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 Adriane dela Cruz, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry
Adriane dela Cruz was born and raised in Houston and earned her BA in Neuroscience from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. She earned her MD and PhD in neuroscience in the MD-PhD Combined Degree Program at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. She completed her dissertation research in the laboratory of Dr. Kathryn Cunningham and studied behavioral, pharmacological, and molecular changes in a rodent model of learned cocaine-environment associations. Dr. dela Cruz then completed her residency in general psychiatry and fellowship in addiction psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas before joining the faculty at UT Southwestern in 2016. She was the lead team study physician on the NIDA CTN-funded ADAPT-2 trial that assessed the efficacy of the combination of bupropion and extended-release naltrexone for the treatment of methamphetamine use disorder. She is currently an associate program director for the general psychiatry residency and practices outpatient addiction psychiatry at UT Southwestern.
Session Title: Evidence-Based Pharmacotherapy for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Use Disorder
Session on Saturday, September 11th
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 Derrick Matthews, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dr. Derrick Matthews is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health. His research explores how social determinants of health facilitate the large disparities in HIV prevention and treatment experienced by Black men who have sex with men (MSM). His focus is on engaging Black MSM communities in all stages of the research process, from descriptive epidemiology to intervention development.
His research agenda also explores the numerous health inequities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations. His work in this area currently focuses on ways to thoughtfully operationalize intersectional discrimination and its effects on health in quantitative research, and to apply intersectionality theory to facilitate health equity.
Session title: HIV and Substance Use: Syndemics and Intersectionality as a Roadmap for Intervention
Session on Friday, September 10th
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 E. Alfonso Romero-Sandoval, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Dr. Romero-Sandoval received a medical degree from Centro Universitario do Occidente, Quetzaltenango (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala) in 1999 and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Universidad de Alcala de Henares, Spain, in 2003. Currently, Dr. Romero-Sandoval is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC (US). His laboratory explores neuroimmune interactions in surgical and neuropathic pain and neuropathies induced by trauma, diabetes or chemotherapy. Additionally, Dr. Romero-Sandoval studies the endocannabinoid system in the context of pain, cannabis pharmacology, and how the cannabis market in the US is shaped and could affect pain patients.
Session Title: The Legal Cannabis Market in the USA and its Implications to Pain Patients and Minorities
Session on Saturday, September 11th
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 Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW
Distinguished Endowed Chair for Research
Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Research
College of Social Work, University of Utah
Director, Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development
Dr. Eric Garland, PhD, LCSW is Distinguished Endowed Chair in Research, Professor and Associate Dean for Research in the University of Utah College of Social Work and Director of the Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development (C-MIIND). Dr. Garland is the developer of an innovative mindfulness-based therapy founded on insights derived from cognitive, affective, and neurobiological science, called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE). As Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator, Dr. Garland has over 180 scientific publications and has received more than $60 million in research grants from the NIH, DOD, and PCORI to conduct translational research on biopsychosocial mechanisms implicated in addiction, emotion dysregulation, and chronic pain, including randomized controlled trials of MORE as a treatment for opioid misuse and opioid use disorder. To complement his expertise in clinical research, Dr. Garland is a licensed psychotherapist with more than 15 years of clinical experience providing mind-body therapies for persons suffering from addictive behaviors, psychological disorders, and chronic pain. In 2019, he was appointed by NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins to the NIH HEAL Multi-disciplinary Working Group comprised of national experts on pain and addiction research to help guide the $1.1 billion HEAL initiative aimed at using science to halt the opioid crisis.
Session Title: Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement: Clinical Efficacy and Biobehavioral Mechanisms of a Neuroscience-Based Treatment for Opioid Misuse and Chronic Pain
Session on Thursday, September 9th
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 Sarah Wakeman, MD
Medical Director, Mass General Substance Use Disorder Initiative
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Sarah E. Wakeman, MD is the Medical Director for the Mass General Hospital Substance Use Disorder Initiative, program director of the Mass General Addiction Medicine fellowship, Medical Director for Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Medical Director of the Mass General Hospital Addiction Consult Team, co-chair of the Mass General Opioid Task Force, and co-chair of the Mass General Brigham Substance Use Steering Committee. She received her A.B. from Brown University and her M.D. from Brown Medical School. She completed residency training in internal medicine and served as Chief Medical Resident at Mass General Hospital. She is a diplomate and fellow of the American Board of Addiction Medicine and board certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. She served on Massachusetts' Governor Baker’s Opioid Addiction Working Group. Nationally, she serves on the American Society of Addiction Medicine Ethics Committee. Clinically she provides specialty addiction and general medical care in the inpatient and outpatient setting at Mass General Hospital and the Mass General Charlestown Health Center. Her research interests include evaluating models for integrated substance use disorder treatment in general medical settings, low threshold treatment models, recovery coaching, physician attitudes and practice related to substance use disorder, and screening for substance use in primary care.
- Session Title: Building Systems of Care to Address the Overdose Crisis
- Session on Friday, September 10th
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 Sheila P. Vakharia, PhD, MSW
Deputy Director, Department of Research and Academic Engagement, Drug Policy Alliance
Sheila P Vakharia is Deputy Director of the Department of Research and Academic Engagement for the Drug Policy Alliance. In that role, she helps DPA staff and others understand a range of drug policy issues while also responding to new studies with critiques and analysis. She plans conferences and convenings on cutting edge issues in the area of drugs, drug research, and harm reduction. Additionally, she is responsible for cultivating relationships with researchers from a wide range of disciplines aligned with DPA’s policy interests and working to mobilize academics in service of DPA policy campaigns. Prior to joining DPA, Dr. Vakharia was an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Long Island University, and had also worked as a clinical social worker in both abstinence-only and harm reduction settings. Her research interests include harm reduction therapy, drug policy reform, drug user stigma, overdose prevention, and social work education. Dr. Vakharia earned her doctorate at Florida International University’s School of Social Work. She received her Master’s in Social Work from Binghamton University and a Post-Master’s Certificate in the Addictions from New York University.
Session Title: Advances in Harm Reduction and Treatment for People Who Use Drugs
Session on Friday, September 10th
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 Stefanie Carnes, PhD, CSAT-S, LMFT
President, International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals
Senior Fellow, Meadows Behavioral Healthcare
Stefanie Carnes, Ph.D. is the President of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals, a training institute and professional organization for addiction professionals, and a senior fellow for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare where she works with sexually addicted clients and their families. Dr. Carnes is the clinical architect for Willow House: Relationship Healing for Women struggling with sex, love and intimacy disorders and works closely with the staff of Willow House and Gentle Path to bring her unique expertise to the programs and to aid the clients who suffer with intimacy and relationship disorders. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an AAMFT approved supervisor. Dr. Carnes is also a clinical sexologist and certified sex addiction therapist and supervisor, specializing in therapy for couples and families struggling with sexual addiction. She presents regularly at conferences at both the state and national levels. She is also the author of numerous publications including her books, Mending a Shattered Heart: A Guide for Partners of Sex Addicts, and Facing Heartbreak: Steps to Recovery for Partners of Sex Addicts, and Facing Addiction: Starting Recovery from Alcohol and Drugs. Her new book, recently released, is titled “Courageous Love: A Guide for Couples Conquering Betrayal."
- Session Title: The Not-So-Hidden Epidemic of Compulsive and Addictive Sexual Behavior: Diagnosis and Implications for Treatment
- Session on Friday, September 10th
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 Sebastian G. Kaplan, PhD
Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Sebastian G. Kaplan, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Sebastian is a former special education teacher, who currently provides individual and family psychotherapy, primarily with adolescents and young adults, struggling with a variety of life challenges. Sebastian has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2008. He provides training and consultation in MI for a variety of regional and national audiences. Sebastian is a co-author of "Motivational Interviewing in Schools: Conversations to Improve Behavior and Learning." (Guilford Press 2016). Sebastian is a co-developer of "Motivational Interviewing with Adolescents: A Four-Video Series" (http://www.psychotherapy.net/video/mi-adolescents). Sebastian is also a co-host of "Talking to Change: A Motivational Interviewing Podcast."
Session Title: Motivational Interviewing
Session on Thursday, September 9th
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 H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH
Dean’s Executive Professor of Public Health, Santa Clara University
H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH is currently the Dean's Executive Professor of Public Health at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara California. He is formerly the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMHSA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. He previously worked at the San Francisco VA where he led an outpatient program treating veterans with PTSD. He worked for three years as a health counsel for US Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources for Senator Edward Kennedy.
He contributed to the US Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Health as a Section Editor for Treatment.. He is on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. He is on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts. He is on the Board of Directors of Responsibility.Org.
Dr. Clark received a B.A. in Chemistry from Wayne State University; he holds a MD and a MPH from the University of Michigan; where he completed a Psychiatric Residency at University Hospital, Neuropsychiatric Institute. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Harvard University Law School and completed a two-year Substance Abuse Fellowship at the DVAMC-SF. Dr. Clark received his board certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Addiction.
Session Title: Operationalizing Contingency Management in the Context of Social Justice and Attitudes about those with Substance Use Disorders
Session on Thursday, September 9th
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 Abenaa Jones, PhD
Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Abenaa Jones is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Departments of Mental Health and Health, Behavior, and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Florida. Dr. Jones has expertise in the social and structural determinants of substance use among vulnerable populations. Specifically, her work focuses on drug addiction and co-occurring factors associated with drug addiction (i.e., HIV/AIDS) and evaluating structural (i.e., judicial interventions, policies) and behavioral interventions aimed to reduce substance use and associated health and social consequences. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a recently funded K01 Award entitled “Opioid Use Disorder among Criminal Justice-Involved Women: Integrating Trauma-Informed and Gender-Specific Care with Medication-Assisted Treatment.” Dr. Jones also serves as a Bridge Fellow for the large, multisite NIH/HIV Prevention Trials Network Project “INTEGRA: A Vanguard Study of Integrated Strategies for Linking Persons with Opioid Use Disorder to Care and Prevention for Addiction, HIV, HCV and Primary Care.
Session Title: Substance Use Disorders Among Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System: Incorporating Best Practices to Develop Comprehensive Interventions
Session on Thursday, September 9th
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 Amanda Latimore, PhD
Director, Center for Addiction Research and Effective Solutions (CARES)
Amanda Latimore is a social epidemiologist and the Director of AIR's Center for Addiction Research and Effective Solutions (AIR CARES). Latimore draws on her experience as faculty, researcher, and public health practitioner working directly with state public officials to provide technical assistance on the overdose crisis, strategies that spanned prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery. Prior to joining AIR, Dr. Latimore was faculty at the John’s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and held leadership roles with Baltimore City’s health department and Baltimore City’s behavioral health authority. There she led data projects to inform decision-making and advocacy. Dr. Latimore is adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she continues to teach social epidemiology and advocate for community engagement and research translation.
Session Title: A Public Health Perspective on Substance Use Disorders
Session on Friday, September 10th
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 Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Yale University
Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD, an Addiction Psychiatrist, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, and Director of the Social Justice and Health Equity Curriculum, is dedicated to creating spaces and opportunities for more people of color, specifically Black women in academia who are vastly underrepresented. The fundamental message of equity and inclusion has informed her research, clinical work and leadership duties at Yale and beyond. Dr. Jordan is also one of the new Associate Program Directors for the Yale Psychiatry Residency, a large group of 64 physicians providing mental health and addiction services throughout Yale medical systems in the state of CT.
She recently became Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network within the National Institute of Drug (Ab)use, where she’ll be working to improve health outcomes for people with opioid use disorder in the carceral system. Dr. Jordan also serves the medical director of Recognizing and Eliminating disparities in Culturally-informed Healthcare or (REACH), a Substance (Ab)use and Mental Health Services Administration grant, in conjunction with the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, geared at increasing the number of addiction specialists from racial and ethnic minority populations who obtain training to provide culturally-informed addiction treatment. Passionate about helping racial and ethnic minorities achieve wellness and recovery from substance use disorders, Dr. Jordan was fully drawn to community-based research. Her goal is to improve outcomes for patients from underrepresented racial and ethnic populations, by involving them in every step of the process, from research to clinical interaction. Dr. Jordan is working on an NIH-funded R01 project to provide a computer based cognitive behavioral therapy program known as (CBT4CBT) within the Black Church, an evidenced based therapeutic modality shown to be effective in decreasing substance use. She is also principal investigator of a faith-based recovery program based in 8 Black and Latinx churches throughout the state of CT.
She is elated and inspired to exist in an environment supportive of her vision to work with communities, integrating the cultural and religious aspects of people’s lives, while also addressing structural inequities that impede improved mental health and wellness. She is deeply grateful to be taking care of the most marginalized patients during this time, who are facing extreme challenges in obtaining addiction treatment due to COVID19. Dr. Jordan is the proud recipient of various clinical and research awards and was recently inducted into the Top 40 under 40 society, by her undergraduate alma mater, Hampton University, a historically Black institution.
Session Title: Strengthening Minoritized Communities by Providing Culturally-Informed Treatment for Substance Use Disorders
Session on Saturday, September 11th
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 Elizabeth Shilling, PhD, LCMHC, LCAS, CSI
Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University
Dr. Elizabeth Shilling is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, the Director of the Addiction Research & Clinical Health Masters of Science Program in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate School at Wake Forest University, and the Director of Specialized Counseling Intervention & Training in the Department of Surgery. She is a qualified licensed clinician with over 14 years of experience in clinical mental health counseling with specialties in substance use disorders, brief counseling interventions, trauma-informed care, supervision, and grief. She has over 12 years of clinical education and research experience. She recently completed a two-year project as the Principle Investigator for two grants related to peer support: a North Carolina state grant and the technical assistance grant for the state grant. In her position as PI, she oversaw the implementation of peer services in Wake Forest Baptist Health's Emergency Department and continued to build upon services implemented over the previous years on Internal Medicine services. As the PI of the technical assistance grant, she provided assistance to the five other hospitals who received grant money to implement peer support in their Emergency Departments. In her role as Director of the Specialized Counseling & Intervention Training program at Wake Forest Baptist Health, she oversees a team of five dually licensed clinical mental health counselors and licensed addiction specialists and one peer support specialist who provide brief counseling and support for addiction and other mental health issues to 25-40 patients a day. Additionally, she administers a Student Training Center that provides co-occurring addiction and mental health counseling training and supervision to students from the ARCH program as well as area counseling programs. She serves as a member of the Workplace Violence Committee, Graduate School Committee on Race & Equity, the Behavioral Health Workgroup, and the Department of Surgery Wellness committee. She is also on the board of Insight Human Services.
Session Title: Trauma-Informed Supervision with Co-Occurring Addiction and Mental Health
Session on Thursday, September 9th
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 Yasmin Gay, PhD, LCMHC, LCAS, CCS, MAC, CRC, CCJP
Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University
Dr. Yasmin E. Gay has over 16 years' experiences in the counseling and human service profession. Dr. Gay has provided clinical services in residential, medical, outpatient, and intensive outpatient settings for individuals with various disabilities and impairments, including individuals with substance use and mental health disorders. Dr. Gay serves as an independent contractor and consultant to various community-based agencies providing supervision, clinical interventions, and recommendations as it relates to substance use and mental health best practices. An area of best practice in which she firmly endorses is counselor preparation and development, especially in the area of substance use disorders. Dr. Gay is credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist (LCAS), Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC), Master Addiction Counselor (MAC), Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS) and a Certified Criminal Justice Addictions Professional (CCJP). She is versed in the realm of qualitative research, serving as a doctoral qualitative data analysis intern with the National Board of Certified Counselors. Her areas of research include trauma and trauma informed care, interpersonal violence, older adults and aging populations, general wellness, counselor preparation and development and clinical supervision. She is versed in the realm of qualitative research, serving as a doctoral qualitative data analysis intern with the National Board of Certified Counselors. Dr. Gay finds great value in using qualitative measures such as case studies, narrative, and phenomenology as translational approaches that provide voice from those who are researched.
Session Title: Trauma-Informed Supervision with Co-Occurring Addiction and Mental Health
Session on Thursday, September 9th
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 Zachary Siegel
Journalist
Zachary Siegel is a freelance journalist and writer living in Chicago. He covers public health, mental health, and the criminal-legal system. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Nation, and The Atlantic, among others. He is currently a journalism fellow at Northeastern University's Health in Justice Action Lab.
Session Title: De-stigmatizing Substance Use in the Media
Session on Saturday, September 11th
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