Operation UNITE has formed a National Advisory Board to guide program development and conference offerings.
Michael C. Barnes, Esq.
Mr. Barnes is an attorney and policy advisor with DCBA Law & Policy in Washington, DC. Mr. Barnes is a founder and interim executive director of the not-for-profit Center for Lawful Access and Abuse Deterrence (CLAAD). He previously served as confidential counsel in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Mr. Barnes has spoken at Congressional briefings, legislative hearings, and national conferences, and frequently provides analysis for Fox News Channel, CNN, HLN, and other media outlets. Mr. Barnes obtained his Juris Doctor degree from George Mason University School of Law. He earned a master’s degree in international economic policy from La Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Flagler College.
Dr. Kelly J. Clark, MD, MBA, FASAM, DFAPA
Dr. Clark is board certified in both psychiatry and addiction medicine. She is the Chief Medical Officer of Behavioral Health Group, directing quality clinical care for patients recovering from opioid dependence in 7 states. Dr. Clark earned an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, Durham, N.C.; her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is the Immediate Past President of the Kentucky Society of Addiction Medicine, serves on the Medical-Scientific Committee of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, and is the Chair of the Legislative Action Committee of the American Society of Addiction Medicine where she is also a member of the Board of Directors.
Dr. Gayathri J. Dowling, Ph.D.
Dr. Dowling is currently the Branch Chief of the Science Policy Branch in the Office of Science Policy and Communications at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She received her Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of California at Davis studying the developing nervous system prior to doing research on nicotine and Parkinson’s Disease at the Parkinson’s Institute. At NIDA, she helps to educate a variety of audiences – including Congress, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and other Federal Agencies, constituency organizations, physicians and the general public – about the science of drug abuse and addiction. These efforts include working on Interagency Committees, giving presentations, representing NIDA to the media, and developing publications and other multi-media campaigns, including work on the Emmy-award winning HBO documentary “Addiction.”
John L. Eadie
Mr. Eadie is director of the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) Center of Excellence at Brandeis University. He has served in management, executive and consulting capacities in the field of public health for more than 40 years; 27 of those years have been focused on prevention, detection and interdiction of prescription drug abuse and misuse. As director of the Division of Public Health Protection in the NY State Department of Health (1985-95) Mr. Eadie directed the state’s pharmaceutical diversion program. He co-founded and served as president for both the Alliance of States with Prescription Monitoring Programs and the National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities. Since 2001 he has served as a consultant on PMPs, including as the administrative reviewer for the Massachusetts PMP and as a consultant for the Harold Rogers Prescription Monitoring Training and Technical Assistance Center.
Christopher M. Jones, Pharm.D., MPH, LCDR U.S. Public Health Service
LCDR Christopher M. Jones, PharmD, MPH, serves as the acting team lead for the Prescription Drug Overdose Team in the Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). LCDR Jones is also a lead subject matter expert on prescription drug overdose at CDC. In this position, he primarily focuses his work on conducting research to improve policy and clinical practice, strategic policy development and implementation, and engaging national and state partners. Prior to joining CDC, Chris completed a one year detail to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) serving as their Senior Public Health Advisor where he co-led the development of the Administration’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan. LCDR Jones has previously worked at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) where he served as team leader of the Drug Safety and Risk Communication Team, in the Strategic National Stockpile at the CDC, and as a clinical pharmacist for CatalystRx, a pharmacy benefits manager. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Reinhardt College, his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Mercer University, and his Master of Public Health degree from New York Medical College School of Public Health.
Dr. Nathaniel P. Katz, MD, M.S.
Dr. Katz is president of Analgesic Solutions, a research and consulting firm focused on analgesics. He is also adjunct assistant professor of anesthesia at Tufts University School of Medicine. After completing his neurology residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center he entered a pain management fellowship in the Department of Anesthesia at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in 1990, after which he was appointed staff neurologist in the Pain Management Center of Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Dr. Katz subsequently founded the Pain & Symptom Management Program at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Pain Trials Center (a clinical analgesics research unit) at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He remained director of both until 2001. From 2000-04 he served as chair of the Advisory Committee, Anesthesia, Critical Care and Addiction Products Division of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, during which time he completed a masters of science degree in biostatistics at Columbia University. Dr. Katz’s interests include clinical research methods, analgesic clinical trials, opioids for chronic pain, opioids and addiction, neuropathic pain, and cancer pain. He has completed numerous clinical trials of treatments for pain, both industry-initiated and investigator-initiated, involving pharmaceuticals, non-pharmaceutical analgesics and devices, and has also conducted studies related to opioids, pain, addiction and other issues related to opioid therapy. He is active on many publications and was an associate editor at the Clinical Journal of Pain and associate editor (pain) for the Encyclopedia of Neurological Sciences, and has overseen many local and national educational programs on pain management.
Regina M. LaBelle
Ms. LaBelle is the Chief of Staff in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. In this role, she is charged with overseeing day to day operations at ONDCP. She also assists the director of National Drug Control Policy in implementing the administration’s National Drug Control Strategy. In her previous role as ONDCP’s policy director, Ms. LaBelle was the co- author and lead of the Administration’s prescription drug abuse strategic initiative. Prior to arriving at ONDCP, Ms. LaBelle served for eight years as legal counsel to the mayor of Seattle. In this role, she advised the mayor on major issues in his administration, including public safety, criminal justice and legal policy issues. She has worked on the local, state and federal level in numerous political and policy positions and practiced law in a private Seattle law firm. Ms. LaBelle was an adjunct professor at Seattle University Institute for Policy Studies where she taught ethics and legislative policymaking. A magna cum laude graduate of Boston College, Ms. LaBelle received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Michelle C. Landers, Esq.
Ms. Landers is Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance (KEMI), Kentucky’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance. She provides advice and counsel to senior management and the Board of Directors on all legal matters affecting the company. Ms. Landers is also responsible for the Legal Services Unit, which includes claims litigation, collections, subrogation matters and civil litigation, and for the Special Investigations Unit, which investigates potential fraud and abuse. Before coming to KEMI in 2000, Ms. Landers was Associate General Counsel for Hoechst Celanese Corporation in Charlotte, N.C., where she engaged in general corporate work, management of litigation, including workers’ compensation claims, employment law and contract negotiation and review, for seven manufacturing facilities. Prior to that, she was a Litigation Associate for Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman in Charlotte, N.C. where she performed general insurance defense work. Ms. Landers received a BA in political science in 1984 and her Juris Doctorate in 1987, both from the University of Kentucky.
Tony Loya
Mr. Loya is director of the National Methamphetamine and Pharmaceuticals Initiative (NMPI). This is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) position coordinating national and state strategy of federal, state and local law enforcement entities as well as prosecutorial and intelligence communities who are experiencing a clandestine laboratory/methamphetamine and/or a pharmaceutical drug crime problem. Mr. Loya has 27 years of previous domestic and international experience with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in investigative, regulatory, supervisory and managerial positions. He has significant background in counter-drug operations, interdiction tactics, including precursor chemical control and clandestine drug laboratories in the United States and Latin America.
Karen H. Perry
Following the loss of her oldest son, Richard, to a drug overdose, Mrs. Perry co-founded Narcotics Overdose Prevention and Education (NOPE) Task Force. She has served in a voluntary capacity as Executive Director since its inception in 2004. Mrs. Perry’s major initiatives include the co-development and implementation of the NOPE Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, as well as, the Program Training Curriculum. Other initiatives created and led by Mrs. Perry include the NOPE’s Annual National Candle Light Vigil, NOPE Treatment Fund and the NOPE Support Group. In addition to her commitments to NOPE, Mrs. Perry serves on numerous organizational boards and councils. She has been recognized for her achievements in the substance abuse field on the local and national levels. Additionally, she has been a leading advocate for numerous legislative initiatives on the State and Federal levels in the area of substance abuse. Mrs. Perry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rosemont College.
Carla S. Saunders, APN, NNP-BC
Ms. Saunders received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from West Virginia University in 1988 and has worked in Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) ever since. She achieved Board Certification as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (NNP) in 1990, and was one of the first NNPs in the NICU at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) when she began work there in 1996. She became the Advanced Practice Coordinator for Pediatrix Medical Group at ETCH in 2008. A Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection reduction project was her first quality improvement endeavor. This project was so successful it appreciated an 85% reduction in the first year, which has been sustained for five years. Through this work the team was chosen to lead the state in a collaborative attempt to reduce central line infections through the Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care (TIPQC). Since June 2010, Ms. Saunders has been leading a multidisciplinary team developing a standardized approach to the medical treatment and holistic care of infants suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). As a result of this work, ETCH was chosen to lead another statewide project for TIPQC and they are presently developing a toolkit to aid others caring for the infant with NAS. Ms. Saunders was named “Advanced Practitioner of the Year” for the Atlantic Region of Pediatrix Medical Group in 2010. In 2012 she was chosen as one of Great American Country’s Great American Heroes for her leadership in the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome program at ETCH.
Peter VanPelt, RPh
Mr. Van Pelt is an associate director of corporate alliances for the American Pharmacists Association in Washington, D.C. He is responsible for the creation and maintenance of relationships with pharmaceutical industry accounts, development of new strategic alliances for the association with other health care provider groups – such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants and physicians – and oversight of various professional education programs to help association members “improve medication use and advance patient care.” Mr. VanPelt represents APhA on several national, broad-based coalitions including the Pain Care Forum, the CDC PROTECT Initiative, the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition, and others. For the past five years he has worked extensively on pain care issues such as patient access, abuse and diversion, REMS, and pain education while at APhA. Mr. VanPelt is also intimately involved with the planning and execution of the American Pharmacists Month campaign and is an APhA media advisor. He is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science and is certificate-trained in pharmacist-based immunization. Mr. VanPelt also has an extensive background in pharmacy recruitment and operations in the retail sector with Albertsons, Inc.
