NASADAD - Key Persons
Caroline Halsted works with the Women's Services Coordinators and Youth Coordinators at NASADAD. She previously worked for the Illinois Governor's Federal Affairs Office and participated in the National Institute on Drug Abuse's summer research internship program. Caroline holds a B.S. in Community Health with a concentration in health planning and administration and a minor in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Claire Gray supports various technical assistance and research projects at NASADAD. She previously supported the Prevention and Treatment Learning Communities as a Research Associate. Before coming to NASADAD she worked with a community coalition in Baltimore, supporting environmental strategies for substance use prevention. Claire received a B.A. in Public Health and Global Environmental Change & Sustainability from Johns Hopkins University.
Daniel is a second-year graduate student pursuing his Master's in Public Policy at American University with a concentration in Crime, Public Law, and Policy. He completed his undergraduate studies at Villanova University in Spring 2021 with a Bachelor's in Political Science and Sociology and has experience working over the summers for legal tech and compliance-oriented corporations. In his free time, Daniel enjoys basketball, chess, and walking his Bernedoodle Rosie.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Research and Program Applications
Douglas Fuller, Ph.D., joined NASADAD in May 2020. He currently works as the National Treatment Network Team Leader and the Opioid Treatment Network Team Leader, as well as leads other technical assistance and research projects. His experience includes serving as a senior health researcher with over 18 years of experience focused on HIV/AIDS, substance use/disorders, criminal justice, and veteran wellness. Dr. Fuller brings expertise in strategic planning, contract management and acquisition, project budget monitoring, collaborative engagement, technical assistance, and diversity initiatives. He provides deep subject matter expertise in primary and secondary data for patient reported outcomes, clinician reported outcomes, HIV and hepatitis testing, and access to care for historically vulnerable and underserved populations. He received his doctorate in sociology from Howard University in 2005.
Job Titles:
- Research Associate
- Research Associate I
Emma Neller is a Research Associate who works with the National Prevention and Treatment Networks and supports the state Prevention and Treatment Coordinators. Before coming to NASADAD she held a fellowship position working with the Washington State Health Care Authority, where she supported substance use disorder prevention services throughout Washington State. Emma received a B.A. in Public Health-Global Health from the University of Washington.
Job Titles:
- Meeting Planner
- Member Services Coordinator
- Membership Services Coordinator
Fachon Simpson is currently a Membership Services Coordinator/Meeting Planner at NASADAD. She has performed a wide-range of executive/administrative duties for the Executive Director/Director of Legislative Affairs, Deputy Executive Director/ Research and Program Applications, and Director of Finance for over 10 years. Fachon provides services for planning and staging the membership's Annual/Board Meetings and all other NASADAD meetings. She is responsible for hotel contracts, meeting rooms set-up, meeting logistics, arranging exhibitors, travel, lodging, audio/visual equipment set-up, registration and development and distribution of meeting materials. Ms. Simpson is also responsible for scheduling conference calls and meetings, responding to membership requests for technical assistance, disseminating information via e-mail and fax, and the staging of meetings.
Ms. Simpson also performs various tasks within NASADAD's Department of Finance. Her duties include preparing invoices and purchase orders; collecting membership dues; developing spreadsheets and inputting data; and tracking membership funds.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance
- Financial and Management Information Systems
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Treatment
Mr. Silva is a recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a dual master's degree in public health and social work. Before arriving at NASADAD, Jose was an Education/Employment Specialist in the Behavioral Healthcare Division of the Arlington County Department of Human Services, and spent time as a Trauma Survivors Network Fellow with the Allegheny Health Network.
Kimberly Figone is a recent Master in Public Health graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno. She joined NASADAD as a Research Associate II in September 2021 and currently supports the Youth Coordinators, Women's Services Coordinators, and the State Opioid Treatment Authorities. Before joining NASADAD, Kimberly spent two years as a Behavioral Health Coordinator at a non-profit mental health organization in California where she helped to develop, implement, and manage programs that promoted equal access to quality care. Her knowledge of public health, interest in substance use treatment and recovery services, and passion for health equity drew her to the Washington D.C area in July 2021.
Lacy comes to NASADAD from the National Governors Association (NGA) where she last worked as a Health Policy Analyst within the Health Division. Before this position, Lacy served as Policy Coordinator within NGA's Homeland Security and Public Safety Division. Lacy also has served as an intern on Capitol Hill. In particular, she worked as an intern with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In addition, Lacy worked as an intern in a district office of a Member of the House of Representatives in the State of Indiana. Lacy is a masters of public health candidate at the University of Michigan. She is a graduate of Indiana University where she received her bachelor's degree in healthcare management and policy.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Internal Affairs
Job Titles:
- Deputy Executive Director
- Deputy Executive Director for the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
- Research and Program Applications
Melanie Whitter is the Deputy Executive Director for the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). In this role, she facilitates the translation of research and knowledge into state practice, sharing state evidence-based and best practices across the nation, and identifying state problems and issues that merit further study and research; provides technical assistance to the NASADAD membership; and coordinates and facilitates timely information exchange to the States concerning policies, programs and practices in the substance use disorder field. Prior to her role at NASADAD, she held the position of Principal Associate and led Abt Associate's Behavioral Health Practice. She has also held the position of Single State Authority for alcohol and other drug services for the State of Illinois and served on the NASADAD Board of Directors, as the Vice-President for Treatment, and as a Regional Director. She is a member and served on the Board of the College for Behavioral Health Leadership. Over her career, she has been recognized for her commitment to advancing system change by building workforce and infrastructure capacity, creating and sustaining partnerships, and emphasizing research and evaluation.
Mellie Randall works with the State Opioid Treatment Authorities and on opioid research and technical assistance projects. She has over 30 years of experience in state government, having worked as the Single State Agency Director and National Treatment Network representative for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. She managed the administration of the SAPT Block Grant as well as discretionary grants, led collaborative projects across sectors of state government, and participated in several national projects. She also led efforts to establish access to medication assisted treatment (MAT) in rural Virginia and, with the advent of STR funding, implemented MAT in all 40 of Virginia's publicly funded behavioral health organizations. Mellie was an integral part of the team that designed, obtained and implemented one of the first CMS SUD waivers.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director and Director Legislative Affairs
Robert Morrison first came to the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) in 1998 when he worked on legislative and regulatory affairs as Public Policy Associate. Robert then broadened his health care portfolio by serving as Associate Director of Government Relations at Smith, Bucklin and Associates from 1999 to 2001 where he directed government affairs programs for a variety of organizations, including the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. Robert returned to NASADAD in 2001 as Director of Public Policy and went on to become Deputy Executive Director; Interim Executive Director; and, in 2009, Executive Director. Robert began his career working for the late U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ) for approximately four years, spending his last two years as a Legislative Aide. In 2013, Robert re-assumed the lead for the Association's legislative and regulatory affairs program - returning to the type of work that originally brought him to NASADAD. Robert graduated from Drew University in New Jersey with a B.A. in Political Science and completed graduate work in American Government at the Johns Hopkins University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Prevention
Job Titles:
- AOD Senior Research Analyst
Tracy Flinn, Ed.D., joined NASADAD in September 2013 as a Senior Research Analyst primarily working with the State and Territory Prevention Directors. In this role, Dr. Flinn provides and arranges for technical assistance to state and territorial substance use prevention directors; coordinates topic calls and webinars; develops fact sheets and other resources; coordinates the annual National Prevention Research Conference and Prevention Leadership Summits; and oversees and manages day-to-day project implementation.
Dr. Flinn has over 20 years of experience working in prevention at the national, state, and local levels, and is a senior expert in substance use prevention strategies, project management, training and technical assistance, and alcohol and drug research, trends, and policies. She was previously the Associate Director of the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention. Dr. Flinn also directed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded "A Matter of Degree" coalition at the University of Delaware, where she implemented environmental prevention strategies to reduce alcohol and other drug problems among students and established a statewide prevention coalition of colleges and universities. She received her doctorate in higher education administration and educational leadership from the University of Delaware in 2007.