On behalf of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), we invite you to participate in a Virtual Roundtable: Voices from the Field, the Impact of Opioid Addiction in Diverse Communities. This Roundtable will be convened to discuss opioid addiction and treatment in communities of colors and strategies for community-based organizations to engage in cross-systems work.
In addition to raising awareness and increasing knowledge of participants around opioid addiction and treatment, the Roundtable dialogue will aim to draw attention to cultural considerations, persistent disparities, and the cultural divide that play a role in the opioid crisis.
Join us on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EST) for this Roundtable!
View the recording of the Roundtable
Related resources are now available on the NNEDshare website
Panelists:
Margarita Alegría, Ph.D. | Chief of the Disparities Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital
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Dr. Alegría obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown University in 1978 and her Ph.D. from Temple University in 1989. Since 2004, Alegría has been a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, obtaining a dual appointment in the Department of Medicine in 2016. For 14 years prior, Alegría served as a Professor in the Graduate School of Public Health and as the Director of the Center for Evaluation and Sociomedical Research at the University of Puerto Rico. In the summer of 2015, she became the Chief of the Disparities Research Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital (formerly the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research at Cambridge Health Alliance, 2002-2015).
Alegría’s research focuses on the improvement of health care services delivery for diverse racial and ethnic populations, conceptual and methodological issues with multicultural populations, and ways to bring the community’s perspective into the design and implementation of health services. In October 2011, she was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in acknowledgment of her scientific contributions to her field. She has also been a recipient of notable awards, such as the Mental Health Section Award by the American Public Health Association (2003), the Health Disparities Innovation Award by the National Institutes of Minority Health (2008), and the Simone Bolivar Award by the American Psychiatry Association (2009).
Devin Reaves, M.S.W. | Executive Director, Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition
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Devin is a person living in recovery since 2007. He is a community organizer and grassroots advocacy leader. Devin has worked on the expansion of access to the lifesaving medication Naloxone, implantation of 911 Good Samaritan policies, and the development of youth oriented systems. He wants to build constituencies of consequence that will lead to meaningful public health policy changes around substance use disorders. Devin is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition (PAHRC).
The mission of PAHRC is to promote the health, dignity, and human rights of individuals who use drugs and communities impacted by drug use. Recognizing that social inequity, criminalization, and stigma silence those affected most, we advocate for policies that improve the quality of life for people who use drugs, people in recovery, and their communities.
Devin received a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice with a focus on community and organizational change and has a BA in Human Services from Lynn University. Devin also serves on the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force and the Board of Directors for the Association of Recovery Schools.
Dr. J Rocky Romero | Director of Health Programs, El Centro Family Health in Espanola
J Rocky Romero is a former Assistant Professor for New Mexico Highlands University School of Social Work in Albuquerque, NM and is also a graduate of NMHU. He served as the co-chair for the Governor Richardson appointed NM Higher Education Departments Cultural Competency Task-Force. Dr. Romero has also served as an Executive Council member for the NM-Consortium for Behavioral Health Training and Research (NM-CBHTR). In addition, Dr. Romero completed his doctoral studies at the University of New Mexico in Language, Literacy and Socio-cultural studies and graduated in 2016. He is focused on culturally appropriate treatment while focusing in health disparities and access for health and mental health care in New Mexico for people of color.
In his role at NMHU-SSW in ABQ from 2003-2016, Dr. Romero has conceptualized, implemented, and received legislative and Bernalillo County funding for two evidence based and nationally, certified with excellence, SW student training clinics focusing on training SW interns to be culturally aware and competent; while providing direct mental health services to the Albuquerque community. Dr. Romero is also a national trainer for the Matrix Institute on Addictions and the National Hispanic/Latino Addiction Technology Transfer Center. Dr. Romero is also a native of Northern New Mexico and has served on many boards, committees and task forces to address the needs of New Mexico’s students and citizens. Dr. Romero is currently the Director of Health Programs for El Centro Family Health in Espanola, NM which serves the Taos, Espanola, and Las Vegas regions across 22,000 square miles. He is also the Chief Operations Officer for New Mexico Hope an LLC serving people with substance use disorder. New Mexico Hope was recently awarded a contract by Bernalillo County Department of Behavioral Health Services for peer support specialist ran community engagement teams (CETs).
Jacob Davis, MPH | Tribal Program Director, Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota
Jacob earned his graduate degree from North Dakota State University and was the first graduate in the MPH program with the American Indian Public Health specialization. He has over ten years of experience working with American Indian populations through various positions at both tribal and state academic institutions. Jacob also serves as a board member for the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition as well as being an active member of the North Dakota Cancer Coalition. At PCAND, his duties include working with federal, state, and tribal agencies to facilitate consistent access to family programming and services throughout the state.
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