Robert J. Ackerman, PhD
Dr. Ackerman is formerly a professor and program director of Sociology, University of South Carolina at Beaufort; and a professor emeritus in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is the editor of COUNSELOR, The Magazine for Addiction and Behavioral Health Professionals. Dr. Ackerman is the founder and previous director of the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Research and Training Institute in Pennsylvania. He is a cofounder of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics; and author of 13 books, including Perfect Daughters and Silent Sons.
Bea Aikens, CCAR
Ms. Aikens is the founder and CEO of Lanie's Hope, a national advocacy group dedicated to illuminating and humanizing the disease of compulsive gambling. Given her entrepreneurial spirit, she channeled her business skills with her personal experience as a recovering compulsive gambler and the survivor of a family member who died from a gambling-related overdose to launch Lanie's Hope in 2010. A motivational speaker, emcee, and presenter, Ms. Aikens has been featured at numerous state, regional, and national Gamblers Recovery conferences.
Pearl Berman, PhD
Dr. Pearl Berman is a full professor and the assistant chair of the Psychology Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). She is also a licensed clinical psychologist. Her longstanding interest in violence prevention has led her to integrate information and skill building relevant to interpersonal violence into all of her teaching at both the undergraduate and doctoral-level. Her most recent book is the third edition of Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning: Exercises for Integrating Theory with Clinical Practice. Within this book, she has included case material and student practice exercises for diverse clients, including victims, perpetrators, and victim-perpetrators of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.
Dennis C. Daley, PhD
Dr. Daley is professor of Psychiatry and Social Work and served for 14 years as the chief of Addiction Medicine Services (AMS) at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is involved in clinical care, teaching, research, and dissemination activities. Dr. Daley is the director of the Appalachian Tri-State Node of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Clinical Trials Network, and is involved in multisite clinical trials and dissemination of science-based findings to providers, individuals and families. He is a member of the Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Care project in the Pittsburgh VA HealthCare System. Dr. Daley has hundreds of publications and presented his work throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, and Asia. His publications include several books and recovery guides on relapse and co-occurring disorders. Dr. Daley's materials have been translated to several languages.
Antoine B. Douaihy, MD
Dr. Douaihy is the associate residency training director of the Director Addictions Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry. His academic interests include addiction, HIV/AIDS, motivational interviewing, and the psychology of change, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based treatments for addiction to medical trainees and health care practitioners.
Sharon Eakes, MA, BCC, ACN
Sharon Eakes is a personal and executive coach at Hope Unlimited, LLC. She had previously been vice president of the Treatment Programs and Clinical Director of Gateway Rehabilitation Center from 1976 through 1996. She is also an author and educator.
Jody B. Glance, MD
Jody Glance, MD, is an assistant professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the medical director for the Perinatal Addiction Center and the Center for Psychiatric and Chemical Dependency Services at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She is a diplomate of the American Board of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Glance has provided numerous local, regional, and national workshops for mental health providers.
Thomas M. Kelly, PhD, ACSE, MINT
Dr. Kelly is a clinician emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Kelly is a licensed clinical social worker who has been in practice at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) since 1982. He has been affiliated with Addiction Medicine Services (AMS) at WPIC for 15 years and provides outpatient treatment to dual-disordered adults. Dr. Kelly has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers since 2005 and he routinely conducts training workshops, lectures, and seminars, both locally and nationally.
Margee Kerr, PhD
Dr. Kerr is a sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh and co-investigator on the Ecological Emotional Experience Protocol (EEEP!) and author of Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear.
Lynn Knezevich
Ms. Knezevich is the executive director of Gwen's Girls, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has spent her entire professional career working with at risk children and families in the Pittsburgh area. Ms. Knezevich is a certified peer reviewer and team leader for COA (Council on Accreditation), an international body that accredits social service agencies. She is a Board member of the Pennsylvania Council of Services for Children, Youth, and Family Services.
Ralph M. May, PsyD
Dr. May is a licensed psychologist who has practiced for over 27 years in the community based setting, specializing in high-risk consumers with serious mental illness. He is the chief clinical officer of the Community Guidance Center, Indiana, Pennsylvania; the cochair of the Indiana County Suicide Task Force, the clinical director of the Indiana County Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team, and a found member of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee of the Indiana County Joint Disaster/Terrorism Task Force.
Carl Mazza, DSW, ACSW, LMSW
Dr. Mazza is the chair of the Social Work Department at Lehman College of the City University of New York; a former president of the New York State Social Work Education Association; and a former track chair of the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Track of the National Council on Social Work Education. Author on criminal and juvenile issues; social justice; reentry from prison; and adolescent parenting. Co-author of current book on fatherhood in the United States.
John T. McCarthy, PhD, NCC
Dr. McCarthy is a professor of counseling at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). He has directed the department's Center for Creativity and Change since its inception in 2005. Dr. McCarthy also serves as chair for the Ambassadors of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Foundation. His interests include international issues in counseling, wellness, creativity, solution-focused approaches, and motivational interviewing. He has offered professional presentations in Turkey, Singapore, Ukraine, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, England, Canada, and Taiwan, as well as in the United States.
Clifton Mitchell, PhD
Dr. Mitchell is a licensed psychologist, an international clinical trainer, and keynote speaker who has a love for teaching and over 23 years of training experience. He has trained thousands of mental health professionals in the management of difficult, perplexing legal and ethical issues, and is now introducing his latest L & E training in an exciting, dynamic game show format. Dr. Mitchell is currently a professor of counseling at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he received the Teacher of the Year award in 1001.
David Ortiz
Mr. Ortiz is a NYC Public School social worker for Partnership with Children and MSW graduate student at Lehman College; National Conference Presenter.
Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC
Mr. Sanders is an international speaker in the behavioral health fields whose presentations have reached thousands throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean Islands. He is co-author of Recovery Management and author of Relationship Detox: How to Have Healthy Relationships in Recovery. He has had two stories published in the New York Times best-selling book series, Chicken Soup for the Soul. His most recent book is titled Slipping through the Cracks: Intervention Strategies for Clients with Multiple Addictions and Disorders. He is a lecturer at the University of Chicago.
Melissa Swauger, PhD
Dr. Swauger is an associate professor of Sociology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include Girls' and Women's Studies, global service learning, inequalities in education and work, qualitative research methods, and engaging audiences outside of universities in sociological research and activism. Dr. Swauger has published articles and presented papers at international and national conferences on the topics of working class girls' career aspirations, the intersection of race and class in mother/daughter relationships, international service learning opportunities for college students, human trafficking, and ethics in qualitative research with vulnerable populations.
Ralph E. Tarter, PhD, MPA, ABPP
Dr. Tarter is the director of the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research; as well as a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Psychiatry, and Psychology at University of Pittsburgh; and cofounder of the Society for Prevention Research.
Joseph Twumasi-Ankrah, LMSW
Mr. Twumasi-Ankrah is a former social work program site director for NYC Non-Profit Partnership with Children; New York and New Jersey licensed social worker; and PhD student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), Administration and Leadership program.