at Eskenazi Health and is Assistant Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine. In addition to working in a dual diagnosis clinic treating patients with comorbid mental illness and substance use disorders, Zarse is the addictions expert on the Eskenazi Health Opioid Collaborative to improve access to care for opioid dependent patients in a primary care setting. She is training primary care doctors on identifying patients with opioid use disorders and treating appropriate patients with buprenorphine. She is also collaborating with the Emergency Department on Project POINT with an aim to improve access to care for opiate overdose patients.
Integrating Peer Support Service in the ED: Benefits and Challenges
Jon Zibbell
PhD, Senior Public Health Scientist
RTI International
Jon E. Zibbell, PhD, is a Senior Public Health Scientist in the Behavioral and Urban Health Program at the RTI International, where he conducts behavioral epidemiological research on risk factors and health outcomes associated with the opioid epidemic and injection drug use. He is a medical anthropologist with two decades of field experience in the areas of injection drug use, opioid use disorder, drug overdose and injection-related infectious disease. Before coming to RTI, Zibbell worked as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Scientist in the Divisions of Viral Hepatitis and Unintentional Injury Prevention, conducting epidemiological and surveillance research on viral hepatitis and drug overdose while assisting states during outbreak investigations to respond to injuries and infections caused by drug use behaviors. In addition to research, he has conducted rapid ethnographic needs assessments for community-based syringe service and overdose prevention programs and continues to assist states and community organizations to develop evidence-based approaches to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the opioid epidemic. His work has appeared in both academic and professional journals and he holds a joint, adjunct appointment in the Center for the Study of Human Health and the Department of Anthropology at Emory University.
Drug Checking: A Novel Evidence-Based Strategy for Preventing Overdose
PhD, Senior Public Health Scientist
RTI International
Jon E. Zibbell, PhD, is a Senior Public Health Scientist in the Behavioral and Urban Health Program at the RTI International, where he conducts behavioral epidemiological research on risk factors and health outcomes associated with the opioid epidemic and injection drug use. He is a medical anthropologist with two decades of field experience in the areas of injection drug use, opioid use disorder, drug overdose and injection-related infectious disease. Before coming to RTI, Zibbell worked as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Scientist in the Divisions of Viral Hepatitis and Unintentional Injury Prevention, conducting epidemiological and surveillance research on viral hepatitis and drug overdose while assisting states during outbreak investigations to respond to injuries and infections caused by drug use behaviors. In addition to research, he has conducted rapid ethnographic needs assessments for community-based syringe service and overdose prevention programs and continues to assist states and community organizations to develop evidence-based approaches to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the opioid epidemic. His work has appeared in both academic and professional journals and he holds a joint, adjunct appointment in the Center for the Study of Human Health and the Department of Anthropology at Emory University.
Drug Checking: A Novel Evidence-Based Strategy for Preventing Overdose
