Robert J. Ackerman, PhD
Robert J. Ackerman is professor emeritus from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the previous director of the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Research and Training Institute. He is co-founder of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics. He is the previous editor of Counselor: The Magazine for Addiction and Behavioral Health Professionals and currently is the chair of the advisory board. He has published numerous articles and research findings and wrote the first book in the United States on children of alcoholics. He has become internationally known for his work with families and children.
Deni C arise is a Clinical Psychologist and has been part of the recovery community for over 30 years. She is currently Chief Clinical Officer of Recovery Centers of America (RCA), and helped raise $350 million for this start-up company. Previously she held similar positions at CRC Health Group, Sierra Tucson, Phoenix House, and was a National Institutes of Health-funded scientist. Carise has published over 100 articles, books and chapters and has been an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. She has worked internationally with treatment providers in Nigeria, Mexico, Thailand, Egypt, Greece, Singapore, Brazil and China to develop national systems of clinical treatment delivery.
J. Gregory Hobelmann, M.D., MPH
Greg recently started as a staff psychiatrist at Ashley after completing his psychiatry residency at Johns Hopkins. He has also completed an anesthesiology residency and pain medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins in 2006. Prior to his psychiatry residency, he worked at Ashley for a year as a staff physician and was in an interventional pain medicine practice for three years. He received a BS in Biology from Georgetown University and a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins. His treatment interests are in addiction and chronic pain.
Robert Matylewicz, DO, FASAM
Dr. Matylewicz is a board certified Addiction Medicine physician and Medical Director at Clarity Way, Inc (Elements Behavioral Health), in Hanover, Pennsylvania. He is also a Board Certified Family Physician and a Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine. He has over 15 years of experience in both residential and outpatient addiction treatment. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Scranton and graduated from The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine where he received a US Army Health Professions Scholarship. Prior to medical school he served as a special weapons officer with the US Army. He served with the First Infantry Division and served in Operation Desert Storm. He then served as a General Medical Officer and completed a residency in Family Medicine.
Dr. Matylewicz specializes in the treatment of medically complex addiction cases and works closely with the clinical director and therapy team developing a i individualizedtreatment plan. His interests clinically are prescription opioids and the use of MAT (medically assisted treatment) as a therapeutic tool in recovery.
Dr. Matylewicz is a board certified Addiction Medicine physician and Medical Director at Clarity Way, Inc (Elements Behavioral Health), in Hanover, Pennsylvania. He is also a Board Certified Family Physician and a Diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine. He has over 15 years of experience in both residential and outpatient addiction treatment. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Scranton and graduated from The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine where he received a US Army Health Professions Scholarship. Prior to medical school he served as a special weapons officer with the US Army. He served with the First Infantry Division and served in Operation Desert Storm. He then served as a General Medical Officer and completed a residency in Family Medicine.
Dr. Matylewicz specializes in the treatment of medically complex addiction cases and works closely with the clinical director and therapy team developing a i individualizedtreatment plan. His interests clinically are prescription opioids and the use of MAT (medically assisted treatment) as a therapeutic tool in recovery.
Kirk Moberg, MD, PhD
Dr. Kirk Moberg is the Executive Medical Director for the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery. A graduate of the University of Illinois College of Medicine he has practiced in the field of addiction medicine for 22 years. Dr. Moberg is certified by the American Boards of Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. He is an active faculty member at the University of Illinois College of Medicine holding the rank of Clinical Professor.
Moberg oversees the treatment of “process” or “behavioral” addictions such as gambling, sex, shopping/spending, internet, binge eating and hoarding addictions. As a member of the Advisory Council to the Illinois Professional Health Program, he is an advocate for health professionals who are in the process of recovery and trying to reclaim their professional lives. He was recently elected as President of the National Rural Alcohol and Drug Abuse Network, Inc. A popular speaker, Dr. Moberg is a frequent conference participant at the local, regional and national levels. He speaks on a variety of addiction topics most often on process addictions, the new synthetic drugs and drug trends, cannabis, and the opioid overdose epidemic.
Dr. Aldo Morales was born in Havana, Cuba. His interest in pharmacology and addiction stems from his undergraduate degree from Rutgers College of Pharmacy, New Jersey. After studying abroad for his medical degree he returned to New Jersey to complete a four-year Psychiatry residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Morales is Board Certified in both Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. He is a Fellow of the America Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and is a Charter Member of the American Board of Addiction Medicine. He has served as a consultant to various State agencies and to Major League Baseball. Dr. Morales is on the adjunct faculty at FAU, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine in Boca Raton, Florida. He has practiced for more than twenty-five years in Palm Beach and Broward Counties, where he has been an active voice in promoting the message that addiction is a treatable condition, not a moral failing.
Kieran is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of experience in the behavioral health, chemical dependency field. He is American Nurses Credentialing Center certified as a psychiatric, mental health nurse. He also manages the medical and nursing aspect of a 264 - 42 detox facility.
Karen A. Plavan, PhD, CIP
Dr. Plavan is the Executive Director of The Oasis Recovery Center and a Certified Intervention Professional. She serves as Chair, The Coalition for Leadership Education and Advocacy for Recovery (CLEAR) and the Co-Chair of The Pittsburgh Pastoral Care Conference. Dr. Plavan taught in the Graduate Program in Addiction Studies, Penn State University. She served as President of the Allegheny County Alcohol and Drug Planning Council and served on the GOAL Project Board of Directors, teaching addiction studies abroad. Dr. Plavan received her M.Ed. & Ph.D. in Counselor Education from The University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Lipi Roy is an internal medicine physician board certified in addiction medicine. She is the Chief of Addiction Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals, Correctional Health Services where she oversees substance use treatment and recovery efforts at NYC jails including Rikers Island, the nation’s first and largest jail-based opioid treatment program. She is also a clinical associate professor at the NYU Department of Population Health. Previously, Dr. Roy was a primary care doctor to Boston's homeless men and women; the leading cause of death among this vulnerable population was drug overdose. She was also an attending physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Roy's mission is to educate and empower the public to make healthy lifestyle decisions through nutrition, mindfulness and addiction training. Through her healthy spices website, Spices for Life MD, she shares her expertise on the evidence-based health benefits of spices, recipes, health conditions, homeless health and addiction treatment. She also discusses relevant health topics on her YouTube Channel. Dr. Roy was a regular contributor on Boston Herald Radio, and has been featured in the Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal and Oprah.com. Her health-related articles have been featured in the Huffington Post and KevinMD.com. She can be followed on Twitter and LinkedIn
Acting Secretary of the Pa. Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs to address the Summit for Clinical Excellence
Jennifer S. Smith was named Acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) in January 2017. She also serves as Deputy Secretary of the Department, and has served in that capacity since November 2015. Pennsylvania, along with the rest of the country, is battling an opioid epidemic. With one in four families in Pennsylvania impacted by the opioid crisis and treatment available to about one in 10 of those in need, DDAP has many charges and steadily-increasing demands. Smith provides steady and clear direction to an agency of approximately 70 individuals charged with leading the Commonwealth’s effort to prevent and reduce drug, alcohol, and gambling addiction, and promote a comprehensive recovery support system. Smith, formerly an accountant who managed a $50 million budget in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Office of the Budget, has directed many high-impact state initiatives that include:
- Implementing the Commonwealth’s first 24/7 toll-free helpline, 1-800-662-HELP, for Pennsylvanians to call for drug and alcohol treatment and resources
- Contracting a new Treatment Episode Data System data system for collecting required treatment and prevention data
- Serving as the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder workgroup lead for the unification of the four-state health and human service departments to form the proposed Department of Health and Human Services
- Directing communications, as well as change management and training activities, for an 18-month organizational change project for over 600 employees within the Office of the Budget
- Managing the development of policy and delivery of training for changes to revenue recognition across the state
Smith’s expertise in project and operation management, coupled with her drive for innovating government services and helping those suffering from addiction, provides the right combination of skills to further DDAP’s mission to engage, coordinate and lead the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s effort to prevent and reduce drug, alcohol and gambling addiction and abuse; and to promote recovery, thereby reducing the human and economic impact of the disease.
