Dr. Shanahan is an Assistant Professor of Maternal and Child Health and a Research Scientist at the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The focus of Dr. Shanahan’s research is to improve the health and developmental trajectories of children. Her research focuses on adverse events that potentially influence…
Dr. Gary Junker currently serves as Director of Behavioral Health in the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Adult Prisons. In this role, Dr. Junker provides clinical and administrative oversight for behavioral health services across 55 prisons statewide to include psychology, social work and alcohol and chemical dependency programs. Dr. Junker possesses 29 years of…
Dr. Shabbar I. Ranapurwala, is a PhD and an assistant professor of epidemiology in the Gillings School of Global Public Health and a core faculty at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center. He conducts advanced analytical research in injury and violence prevention, including opioid poisoning prevention, violence prevention, and the application of principles of causal…
Mr. Kurtis Taylor is a person in long-term recovery. For him, this means that he has not used alcohol or any other substance in over 16 years. Mr. Taylor obtained his associates degree in Human Services & Substance Use Disorder Counseling from Wake Technical Community College in 2015. He is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree…
Sara Smith, MA, CHES is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) with over 9 years’ experience working in Health Education. She is currently the Communication Consultant with the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch (IVPB), where she coordinates and manages communication efforts that pertain to overdose prevention implementation. Ms. Smith received her master’s degree in Health…
Laura has served as communications director for Attorney General Josh Stein since he took office in Jan. 2017. In that role, she has led the Department of Justice’s work on the More Powerful NC public education campaign. Before her time at the Department of Justice, Laura worked for six years at Capstrat, a communications agency,…
Elizabeth is a Licensed Professional Counselor in North Carolina and since 2006 has worked at MAHEC developing continuing education and special projects around the issues of trauma informed care, whole person care and substance use/opioid use disorders. Currently Ms. Flemming directs pain management and substance use disorder programs with MAHEC’s Chief Education Officer, Blake Fagan,…
Dr. Sara McEwen is the Executive Director of the Governor’s Institute, a position she has held since 2008. The Governor’s Institute provides innovative substance use disorder related professional education and technical assistance, workforce development, and creates and facilitates extensive collaborations with and among physician groups, universities/ medical schools, community providers, and state and federal agencies…
Deaanna has a Master’s degree in Human Services Leadership Development and is a Certified Substance Abuse Prevention Consultant (CSAPC). She has served on various advisory boards and coalitions at the state and local level to develop strategic prevention plans for quality improvement. Deeanna is the current Secretary of the North Carolina Substance Abuse Prevention Providers…
Kim James has a Master’s in Rhetoric and Composition and is the Executive Director of Burke Recovery; a nonprofit agency in Burke County that provides substance use treatment and prevention services to adults and adolescents. In addition, Kim serves as the Leadership Chair for the Burke Substance Abuse Network (BSAN), a county-wide coalition dedicated to…