38th Summer Institute 2009 Faculty

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Keynote Speaker

Kenneth Minkoff, MD is one of the world's leading experts on integrated treatment of individuals with co-occurring disorders, and on the development of integrated systems of care through the implementation of a best practice model: the Comprehensive Continuous Integrated System of Care. Dr. Minkoff is a board-certified psychiatrist with additional qualifications in Addiction Psychiatry. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and also a dedicated community psychiatrist with extensive experience in public and private settings.

Faculty, Listed Alphabetically

Mary Altpeter, PhD, MPA is a Senior Research Scientist and Director of Healthy Aging Initiatives at the Institute on Aging and adjunct Lecturer in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is co- Investigator of a three-year CDC-funded community trail to adapt and test the Walk With Ease program for people with arthritis and Principal Investigator of the CDC-funded five-year Special Interest Project (13-04) NC Healthy Aging Research Network (NC-HAN). Dr. Altpeter also serves as consultant to the Carolina and California Geriatric Education Centers, and to the NCOA Center for Healthy Aging. She serves as an evaluation advisor to the North Carolina's AoA-funded Chronic Disease Self-Management program and the REACH II Translation Project, and as the evaluator for the AoA Innovation Grant to Better Serve People with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders.

Cynthia Banfield-Weir, MSW Cynthia Banfield-Weir began her professional career as a social worker who provided in home child and family therapy in a rural area of Massachusetts. She then went on to private practice with suburban children and adults. From private practice she was recruited to be the clinical director of a multi service behavioral and mental health clinic that provided forensic sexual offender evaluations, child and family therapy, behavioral health including methadone and a medical center. For the last 10 year she has worked exclusively in methadone treatment where she has been both a program and clinical director. She has experience in utilization review and performance improvement. At present she is a CARF surveyor in both the program and administrative standards. She is also a part time consultant to JBS.

Judy Belmont, MS, LPC, NCC is a licensed Psychotherapist, Life Skills trainer and member of the National Speakers Association. She is the Founder and Director of Worksite Insights which offers an array of Mental Wellness services to the workplace. She has been a national seminar trainer for mental health professionals for PESI, INC, who published her two practical, "Therapeutic Toolbox" books for mental health professionals published by PESI, INC., and one self-help Wellness Manual used in Corporate Wellness programs.

Kathryn Benson, LADC, NCAC II, SAP, QCS has specialized in addiction recovery issues since 1978 and maintains a clinical consulting practice in Nashville, TN where she provides therapeutic services, clinical program development and clinical supervision services. She is known for challenging herself and her students/colleagues to step out of the comfort zone to take risks to discover who they can be.

C. Hope Bolger, RPh graduated from the University of Tennessee, College of Pharmacy. After practicing her profession in a number of traditional settings, she found herself drawn to specialty practices such as correctional, psychiatric, infectious disease management, long-term care, and finally addiction treatment. She served as a monitor of OTP programs for the Office of Substance Abuse Services from 1987-1994. In late 1994 she formed a consulting pharmacist company and continued to provide pharmacy consultation to the Office of Substance Abuse Services. She also consults for several CSAT projects through various government contractors and is also a surveyor for CARF, an accreditation body. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.

Gregory K. Brown, PhD is a Research Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania where he currently serves as the Co-Director of the Center for the Treatment and Prevention of Suicide. His research has focused on developing, evaluating, and disseminating targeted, psychotherapy interventions for individuals who are indicated as being at high risk for suicide. He has won several awards from the American Association of Suicidology and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Ira Burnim, Esq. is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, who joined the Bazelon Center's legal staff in 1988 and is now legal director. Formerly, Burnim served as legal director of the Children's Defense Fund and prior to that as a senior attorney of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He has litigated precedent-setting cases on mental health and child welfare system reform, managed health care, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Burnim is a member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland.

Jacquelyn Campbell, MSN, PhD is the Anna D. Wolf Chair and Professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing with a joint appointment in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her MSN and PhD are from Wright State University and the University of Rochester Schools of Nursing. She conducted advocacy policy work and research in the area of family violence and addressing health disparities related to trauma since 1980 and has been at Hopkins since 1993. Dr. Campbell has been continuously funded as PI since 1984 on NIH or other governmental research awards including 10 major NIH, NIJ or CDC research grants and has published more than 150 articles and seven books on violence against women. She is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Nursing, and served on the congressionally appointed US Department of Defense Domestic Violence Task Force as well as the Board of Directors of the Baltimore House of Ruth Battered Women's Shelter.

Deborah Clifton, LPC, NCC, CADC joined Human Management Services, Inc., in October, 2007. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a National Certified Counselor and a Certified Addiction Counselor. She has 20 years experience as an addictions counselor, school counselor, marriage and family counselor, psychiatric counselor and mental health center director. She received her bachelor's degree in General Arts and Sciences from Pennsylvania State University and her master's degree in Guidance and Counseling from Eastern Illinois University. She received a post-graduate certificate in Marriage and Family Services from Capella University and is also a Distance Credentialed Counselor. She translated her experience as a practitioner and administrator into her own successful counseling practice from 2004 until 2007. Her two decades of experience allows her to provide expert guidance to HMS clients through individual, couples, and family counseling as well as management consultations.

Thomas H. Coyne, EdD, LCSW is a nationally and internationally recognized adult educator who provides training and technical assistance designed to improve individual and organizational performance regarding the assessment and treatment of substance abuse. He is an advocate for the use of Evidence Based Adult Learning Practices to teach Evidence Based Treatment Practices.

Noel Sincere Duckworth is a Training and Prevention Coordinator for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCADV). She has been involved in community mobilization and advocacy efforts for over fifteen years, and is committed to creating a community where healthy, non-violent relationships, based on equality and respect, are the norm. Noel currently serves as the Program Director for the Centers for Disease Control-funded Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancements and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) Program in Delaware, a national collaboration among fourteen states established in 2002 that supports comprehensive intimate partner violence prevention strategies. Noël holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and a Non-Profit Management Certification from University of Delaware's Center for Community Research and Service.

James Evans is a Training Educator III with the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Training Office, a Paramedic 1st Class with New Castle County, and a long-time instructor with the Delaware Fire School. He has taught Emergency Care and First Aid for first responders, including EMS and law enforcement, and has more than twenty-six years of experience as a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation instructor.

Ruth Flexman, PhD is the Program Coordinator for the University of Delaware's Academy of Lifelong Learning that offers 200 courses taught by volunteer instructors to 2000 members each semester. Prior to coming to the Academy 14 years ago, she was executive director of a social services agency. She also leads mental fitness workshops for American Society on Aging and is a leader in church and community activities.

Mark Godley, PhD is the Director of the Lighthouse Institute, the research and training division of Chestnut Health Systems. Dr. Godley oversees the work of more of more than 90 staff conducting NIH, SAMHSA, and private foundation funded research on the assessment, treatment, and long-term management of substance use disorders. The research and publications of Chestnut scientists have figured prominently in shaping recovery-oriented systems of care. Over the past 34 years he has served as a clinician, treatment program director, research scientist, and research administrator in the addictions field. Dr. Godley's current research interests include innovative approaches to recovery management and the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices.

Susan H. Godley, RhD is a Senior Research Scientist at the Lighthouse Institute of Chestnut Health Systems in Bloomington, IL and directs the Evidence Based Treatment Coordinating Center at Chestnut. She has been a Principal or Co-principal Investigator on several CSAT, NIAAA, and NIDA adolescent studies. Dr. Godley is one of the authors of the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (ACRA) for Adolescent Cannabis Users, one of the five Cannabis Youth Treatment (CYT) study treatment manuals, and was the Principal Investigator of one of the four CYT study sites. She is also an author on the companion case management manual used in the Assertive Continuing Care (ACC) approach. Dr. Godley currently leads the CSAT funded Technical Assistance Contract to train and certify clinicians and supervisors.

Fred J. Hanna, PhD is the Director of the School of Applied Psychology and Counselor Education at the University of Northern Colorado. He also serves as a Faculty Associate at Johns Hopkins University where he was a Professor for 11 years, and also serves as Faculty Affiliate at Penn State University. He has held positions on the editorial boards of six scholarly journals and he serves as a consultant and trainer to community agencies, school systems, and various organizations across America. His research interests have focused on developing the Precursors Model of Change. Fred has also developed and published many innovative clinical techniques aimed at positive change for addicted clients, suicidal clients, aggressive adolescents, victims of oppression, and criminal personalities. He is the author of the book, Therapy with Difficult Clients: Using the Precursors Model to Awaken Change, published by the American Psychological Association.

Jamie Hummel, LPCMH opened Tranquility Counseling in April 2005 as a solo practitioner. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from West Chester University in 1999 and earned a Master's degree from Wilmington College in 2002. She has since completed a Certificate in Clinical Mental Health program as well as several additional trainings. In 2004 she became nationally certified and was state licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) in 2005. Jamie is the President of the Delaware Mental Health Counselors Association (DMHCA) where she is an active member. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors for Brandywine Counseling. Jamie specializes in adolescents and families as well as women's issues. She has a strong interest in working with victims of trauma.

Jill Jackson Ledford, MSW is the Vice President of Health Promotion for the National Center for Healthy Aging (NCOA), focusing on evidence-based prevention programming. Her career in social services at the state and local levels, in both the public and non-profit sectors, includes designing and managing state-of-the-art senior centers. A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Ms. Jackson Ledford is also a master Trainer for the Stanford University Patient Chronic Disease Self Management Program.

Joe Juknelis is a Human Resources practitioner with 40 years of hands-on HR experience. He was Vice President of Human Resources for Baltimore-based Church Home and Hospital when his own position was eliminated due to the down-sizing of this health care corporation. Joe was the Career Transition Manager for MedStar Health Corporation, for whom he developed and successfully managed a career center for this five-hospital health system during its reduction in force. He has also been an adjunct consultant with several executive outplacement firms for whom he coached executive, management and non-management employees in conducting their career searches. He recently retired as the Regional Manager, Human Resources, for Genesis HealthCare Corporation, a company providing long-term care and assisted-living facilities in over 200 facilities. Joe was the regional Human Resource consultant for eight Genesis facilities on Delmarva.

Victoria Kim, MSW currently works for the Mental Health Association in Delaware as the Project Director of Delaware Suicide Prevention. She provides ongoing information and educational trainings regarding suicide prevention in Delaware. Ms. Kim assisted with the organization, development, and implementation of the Delaware Suicide Prevention Plan. Ms. Kim finished doctorate coursework in social work from the University of Maryland and received her MSW from Columbia University, New York.

Christopher Knox, MA is a Training Administrator with the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, and holds a graduate degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Mr. Knox has worked for PECO Energy and has written on the subjects of management development, succession planning, and performance appraisal. Mr. Knox has more than nineteen years of experience in human services, working with individuals with a variety of developmental disabilities and mental health concerns. Additionally, he is a certified American Heart Association Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation/Automated External Defibrillator Trainer.

Patti League, RN is the Wellness Specialist and Lead Trainer for A Matter of Balance Lay Leader Model Program, Maine Health's Partnership for Healthy Aging and has an extensive background in home health care. She joined Maine Health's Partnership for Healthy Aging in 2005 as the Wellness Specialist, working with older adults in the Enhance Wellness Program and as a Lead Trainer overseeing the dissemination of the Matter of Balance Program across the country. She also serves as a facilitator for the Living Well course.

Mary Jo Mather has been the Executive Director of the PA Certification Board for the past 23 years. In February 2008, she also became the Executive Director of the DE Certification Board. Prior to her position with PCB, she worked for the Alcoholism and Addiction Association of Pennsylvania. Mary Jo oversees all aspects of the certification process including serving as ethics investigator in disciplinary proceedings. As Executive Director, Mary Jo has been involved with the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) serving as a current delegate from Pennsylvania, is a former Co-Chair of the Oral Examination Committee, and a former Officer of the IC&RC. Mary Jo was appointed the Executive Director of the IC&RC in March 2006 and continues in this capacity today.

Al Mercatante, LPC is a Career and Personal Performance Coach and a Licensed Professional Counselor. With over 25 years experience, Al has coached hundreds of adults and students to overcome obstacles and to focus on living the life they desire. Prior to establishing his private practice in 1987, he served as the Executive Director of an ecumenical counseling agency for 11 years. In 1996, Al introduced The Highlands Program to Delaware. He is the regional director of this highly effective and successful educational, career and coaching consulting company, which has over 70 offices nationwide.

David Mee-Lee, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist, and is certified by examination of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). He trains and consults both nationally and internationally. Dr. Mee-Lee is Chief Editor of the Revised Second Edition of the ASAM Criteria. He is a Senior Advisor to The Change Companies and is a Senior Fellow for the Co-Occurring Center for Excellence (COCE) for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Dr. Mee-Lee has over thirty years experience in person centered treatment and program development for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions.

Priscilla J. Murphy, LPCMH, MEd, NCC, BSN, RNC is the Assistant Director for the Northeast Region of Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc., as well as the Immediate Past President of Tau Eta Chapter. She is the founder and President of NyLex Educational and Counseling Services. Dr. Murphy is an adjunct faculty member at Wilmington College for Behavioral Science Studies.

Bruce Palmer, MA, LPCMH is a Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health with a Masters Degree in Psychology, Nationally Board Certified and in practice over 30 years. He has been past president and founding member of the Delaware Mental Health Counselors Association, and a member of the American Mental Health Counselor's Ethics Committee. Bruce is in private practice through Full Circle Services providing individual, couple and group therapy as well as leadership for a number of workshops and seminars. Initially Bruce worked with the Delaware Division of Mental Health as an administrator/therapist at the Wilmington outpatient clinics followed by his affiliation with Tressler Centers of Delaware in 1977. Bruce integrates Embodied Gestalt techniques, Jungian concepts, dream work and imagery with traditional therapeutic modalities in working with clients with diverse psychological issues.

Judith E. Pierson, PsyD is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Rehoboth Beach. She also works for Delaware Hospice as a bereavement counselor. She has over 15 years of clinical experience. She conducted support groups for Adult Children of Alcoholics at Boston University for eight years and in her private practice for four years. She has appeared on radio, TV and in newspapers and magazines talking on a range of topics from the mother-daughter relationship to coping with the holidays while grieving.

Dawn Schatz, MSW, DVS spent 10 years in the non-profit, domestic violence field where she developed Delaware's only youth dating violence intervention program, Project P.R.I.D.E. She has provided therapy services for hundreds of adolescents and young adults in abusive relationships and has reached thousands more through outreach presentations and workshops. She also has experience helping adolescents and adults heal from experiences of sexual abuse or assault. Dawn holds a Master's degree in Social Work and is a certified Domestic Violence Specialist in the state of Delaware. She is currently an independent therapist and consultant in Middletown, Delaware, where she founded Appoquinimink Counseling Services, LLC.

Martha Schmitz, PhD offers continuing education workshops and consultation in the treatment of PTSD and substance abuse to clinicians throughout the United States and Canada. She began working with Lisa M. Najavits, Ph.D., author of Seeking Safety: A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse, as a postdoctoral fellow at McLean Hospital-Harvard Medical School in 2000. Dr. Schmitz now resides in California, but continues to work as an associate for Dr. Najavits through Treatment Innovations. In addition, she is a member of the PTSD Clinical Team at the San Francisco V.A. Medical Center and is Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine.

Elaine Taverna is the Director of Community Development at Community Living Service, Inc. (CLS), a non profit organization based in Wayne County, Michigan. Ms. Taverna oversees services to older adults, adults with physical disabilities and CLS's homeless services division. She has over 20 years experience working in the areas of Long Term Care, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use. Serving in a lead role, Elaine has been working in partnership with the Center for Self-Determination for five years. In this role, she developed all aspects of CLS's self determination-based service model for people served within their Community Mental Health system. Elaine works within these systems to affect change in public policy to offer self-determined based models of support services. Her area of expertise is systems development, and she also specializes in transition of traditional human systems models to Individualized, Self determination-based systems models. Ms. Taverna is a trainer and educator and has presented both statewide and at national conferences.

Tony Tommasello, PhD retired from academia is 2008 after 30 years of service to the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy where he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research and Director of the Office of Substance Abuse Studies which he founded. During his 30 year career he conducted addiction research, provided clinical care to chemically dependent patients, and oversaw community service programs of substance abuse education. He is active on a national level as a member of multiple professional associations and speaks frequently on topics related to chemical dependence and its treatment. In his present position in the pharmaceutical industry he provides education and advice to physicians offering office based care to substance abusing and chemically dependent patients. He is the Executive Director of the Pharmacists' Education and Advocacy Council of the State of Maryland that offers confidential rehabilitative services to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy students.

James Walsh, PhD is a Pastoral Counselor in private practice and is an assistant professor in the Community Counseling program at Wilmington College where he teaches and provides clinical supervision for intern students. In his private practice, he provides a broad array of counseling services.