Tara is aParamedic and Mental Health Professional, leads Forsyth County’s Opioid Task Force. She has been instrumental in pulling together community partners to work on fighting the opioid epidemic from a variety of angles. Currently, she serves as a Captain with Forsyth County Emergency Services and developed the foundation for their Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Team, better known as Community Paramedics. She also provides trainings on Crisis Intervention Teams and Post Overdose Response Teams.
Tara received her undergrad from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master’s from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has worked in behavioral health, both in the community and in the hospital, and emergency services environments. Her experience provides her with the knowledge to better bridge the two fields in their practices and beliefs. She spent ten years of her career working on Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Teams and trained others on the ACT Model. This foundation strengthened Tara’s belief that we must meet people where they are and treatment should be community-based to better engage people.
Tara places high value on bringing about creative, collaborative change, and often speaks on topics that are innovative and encourages others to rethink the way they perceive addiction, recovery and leadership. She addresses the need for new solutions that will empower communities by using their existing resources and working through issues and barriers. She often shares successful strategies and works with groups on how to implement system change. Tara is a passionate communicator who aims to serve her community.
Tara strongly strongly encourages inclusion of those with personal lived experiences and family members in change efforts. She enjoys connecting with others, sharing insights and experiences, and brainstorming ideas around change and transformation. Once you meet Tara, you will see she is an advocate for system change and has an unwavering passion to help those suffering from addiction as well as their family members. Her business and information technology education and experiences coupled with her clinical experiences allow her to be a visionary thinker with revolutionary ideas.