8 and Counting: SAMHSA State Academies for Smoking Cessation Foster Change

Mr. Allen has experience in tobacco cessation, systems integration and policy through his previous work with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the University of Central Oklahoma as well as through his current position as Cessation Systems Coordinator with the Oklahoma State Department of Health / Center for the Advancement of Wellness. Mr. Allen previously served the Oklahoma State Department of Health / Maternal and Child Health Service for 8 years in the area of Adolescent Health. Mr. Allen is also a master trainer with QPR Institute, a national and international provider of suicide intervention training.

Mr. Allen is President-Elect of the Oklahoma Public Health Association and Past President of the Southwest College Health Association.

Ms. Berkowitz has worked with Maryland’s tobacco control program since 1997. During her tenure she has served roles with increasing responsibility, serving as a Division Chief for ten years – providing oversight of the federal National Tobacco Control Program for Maryland; health communications efforts; youth and college coalitions; and other statewide initiatives, including the launch of the Maryland Tobacco Quitline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW. In 1999 and 2000, Ms. Berkowitz provided guidance to the Governor's Task Force to End Smoking in Maryland which formed the legislative and programmatic framework for Master Settlement Agreement dollars coming into Maryland and worked to form the current structure of Maryland's resulting tobacco control program.

Maryland was the fourth state selected by SCLC for a Smoking Cessation Leadership Academy and Ms. Berkowitz was one of the state public health leaders who helped plan and launch the initiative in June 2011. In March 2013, Ms. Berkowitz took over as the Director of Maryland’s Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control and continues to provide oversight, guidance, and expertise to local, state, and national tobacco control initaitives.

Ms. Berkowitz holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master's degree in Public Health, both from Tulane University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

Margaret F. Brake is the Acting Team Lead for the Prevention and Early Intervention Team in the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services. She also manages and provides oversight to the state’s Synar Program, FDA Tobacco Inspection Program and initiatives under the NC Leadership Academy for Wellness and Smoking Cessation. She provides training/technical assistance to state/local agencies and coalitions to implement effective tobacco use prevention and control strategies. She currently serves as the NC representative to the National Prevention Network and the State Synar Coordinator. Margaret holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Education from North Carolina Central University and a Master’s degree in Health Administration from Pfeiffer University. She has more than 20 years of experience in health promotion, tobacco prevention and cessation.

Kimalesha Brown serves as a Special Projects Officer with the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) Office of Tobacco Control. Ms. Brown holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from Jackson State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Belhaven University.

In her current role, she assists grassroots partners and coalitions with educating community leaders and legislators on the benefits of passing smoke-free air policy. She directs the implementation of tobacco cessation services for people with disabilities into current treatment options. She also works with the MS Rural Health Association and the Mississippi Nurses’ Foundation to bring tobacco prevention, education and awareness activities to the forefront of their routine practice.

Dr. Carlo DiClemente is an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Director of the Maryland Tobacco Resource Center at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). He is co-developer of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change, and author of numerous scientific publications on motivation and behavior change with various health and addictive behaviors. He has published extensively on smoking cessation, brief motivational interventions, and initiation and recovery from addictions. He is the author of Addiction and Change: How Addictions Develop and Addicted People Recover. He has also co-authored several professional books, The Transtheoretical Model, Substance Abuse Treatment and the Stages of Change, and Group Treatment for Substance Abuse: A Stages of Change Therapy Manual and a self-help book, Changing for Good.

• graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service, received a master’s degree in public service

  • did one of my graduate field service projects for graduate school in Kampala, Uganda, conducted a needs assessment of 13 prisons in Uganda for an NGO there

• Has been with Arkansas Division of Behavioral Health Services for two years

• Prior to working for the Division of Behavioral Health Services, I worked for the Department of Human Services and I conducted an analysis of best practices in adult drug courts and then survey drug court programs in Arkansas to measure adherence to nationally identified best practices

• Graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science

• originally from Appleton, Wisconsin

Mr. Michael currently serves as the Director of the Arizona Smokers’ Helpline housed at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health. He has over 20 years of experience in behavioral health settings. He holds a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling with a focus in Substance Abuse. He has worked in both the public and private sectors providing services to people with behavioral health issues including addictive behaviors and chronic mental illness. He is a National Past-President for the Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare. He became involved with tobacco control in 1997 as a member of the evaluation team for the Arizona Tobacco Education and Prevention Program. He returned to tobacco in 2006 as the director of the ASHLine which provides quit tobacco services to all Arizona residents who want to quit tobacco. Mr. Michael is the author of a white paper outlining a framework for quality improvement for tobacco quitlines in North America. Most recently, Mr. Michael has participated as a member of the Behavioral Health Advisory Forum that released a white paper with recommendations regarding the use of tobacco quitlines for those diagnosed with mental illness or substance use disorders.

Greg began his professional career as a nurse, receiving his bachelors degree in nursing, with highest honors, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1978, with membership in Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. Greg practiced psychiatric nursing in Tennessee and Washington, DC before enrolling in medical school in 1982.

Greg received his MD degree and membership in Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. After an internship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he completed his residency in psychiatry at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical School. In addition, Greg holds a master’s in business administration (MBA) from The City University of New York, Baruch College.

Most recently, prior to coming to the NYS OMH, Greg served as the Vice President of Medical Affairs at The Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont. Prior to that he held positions as Chief Medical Officer for Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke Massachusetts; and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Chief Medical Officer of North General Hospital, in Harlem. He had a private practice in psychiatry in the New York metropolitan area for 15 years before moving to New England. Greg is currently an Associate Clinical Professor at University of Vermont Medical School, and he has held faculty appointments at The Mt. Sinai Medical School in New York, The New York University Medical School, Cornell Medical School and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Doug Tipperman is a Lead Public Health Advisor for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Previously, Doug worked extensively at the local and state level in Maryland promoting public policies to reduce alcohol abuse and tobacco use. He has organized several successful policy-change efforts, including Maryland’s Clean Indoor Air Law, which succeeded in making all Maryland restaurants and bars smoke-free. Doug currently coordinates SAMHSA’s Tobacco-Free Campaign and chairs the HHS Working Group on Tobacco Control in Behavioral Health.

Bill has over 35 years’ experience in the behavioral healthcare field in the private and public sectors as a CEO, CCO, COO and consultant. He currently is responsible for Chronic Disease, Tobacco Cessation, Telemedicine and MH First Aid programming and other prevention services at Austin Travis County Integral Care (ATCIC). The model for taking ATCIC tobacco free has been presented at national conferences. A proposal submitted by MD Anderson and ATCIC to use this model to take all community mental health centers (38) in the state of Texas is awaiting funding from CPRIT.

Rebekah Young currently serves as the Health Educator/Researcher for the Tobacco Control Strategies Project for Mississippians with Disabilities at the Institute for Disability Studies at The University of Southern Mississippi. Ms. Young holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a dual emphasis in Health Education and Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She will be graduating with a PhD in Higher Education Administration in December 2013.