Resources from the Opioid Education Foundation of America Webinar Series
2025
June 12, 2025 – “Improving Prevention & Treatment for Opioid Use Among Racial & Ethnic Groups”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Edouard Coupet Jr., MD – Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine @ Yale University
Carola Gaines – Co-Chair @ the African American Opioid Coalition
May 8, 2025 – “Opioid Use & Misuse Among Older Adults”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Donna M. Lisi, PharmD – Chair @ Somerset County Local Advisory Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse
Dr. Abhilash Desai, MD – Medical Director @ Idaho Memory & Aging Center, P.L.L.C.
Additional resources:
Screening for Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adults
Chronic Pain Management in the Elderly
April 10, 2025 – “The Link Between Alcohol Use, Treatment & Opioid-Related Harms”
FEATURED SPEAKER:
Dan Blalock, PhD – Medical Associate Professor, Depart. of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences @ Duke University School of Medicine
Additional resources:
SBIRT Colorado: Demonstration of Brief Intervention for Alcohol
Conduct a Brief Intervention: Build Motivation and a Plan for Change
March 13, 2025 – “Community Strategies to Fight Opioid Addiction”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Melissa Pielech, PsyD – Assistant Professor, Brown University @ Warren Alpert Medical School and the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Tiffany Wilson, Esq. – Senior Counsel & Director, Office of Alternative and Community Responses
February 27, 2025 – “Preventing Opioid Misuse & Addiction”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Holly L. Geyer, MD – Medical Director, Mayo Clinic Arizona Occupational Health Services
Dr. Saira Jan, PharmD – VP & Chief Pharmacy Officer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
January 30, 2025 – “The National Opioid Crisis: Current Trends & Solutions”
FEATURED SPEAKER:
Jennifer Austin, Field Intelligence Manager – Drug Enforcement Administration – New Jersey Division
2024
December 12, 2024 – “The Opioid Crisis – Where We Stand as 2024 Concludes”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Lewis S. Nelson, MD – Professor & Chair, Dept. Emergency Medicine @ Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Captain Jason Piotrowski, NJSP – Executive Officer, Forensic & Technical Services Section
November 14, 2024 – “Building Resiliency Among Healthcare & Addiction Professionals”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Erin Bredenberg, MD – board-certified addiction medicine provider @ University of Colorado Hospital
Dr. Shuvendu Sen, MD – Vice Chair, Research & Faculty @ Jersey Shore University Medical Center
October 3, 2024 – “Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day: Looking Back & Looking Ahead”
FEATURED SPEAKER:
Christopher M. Jones, Pharm.D., Dr.P.H., M.P.H. (CAPT U.S. Public Health Service) – Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention @ Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration
September 12, 2024 – “Understanding & Supporting Recovery”
FEATURED PANELIST:
Dr. Donald Reeves, MD – Director, Psychiatry @ Rutgers University Correctional Health Care
July 25, 2024 – “Empowering Parents in Prevention & Recovery”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Melissa Wallach, MD, FAAP – Director, Medical Education @ St. George’s University Medical School
Lissette Lester, MSW – Deputy Director, Case Practice @ Division of Child Protection & Permanency, NJ
June 20, 2024 – “Opioids: Impacts of Health Disparities & Discrimination”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Eldene Towey, MDR – Chief of Addiction Psychiatry @ Westchester Medical Center Health Services
Aarin Michele Williams, Esq. – Chief Advisor @ NJ Division on Civil Rights
May 30, 2024 – “Treating Pain Without Opioids”
PANELISTS:
James Bailey, DO, FAAPMR – Chair of the NeuroMusculoskeletal Institute @ Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
Sarah Vi Cerreto, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, HN-BC – John Theurer Cancer Center @ Hackensack University Medical Center
April 25, 2024 – “Trauma & Opioid Use Disorder”
PANELISTS:
Rebecca Bryan, DNP, APN – NJ Dept. of Children & Families Office of Resilience
Cathy Choy, MSW, LCSW – Trauma Recovery Center @ University Hospital, Newark
Hellen Da Silva, LPC, LCADC, ACS – Trauma Recovery Center @ University Hospital, Newark
April 9, 2024 – “Opioid Prescribing: New FDA Rules and Genetic Testing”
FEATURED SPEAKER:
Dr. Andrew Kolodny, MD – Medical Director of Opioid Policy Research, Heller School for Social Policy & Management, Brandies University
March 28, 2024 – “When Addiction & Mental Health Collide”
PANELISTS:
Tim Vermillion, DSW, LCSW, Veterans Affairs Administration
Tiffany Wilson, Esq. – Office of Alternative & Community Responses
Jill Schlossberg, LPC – Mental Health Association, NJ
February 29, 2024 – “Emerging Threats Within the Opioid Crisis”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Matthew Salzman, MD, MPH – Associate Prof., Emergency Medicine @ Cooper Medical School
Bruce Ruck, BS, Pharm.D., DABAT – Managing Dir., New Jersey Poison Center
January 25, 2024 – “The Opioid Crisis: An Overview”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Lewis S. Nelson, MD – Professor and Chair, Dept. Emergency Medicine Chief of Division of Medical Toxicology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Captain Jason Piotrowski – Dir., Office of Drug Monitoring & Analysis @ NJSP
2023
December 7, 2023 – “The Opioid Epidemic: A Focus on Vulnerable Populations Part III”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Michael Ganon, DO – board certified in family and addiction medicine
Matthew Rudd – Community Justice Coordinator, Special Agent for Strategic Planning & Programs @ Cumberland Co. Pros. Office
Tevis Thompson, MS – Project Manager for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Initiatives @ NJ Division of Mental Health & Addiction Services
Harry Reyes, DHSc, LPC, LCADC – Assistant Division Director @ NJ Division of Mental Health & Addiction Services
November 9, 2023 – “Evidence-Based Programs for Prevention, Treatment and Recovery”
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Dr. Sharon Walsh, MS, PhD, – Professor @ University of Kentucky Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy
October 6, 2023 – “Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day: An Update from NIDA”
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Dr. Wilson M. Compton, Deputy Director – National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) @ National Institutes of Health
September 14, 2023 – “The Road to Recovery”
PANELISTS:
Iris Jones, LPC, LCADC, CCS, NCC – Clinical Operations @ Cooper Center for Healing & Buprenorphine Field Initiation of ReScue Treatment (Bupe FIRST EMS)
Keith Kloos, CPRS – Community Outreach Coordinator @ Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) Carrier Clinic
July 27, 2023 – “Public Health Barriers in Addressing the Opioid Epidemic”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Josiah D. Rich, MD, MPH – Professor, Medicine & Epidemiology @ Brown University
Michele Calvo, MPH – Dir., Opioid Response & Policy @ NJ Depart. of Health
Dr. Richard T. Jermyn, DO, FAAPMR – Interim Dean @ Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
June 29, 2023 – “The Intersection of Race, Culture and the Opioid Crisis”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Aleesa Mobley, PhD – Clerkship Dir., Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences @ Rowan University
Captain Jason Piotrowski – Dir., Office of Drug Monitoring & Analysis @ NJSP
Solomon Middleton-Williams – Deputy Dir., Newark Community Street Team
Ashley Hill Trotter – Social Work Manager, Newark Community Street Team
May 25, 2023 – “The Rise of Poly-Substance Overdose Deaths”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Andrew L. Falzon, MD – Chief State Medical Examiner, State of New Jersey
Dr. Rachel Haroz, MD, FAACT – Associate Professor, Dept. of Emergency Medicine @ Cooper Medical School – Rowan University
April 27, 2023 – “The Collateral Impact of Opioid Misuse”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Amesika Nyaku, MD – Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases @ Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Robert Gaydosh – Deputy Director, New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety
Adrienne Simpkins – Director of Outreach and Capacity Building, NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence (NJCEDV)
March 30, 2023 – “Alternatives to Opioids”
PANELISTS:
Dr. Jane C Ballantyne, MD, FRCA – VP Clinical Affairs – Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP)
Dr. Andrew Kolodny, MD – Medical Director of Opioid Policy Research, Heller School for Social Policy & Management, Brandies University
February 23, 2023 – “What Parents Need to Know About Opioids: Guidance for Conversations”
KEYNOTE:
Honorable Matthew J. Platkin, Esq. – New Jersey Attorney General
PANELISTS:
Dr. A. Omar Abubaker, DMD, PhD – VCU School of Dentistry & MCV Hospital
Dr. Ona Fofah, MD – Rutgers New Jersey Medical School & University Hospital
Dr. Kelly Moore, PsyD – Rutgers Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology
January 26, 2023 – “From Pills to Fentanyl: Understanding the Opioid Crisis”
FEATURED SPEAKER:
Dr. Lewis Nelson:
Professor and Chair, Dept. Emergency Medicine
Chief of Division of Medical Toxicology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
2022
May 17, 2022 – “The Current State of the Opioid Epidemic”
FEATURED GUEST:
Dr. Andrew Kolody, MD – Co-Director of Opioid Policy Research, Heller School for Social Policy and Management
April 28, 2022 – “Combating the Stigma of Opioid Addiction”
PANELISTS:
Edouard Coupet Jr., MD – Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine and Core Faculty, Yale School of Medicine
Emily Einstein, Ph.D. – Health Science Policy Analyst, National Institute on Drug Abuse
Celina Levy – Executive Director, Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Addition (GCADA)
January 27, 2022 – An Hour With Sam Quinones Author of “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic
FEATURED GUEST:
Sam Quinones, Author
contact: samquinones7@yahoo.com
read Sam’s newest book “The Least of Us”
2021
November 18, 2021 – “Post-Operative Pain and Alternatives to Opioids”
FEATURED EXPERT:
Sarah Vi Cerreto
BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, HN-BC
Slides from the presentation
May 20, 2021 – “The ALTO Program: Treating Pain without Opioids”
FEATURED PANELISTS:
Alexis M. LaPietra, DO, FACEP
Mark Rosenberg, DO, MBA, FACEP
February 25, 2021 – National Town Hall – Alternatives to Opioids for Breast Cancer Patients
PRESENTERS
Elaine Pozycki, Chairwoman and Founder – Opioid Education Foundation of America
Dr. Patrick Borgen, MD – Director of Maimonides Breast Center, Chair of the Maimonides Medical Science Committee
To view or download the sample Patient Notification law language, please visit preventopioidabuse.org/sample-legislation
December 9, 2020 – National Town Hall – COVID-19 and the Opioid Crisis: The Perfect Storm
PRESENTERS
Elaine Pozycki, Chairwoman and Founder – Opioid Education Foundation of America
Congressman David Trone – U.S. House of Representatives, Maryland’s 6th district
Dr. Andrew Kolody, MD – Co-Director of Opioid Policy Research, Heller School for Social Policy and Management
To view or download the sample Patient Notification law language, please visit preventopioidabuse.org/sample-legislation