Speakers for the next NCAD will be announced in early 2019. Below are speakers from 2018.
Kristina Padilla
Kristina Padilla MA, IMF, LAADC, ICAADC, CGS
Director of Education & Business Development
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals
Kristina Padilla is a leader with the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP), where she serves as the director of education. Additionally, she is director of business development for the organization, bringing addiction-focused businesses together to promote the profession, increase access to services and improve the quality of service provision through education, business development and investment in quality programming. Padilla has a bachelor’s of science degree in criminal justice administration and a master’s degree in counseling psychology.

Lora Passetti
Lora Passetti MS
Research Projects Manager
Chestnut Health Systems
Lora L. Passetti is a research projects manager at Chestnut Health Systems. She has worked at Chestnut for 21 years and has been involved with several substance use treatment studies of adolescents and adults in outpatient and residential settings. Passetti has her master's degree in counseling psychology and is interested in adolescent participation in continuing care and 12 Step programs as well as the use of technology in treatment. She has presented at national conferences as well as authored or co-authored publications in peer reviewed journals.

Dana Patterson
Dana Patterson
Medication Assisted Treatment & Substance Use Special Projects Director
Oregon Health Authority
Dana Patterson has dedicated 19 years to the development, improvement and expansion of Oregon’s public health system. In 2006, she shifted her focus from physical health to behavioral health, specifically substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services. Focus areas have included: expanding Medicaid services, implementing Medicaid coverage for Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in primary care, expanding the SUD continuum of care to include day treatment with housing support services, improving access to medication assisted treatment and facilitating partnerships between SUD treatment and other health professionals.

Bari K Platter
Bari K Platter MS, RN, PMHCNS-BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Health System
Bari K Platter, MS, RN, PMHCNS-BC is a Psychiatric/Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist with over thirty years of experience working in a variety of mental health settings. Bari is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) trainer and a certified Crucial Conversations trainer. Additional areas of expertise include Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Interpersonal Communication, Cultural Competency and Case Management. She is a nationally recognized speaker/ trainer and is published in the areas of addiction, cultural competency and mental health nursing. Ms. Platter received the Florence Nightingale Award in 2016 and has been nominated for the ANCC Magnet Nurse of the Year for 2017.

Joseph Rogers
Joseph Rogers MDiv.
Director of Spiritual Care
Refuge Recovery Centers
Rev. Joseph Rogers is a Buddhist chaplain and the director of spiritual care and community at Refuge Recovery Centers. He is a founding member of the Refuge Recovery community program as well as an Against the Stream meditation teacher trained under Noah Levine. Joseph received his MDiv in Buddhist Chaplaincy from the University of the West, where he teaches process methodology to chaplaincy students. Rogers completed his clinical pastoral education at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center in the oncology department and worked previously as a professional healthcare chaplain for a Los Angeles area hospice specializing in end of life care for homeless and marginal populations. Previously, Rogers worked for a decade with Visions Adolescent Treatment Center as the director of education and founded their weekly teen mindfulness meditation group.

Zachary Rothenberg
Zachary Rothenberg JD, Esq.
Partner
Nelson Hardiman, LLP
Zachary Rothenberg is a partner at Nelson Hardiman, LLP, a California based healthcare specialty law firm. Mr. Rothenberg has spent more than a decade litigating business disputes for clients in the entertainment, professional services, financial services, marketing, and manufacturing industries. As a partner at Nelson Hardiman, he is able to leverage his broad knowledge of industries and business models when advising healthcare clients. His practice focuses primarily on litigating healthcare industry business disputes.

In the behavioral health space, Mr. Rothenberg has litigated out-of-network and in-network reimbursement cases on behalf of drug rehabilitation facilities. He has also advised on labor and employment defense matters including those related to racial discrimination, wrongful termination, wage & hour disputes and retaliation. Clients have come to rely on his insight regarding employee handbooks and labor code issues. He also regularly counsels clients on special investigation audits and advises on land use, advocating for clients where administrative actions challenge zoning laws, attempting to prevent facilities from operating in their existing location.

Lipi Roy
Lipi Roy MD, MPH
Medical Director
Kingsboro Addiction Treatment Center, New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
Dr. Roy is a physician board certified in addiction medicine and clinical assistant professor at NYU School of Medicine. She is currently the Medical Director of New York City’s Kingsboro Addiction Treatment Center, operated by New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. As the former Chief of Addiction Medicine for NYC jails including Rikers Island, Dr. Roy oversaw substance use treatment and recovery services for the city’s incarcerated men and women. Previously, she was a primary care doctor to Boston's vulnerable homeless population, among whom the leading cause of death was drug overdose; served as an attending physician at Massachusetts General Hospital; and faculty at Harvard Medical School. She completed her MD and MPH degrees at Tulane University, followed by internal medicine training at Duke University. A longtime advocate for public service, she served the underserved in Nicaragua and India; New Orleans residents affected by Hurricane Katrina; and provided medical relief to earthquake victims in Haiti and Boston Marathon runners.

Philip Rutherford
Philip Rutherford BA, CPRS
Director of Operations
Faces & Voices
Phil Rutherford is the Director of Operations of Faces and Voices of Recovery. Phil is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, a passionate member of the Recovery Community, and possesses a self-described Doctorate from the school of Hard Knocks. Phil has a BA in Psychology with a specialization in Substance Use Disorders. Phil’s recent experience as Director of Operations at Recovery Is Happening in Rochester, MN offered Phil a front-row seat into the world of Recovery Community Organizations. Prior to that, Phil spent most of his career in corporate sales, marketing, and management at Microsoft, Micron Electronics, and companies within the Taylor Corporation. Phil is an active member of the Minnesota recovery community and has considerable experience in the areas of Substance Use Disorders, Recovery, and Re-entry.

Sammy Saab
Sammy Saab MD
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Pfleger Liver Institute
Dr. Sammy Saab is a Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine. He is also Head of Outcomes Research in Hepatology at the Pfleger Liver Institute.

Dr. Saab received his BS, MD, and MPH degrees from UCLA. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center and a fellowship in gastroenterology/hepatology at the UCLA Center for Health Sciences. He also served as Chief Medical Resident at USCD. Dr. Saab is board certified in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology.

He has received honorary fellowship from several medical societies and is active in many local, national, and international committees. He is currently on the local and national medical board for the American Liver Foundation.

Dr. Saab was elected to American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Nominating Committee in 2014. He previously served as member of United Network for Organ Sharing Membership and Professional Standards Committee and Performance Analysis and Improvement Subcommittee. Dr. Saab was also an active member of the Minority Affairs Committee Member and Cultural Diversity for the American College of Gastroenterology.

He has been an investigator in numerous clinical trials, has published nearly 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and is on the editorial board of more than a dozen journals and is currently the Section of Liver for the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.

Tony Saavedra
Tony Saavedra
Legal Affairs Writer
Orange County Register
Tony Saavedra is an investigative reporter specializing in legal affairs for the Orange County Register. His work has been recognized by the Best of the West, National Headliners, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and the Orange County Press Club. His stories have led to legislative bills against abuses in California's addiction treatment industry, the closure of a chain of badly-run group homes, the end of a state program that placed criminals in inappropriate public jobs and the creation of a civilian oversight office for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, among other things. Saavedra has covered the Los Angeles riots, the O.J. Simpson case, the downfall of Orange County Sheriff-turned felon Michael S. Carona and the use of unauthorized drugs by Olympian Carl Lewis. Saavedra has worked as a journalist since 1979 and has held positions at several Southern California newspapers before arriving at the Orange County Register in 1990. He graduated from California State University, Fullerton, in 1981 with a bachelor of arts in communication.

Teri Savoie
Teri Savoie MSW, LCSW
Clinical Support Coordinator
WestBridge
Over the past seven years, Teri Savoie has had the opportunity to work with and support families in a variety of settings. Since joining WestBridge, over two years ago, Savoie has had the privilege of working with families, including the facilitation and oversight of Family Education and Support (FES), the organization’s behavioral family therapy model of treatment. More recently, she has moved into a position in which she provides clinical supervision, FES supervision and leadership to the staff at WestBridge, Inc.

David Sheridan
David Sheridan
President
National Alliance for Recovery Residences
Dave Sheridan currently serves as president of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) and is a national speaker and writer with a primary focus on the development and operation of statewide recovery housing systems. His work with NARR includes technical assistance and other efforts related to the establishment of a statewide recovery housing certification and support system. He is also an advocate and resource on fair housing issues. His professional background is in institutional investments, including asset management and product development, and is currently a financial advisor to mid-size companies in areas of capital structure, acquisitions and restructuring. His behavioral health industry experience includes executive positions with a prominent Southern California addiction treatment provider. Sheridan also serves on the board of the Chandler Lodge Foundation, a men’s recovery residence and community center in California.

Kristina Sherry
Kristina Sherry JD, Esq.
Associate
Nelson Hardiman, LLP
Kristina R. Sherry is a transactional and regulatory attorney with Nelson Hardiman, LLP, a California based healthcare specialty law firm. She brings to her healthcare practice the equanimity of a litigator experienced in representing both employers and employees in various labor and employment disputes. She has built her current practice representing a diverse array of healthcare providers, including addiction treatment and behavioral care entities.

Tim Sinott
Tim Sinott MA, LMFT, LAADC
Clinical Director
Elevate Addiction Services
Tim Sinnott, MA, LMFT, LAADC is the Clinical Director of Elevate Addiction Services in Watsonville, CA. Mr. Sinnott has 35 years of experience providing progressive leadership in the profession of addiction rehabilitation. He is a former President of CAADAC and serves on the CCAPP Board of Directors. He has training in Positive Psychology from the University of California Berkeley and The Zur Institute. During his extensive career Mr. Sinnott has had the opportunity to work in hospital administration, psychiatric care and substance use disorders rehabilitation. He has extensive experience as CEO, Executive Director and Clinical Director. He is a frequent conference presenter, behavioral healthcare consultant and has sat on numerous boards of directors.

Louise Stanger
Louise Stanger Ed.D, LCSW, CDWF, CIP
Interventionist
All About Interventions
Louise Stanger uses an invitational intervention approach with complicated mental health, substance misuse, chronic pain and process addiction clients. Stanger has published articles in the Huffington Post, Journal of Alcohol Studies, The Sober World, Recovery Campus, Addiction Blog and other media. The San Diego Business Journal listed her as one of the “Top 10 Women Who Mean Business” and is considered by Quit Alcohol as one of the top 10 Interventionists in the country. Stranger speaks all over the country, trains clinical staff and develops original family programs, such as the one at Driftwood Recovery in Austin, Texas. She is the recipient of the 2014 Foundations Fan Favorite Speaker Award and the 2016 Joseph L. Galletta Spirit of Recovery Award and she is the 2018 Community Honoree (Plus Awards) of the Forgiving For Living Foundation and has a new Texbook The Clinicians Guide to Addiction Interventions.

Keerthy Sunder
Keerthy Sunder MD
Chief Medical Officer
Mind & Body Treatment and Research Institute
Keerthy Sunder, MD, has devoted his life to helping others build peace, joy, fulfillment and peak performance on the foundation of physical and mental health. With more than 25 years of experience, Sunder holds diplomas from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, American Board of Addiction Medicine and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, London. Born in India, his early childhood in the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan had a profound influence on his philosophy and career path, including his deep desire to integrate the mind, body and spirit in all his endeavors.

Sunder is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, a board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), San Jacinto, and an editorial board member for the Journal of Addiction Therapy and Research. He is also a dream builder member of the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM), a member of the credentialing committee for the American Board of Addiction Medicine and an assistant clinical professor at UC Riverside School of Medicine.

Sunder has presented at the Marce Society of Psychiatric Disorders of Childbirth Conference in Oxford, England, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and the NAMI Annual Convention in Anaheim, Calif. His work has been published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and most recently, the Journal of Addiction Therapy and Research.

Sunder is the author of two published papers on mindfulness and neurofeedback in addictions relapse prevention. He is also author of the Amazon International Best Seller book Face Your Addictions & Save Your Life. He is a featured regular contributor to 12 Step Gazette Magazine and hosts an active blog on doctorsunder.com.

Angela Thomas Jones
Angela Thomas Jones LCMHC, MLADC, LCS, CCFP, RY
Therapist
Angela Thomas Jones specializes in trauma-informed treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. She is a certified compassion fatigue professional, a licensed clinical supervisor, serves as ethics committee chairperson and North Country Representative for the New Hampshire Association for Addiction Professionals and holds a Yoga Alliance teacher registration. Thomas Jones has also served as a regional co-coordinator for program accreditation and risk management with the Association for Experiential Education. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, she began volunteering involvement with New Hampshire Disaster Response Behavioral Health Team of Homeland Security. Additionally, she is adjunct faculty at Plymouth State University.

Cyndi Turner
Cyndi Turner LCSW, LSATP, MAC
Co-Founder and Clinical Director
Insight into Action Therapy
Cyndi Turner, LCSW, LSATP, MAC, is the co-founder and clinical director of Insight Into Action Therapy with more than 20 years of experience. She co-developed and facilitates the Dual Diagnosis Recovery Program. She is a national speaker, supervisor for licensure, and therapist for professionals involved in the National Football League Program for Substances of Abuse. Her book, “Can I Keep Drinking? How You Can Decide When Enough is Enough,” offers alternative ways to have a healthier relationship with alcohol.

Wendy Wade
Dr. Wendy Wade PhD, LPCC, CADC 1
Professor
Palo Alto University
Wendy Wade, PhD, LPCC, CADC 1, is a professor in the master’s in counseling program at Palo Alto University, teaching the substance abuse course among others. She has facilitated specialized support groups with children of parents with substance use disorder at Betty Ford Center and provided trainings and conference workshops. She has taught elementary school and counseled special education students and parents. She worked as inpatient drug and alcohol recovery counselor and family program facilitator. Additionally, Wade volunteers at the Moyers Foundation’s Camp Mariposa through San Diego Youth Services, serving children of parents with substance use disorder.

Nathaniel Weiner
Nathaniel Weiner JD, Esq.
Shareholder and Vice-Chair
Polsinelli Behavioral Health Law Group
Nathaniel ‘Tani’ Weiner is a seasoned corporate lawyer with a special focus in the behavioral health field. He designs, implements and closes deals by taking into account not only traditional corporate structure considerations but also the additional layers of licensure, regulatory and reimbursement considerations. Weiner regularly partners with management teams and equity sponsors to successfully execute growth strategies through mergers and acquisitions, financing, joint venture and real estate transactions. Weiner serves as outside general counsel and has a track record of leadership in significant transactions, the resolution of major regulatory, compliance and litigation matters, and policies designed to reduce legal risk. His previous responsibilities include serving in various positions with Acadia Healthcare and CRC Health Group.