CCAO Opiate Epidemic Symposium:
Strategies and Solutions
May 2, 2016
Speakers
Ann Barnum, Vice President, Community Strategies, Interact Health
[email protected]
Ann Barnum manages the Community Strategies Team at Interact for Health to implement strategies aligned with Interact for Health’s strategic plan. The Community
Strategies team works with grant applicants and grant recipients, following projects
from concept to completion. Ann was formerly Interact’s senior program officer,
Healthy Choices about Substance Use, for 16 years. In that role she worked with organizations to develop innovative programs to deal with substance use disorders. Ann,
who is a licensed independent social worker in Ohio, holds a bachelor’s degree in
psychology from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., and a master’s degree
in social work from the University of Cincinnati. For 20 years Ann was a licensed
independent chemical dependency counselor.
Mike Brem, Commander, Regional Agencies Narcotics and Gun Enforcement
[email protected]
Mike Brem joined the Montgomery County Sheriff ’s Office in 1993 and has served
in a variety of capacities over the past 20 years. As the Montgomery County Regional
Training Center supervisor, Mike trained numerous law enforcement agencies. He
has worked as an Organized Crime Unit undercover detective and assisted in establishing a multi jurisdiction drug task force – the Regional Agencies Narcotics & Gun
Enforcement (RANGE). Mike graduated from advanced narcotics schools including
the DEA’s Drug Unit Commanders Academy. He is the Jefferson Township District
commander, RANGE Task Force commander and Miami Valley Bulk Cash Smuggling Task Force commander. A native of Montgomery County, Mike graduated from
Miamisburg High School and attended Sinclair Community College majoring in
criminal justice.
Betsy Cobb, Children Services Supervisor, Licking County Job and Family
Services - [email protected]
A lifelong resident of Licking County, Betsy Cobb has a Bachelor of Science in social work from Bowling Green State University. Betsy has been employed by Licking
County Job and Family Services since July of 1979. Betsy has been supervising an Ongoing Child Protective Services Unit since 1986. Prior to promotion as a supervisor,
Betsy was a foster care worker and an adoption worker. In her role as a supervisor, she
has been involved in the development of several collaborative projects at the agency,
including Alternative Response, the COA accreditation process, Enhanced Visitation
and AoD case management.
1
Doug Corcoran, Ross County Commissioner and CCAO President
[email protected]
Born and raised in Ross County, Doug Corcoran has served as Ross County commissioner since 2005. Doug grew up on a family farm, working in that business and
other private sector positions through graduation from Ohio University. He worked
for Kenworth Truck Company until he began his public service career as economic
development director for the City of Chillicothe. Doug has been on the CCAO Board
of Directors since 2007 and is currently serving as president of the association. On
the national level, Doug was recently named by the National Association of Counties
(NACo) and National League of Cities to the National City-County Task Force on the
Opioid Epidemic. He also serves on NACo’s Transportation Committee.
Paul Cortright, Commander, Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force
[email protected]
Paul Cortright is the commander of the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force.
The Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force (CODE TF) is comprised of 14 law
enforcement and prosecution agencies from Coshocton, Knox, Licking, Muskingum
and Perry counties and includes sheriffs’ offices, prosecutors’ offices and police departments.
Mike DeWine, Ohio Attorney General
As attorney general, Mike DeWine’s top priority is protecting Ohio’s families. To better protect our kids, Attorney General DeWine created a special Crimes Against Children Unit to help identify, arrest and convict sexual predators. He has also increased
training opportunities for law enforcement and educators to help improve school
safety, as well as human trafficking, child abuse, missing children, bullying and the
needs of foster youth. He is working to rebuild Ohio’s neighborhoods and support
anti-gun violence programs and community groups that are working to repair our
hardest-hit communities. DeWine has also devoted resources to fighting Ohio’s prescription drug abuse and heroin problems, increased the number of criminal prosecutions in consumer fraud cases and dramatically decreased the turn-around time
for testing of DNA evidence. DeWine served as Greene County prosecuting attorney,
in the Ohio State Senate, in the United States House of Representatives, as Ohio lieutenant governor and in the United States Senate.
David Dhume, Madison County Commissioner
[email protected]
A life-long resident of Madison County, Commissioner David Dhume has been involved in community leadership for the past 30 years. His diverse experience includes
serving as Somerford Township trustee, working with the Madison County Soil &
Water Conservation District and the Tri-County Jail. Currently serving his 20th year
as a county commissioner, he has been actively involved in welfare reform, economic
and workforce development, and health and human services issues. In addition, he
is also involved with the Community Action Organization, Madison County Family Council, United Way, Madison County Substance Abuse Coalition and Madison
County-London Recovery Board. On the state and national levels, David is a past
president and member of the CCAO Board of Directors, chaired the CCAO Human
Services and Workforce Development Committee and was a member of NACo’s Human Services and Education Steering Committee.
2
Selina Dublin, MPA, Senior Manager, Cuyahoga County Division of Children
and Family Services - [email protected]
Selina Dublin holds a Master of Public Administration; she is a senior manager at
Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services. As senior manager, she
has managed START, sex abuse, case review and educational services and is currently
managing ongoing/intake.
Additionally, Selina has served as a social service worker, case review facilitator and
ongoing supervisor. She is dedicated to child safety, working together as a team and
building staff morale.
Suzanne Dulaney, Executive Director, County Commissioners Association of
Ohio – [email protected]
Suzanne Dulaney is the executive director for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. Suzanne worked at CCAO from 1999 to 2006 as a senior policy analyst. Prior to her return to CCAO in 2014, she served as the associate CEO for the
Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities, which represents Ohio’s
county alcohol, drug addiction and mental health boards. Suzanne obtained her law
degree with a concentration in governmental affairs from Capital University and her
undergraduate degree in political science from Miami University.
Cynthia Dungey, JD, Director, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
[email protected]
Cynthia Dungey is director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
(ODJFS) and is responsible for supervising the state’s public assistance, workforce development, unemployment compensation, child and adult protective services, adoption, child care and child support programs. Prior to becoming director, she was the
assistant deputy director of the Office of Ohio Health Plans and managed Ohio’s Medicaid program before transitioning to the newly formed Ohio Department of Medicaid. Her previous public service included serving as director of the Fraud and Investigative Audit Group within the Ohio Auditor of State’s Office and in the Health Care
Fraud and Crime Victim Services sections of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. She
received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and sociology from DePauw
University, and also earned her Juris Doctorate from the Ohio Northern University
College of Law.
John M. Durkin, JD, Judge, Mahoning County Common Pleas Court
[email protected]
John (Jack) Durkin has been a judge in the Mahoning County Court of Common
Pleas since 1997. He received his Bachelor of Arts and his Juris Doctor from the University of Dayton. Establishing the Mahoning County Common Pleas Drug Court in
1997, Jack continues to preside over that program along with his regular docket. That
program has been recognized as a Mentor Court by the United States Department of
Justice and was certified by the Supreme Court of Ohio in 2014. He is a passionate
advocate of prison diversion for low-level, non-violent offenders dealing with addiction and quotes a mentor that “we should punish the people we are scared of but treat
the people we are mad at.”
3
Julie Ehemann, Shelby County Commissioner - [email protected]
Shelby County Commissioner Julie Ehemann is a graduate of Ohio Northern University, having majored in pharmacy. She has worked as a retail pharmacist, managing several different pharmacies. Julie is a member of the Ohio Pharmacists Association, serving on the Legal and Regulatory Committee. Julie has been involved in
her community of Shelby County as a volunteer EMT with the local rescue squad,
council member and then the mayor for the Village of Anna before her election as
county commissioner. She is a member of the CCAO Executive Committee, Water
Quality Task Force, and the Justice and Public Safety, Taxation and Finance, and
Jobs, Economic Development and Infrastructure Committees.
Kimberly Fraser, Executive Director, Lake County ADAMHS Board
[email protected]
Kimberly Fraser is executive director of the Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction
and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board and president of the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities. She first joined the Lake County Board in 1999 and held the position of director of Quality Improvement before
being named executive director in 2007. Prior to her move to the board, Kim held
both clinical and management positions at Pathways, an agency in the ADAMHS
network. She is an independently licensed behavioral health care professional and
did her master’s and post-master’s work at John Carroll University.
Jason Fruth, PhD, Assistant Professor, Wright State University
[email protected]
Dr. Jason Fruth is an assistant professor in Wright State University’s College of Education and Human Services and is the program director of the Nationally Recognized Intervention Specialist Program in Teacher Education. He has published articles on the impact of prevention on student performance, teacher performance and
lifetime community outcomes. Jason works with schools and communities across
the United States and Canada to increase the capacity, prevalence and sustainability
of prevention implementations. In addition, he has infused evidence-based, trauma-informed prevention into the pre-service teacher training for early childhood,
middle childhood and intervention specialists at Wright State University and is
working with state and federal agencies as the lead investigator on multiple projects to end sexual violence, child abuse and neglect, addiction to alcohol and other
drugs, as well as mental, emotional and behavioral disorders by equipping all professionals with evidence-based strategies for prevention.
Scott Gaviglia, MBA, CLEE, Chief Union Township Police Department
[email protected]
Scott Gaviglia became the Union Township chief of police, located in Clermont
County, in 2015. As commander of the Operations Bureau, he brings more than 21
years of law enforcement experience to the job. In 1997, Scott was a probation officer with the Hamilton County Adult Probation Department, as well as a part-time
officer with the City of Cheviot Police Department. He has a bachelor’s in criminal
justice, with a minor in business, from the University of Cincinnati, and an MBA
from Indiana Wesleyan University. After completing the Southern Police Institute’s
Administrative Officer course, Scott is a certified law enforcement executive and
graduated from the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.
He is the co-chair of the Heroin Task Force in Clermont County, Law Enforcement
liaison for the Crisis Intervention Committee and Executive Board member of The
Shield.
4
Jamie Gee, Managing Officer, Montgomery County Office of Ex-Offender
Reentry - [email protected]
Jamie Gee is the managing officer of the Montgomery County Office of Ex-Offender
Reentry (MCOER) and has over 26 years of experience in the correctional, parole
and community reentry services arena. She began her career with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction at Warren Correctional Institution where she
served in various capacities for over 16 years. Transferring to the Cincinnati Region
Adult Parole Authority, Jamie served as the regional reentry parole program specialist
covering Hamilton, Montgomery, Preble, Miami, Greene and Clark counties and as
the workplace violence coordinator. She continued in this capacity with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction until her appointment as program director
of the Montgomery County Office of Ex-Offender Reentry. Jamie holds a bachelor’s
degree in criminal justice from Wilmington College and a master’s degree in business
administration from the University of Phoenix.
Meg Griffing, CRC, CWIC, Consultant and Trainer, Center for Evidence Based
Practices, Case Western Reserve University - [email protected]
Meg Griffing has her master’s from Ohio State University and is a rehabilitation counselor. She has worked for more than 20 years with persons with disabilities in residential, benefits consultation and vocational services. She recently left Central Ohio
Supported Employment Collaborative (COVA/Southeast) Inc., where she served as a
program director for both the Benefits Consultation Department and more recently
the Adult Employment Services Department. COVA implemented the Evidence Based
Model of Supported Employment known as Individual Placement and Support beginning in 2008. Meg is now working as a consultant and trainer with the Center for Evidence Based Practices out of Case Western Reserve University, providing guidance
and support to organizations who are implementing Individual Placement and Support
practices.
Orman Hall, Manager of Specialized Docket Section, The Supreme Court of Ohio
[email protected]
As manager of the specialized docket section at The Supreme Court of Ohio, Orman Hall oversees the certification of drug courts, family dependency courts and
other specialized dockets. From 2011 through 2013, Hall served as the director of
the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, a cabinet level state
agency with an annual budget of $195 million that funded public addiction services
throughout Ohio. From 2013 through 2014, Hall served as director of Gov. Kasich’s
Opiate Cabinet. During his tenure in the Kasich administration, his top priority was
to resolve Ohio’s opiate and heroin epidemic.
Previously, Hall served for two decades as director of the Fairfield County Alcohol,
Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board. During his tenure in Fairfield
County, Hall was an early adopter of and advocate for medication-assisted treatment
for opiate-addicted clients. Hall’s experience with the executive branch, community
treatment and judiciary provides him with a unique and balanced perspective about
the child welfare, addiction and criminal justice challenges facing Ohio.
5
Mark Hurst, MD, Medical Director, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
[email protected]
Mark Hurst provides leadership for clinical services at all of the state’s regional psychiatric hospitals and community-based organizations. Board certified in psychiatry
and addiction psychiatry, Mark has advocated for the adoption of evidence-based
practices such as integrated treatment for substance abuse and mental illness, modern
psychopharmacology and trauma informed care as a way to maximize recovery on an
individualized basis. Mark has served in a number of positions in public psychiatry,
including chief of psychiatry at the Columbus VA outpatient clinic, medical director
of The Ohio State University Psychiatric Healthcare and director of the Harding Addiction Recovery Center in Columbus. He has been on the faculty of The Ohio State
University Department of Psychiatry since 1989. Mark is a graduate of Muskingum
College and the Medical College of Ohio.
Beth Kinney, MSW, LISW-S, STARS Grant Program Manager, Summit County Children Services
[email protected]
Beth Kinney has been in the child welfare field since deciding to become a foster parent in 1992. She began her professional career in child welfare after graduating from
the University of Akron. Beth holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social
work and is a licensed independent social worker with a supervisor designation in the
state of Ohio (LISW-S). Beth works for Summit County Children Services as the program manager of a federal grant program designed to assist families who have both
drug and alcohol addiction and child welfare involvement.
Deborah Lieberman, JD, Montgomery County Commissioner
[email protected]
Deborah Lieberman is serving her third term as Montgomery County commissioner.
Her previous public services include serving on the City of Clayton Council, Randolph Township Planning Commission, and as director of real estate and chief deputy
auditor for the Montgomery County Auditor. Deborah co-chairs the Montgomery
County Reentry Policy Board, is a member of the Dayton Regional STEM Collaborative board, serves on the Dayton Development Coalition’s Regional Leaders Forum
and is on the Downtown Dayton Partnership Board. Statewide, Deborah serves on the
CCAO Board of Directors, chairs the Metropolitan and Regional Affairs Committee
and is past president of the association. Deborah was appointed by the governor to
serve on the Ohio Local Government Innovation Fund Council and the Ohio Housing Trust Fund Committee, and she served on the Supreme Court Task Force on the
Future Funding of Ohio Courts. Deborah was elected chief elected official of the Area
7 Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Board. Deborah was elected
to the National Association of Counties Board of Directors in 2015 and is vice-chair
on the Human Services and Education Steering Committee.
Jaime Lutson, Probation Officer, Clermont County Municipal Division
[email protected]
Jaime Lutson holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati.
Jaime has been employed by the Clermont County Municipal Court Adult Probation
Department since 2001, serving as an intensive treatment probation officer, intensive
supervision probation officer and corrective thinking group facilitator. Her current
primary role in the department is as the liaison with Clermont County CASC Program, and she serves as the quality assurance officer for the department’s Intensive
Supervision Probation Jail Diversion Program. The Intensive Supervision Program
Jail Diversion Program was awarded the ODRC Clifford Skeen Award in 2010 and
2013 for Excellence in Community Corrections Programming.
6
Greta Mayer, PhD, CEO of the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Clark, Greene and Madison Counties
[email protected]
Greta Mayer is the CEO of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Clark, Greene
and Madison Counties. She is a licensed professional counselor. Greta is passionate
about building supportive communities, promoting help-seeking and creating a wider safety net for all people at-risk for behavioral health problems. She has published
articles and led trainings from an ecological-systems framework on a variety of behavioral health prevention and awareness topics for community members, including
first responders, youth, college students and faculty, educators, faith-based groups,
healthcare providers and businesses. She is a graduate of Wittenberg University, as
well as the University of Dayton and University of Cincinnati graduate schools. Prior to joining board staff in 2007, Greta worked with youth and families in a clinical
school-based setting for eight years.
John McCarthy, Director, Ohio Department of Medicaid
[email protected]
State Medicaid Director John McCarthy oversees the Ohio Department of Medicaid
(ODM), Ohio’s first cabinet-level state Medicaid agency. In conjunction with the Office
of Health Transformation Director Greg Moody, McCarthy and his team have implemented a series of innovative policy initiatives that have modernized the Medicaid
program by improving the quality of health services at a substantial value to Ohio’s
taxpayers. Prior to overseeing Ohio Medicaid, McCarthy served as Medicaid director
for the District of Columbia. He also spent 10 years with EP&P Consulting, where he
worked with many states, including Ohio, to help reform their Medicaid programs
through home- and community-based waiver programs, new coverage initiatives and
rate setting. McCarthy has a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University‘s
School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from
Indiana University.
Daniel Meloy, Director of Public Safety, Colerain Township Department of Public
Safety - [email protected]
Daniel Meloy is assistant township administrator and director of public safety in Colerain Township. He served as chief of police in Colerain for more than six years before
he began overseeing both fire and police departments as director of public safety in
2013. He is a certified law enforcement executive in the State of Ohio and graduated
in the 223rd Session from the FBI, National Academy. He holds a bachelor’s from the
University of Cincinnati and a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Kentucky University.
Gary Mohr, Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
[email protected]
Gary Mohr is director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
(DRC). Appointed in 2011, he is a 40-year corrections professional with a national
reputation for innovative and efficient prison management. Gary has served as deputy director and superintendent of the Ohio Department of Youth Services, DRC deputy director for administration and deputy director in the agency’s Office of Prisons.
In addition, he has served as warden at the Ross Correctional Institution, Chillicothe
Correctional Institution and the Correction Reception Center. Gary has also served
as director of the Governor’s Office of Criminal Justice and has chaired the Governor’s
Task Force on Gun Violence. In 2005, he founded Mohr Correctional Insight, where
he advised the Corrections Corporation of America in areas of staff leadership and
development and implementing unit management.
7
Fred Moses, JD, Judge, Hocking County Municipal Court
[email protected]
Fred Moses was elected to the Hocking County Municipal Court in Logan in 2011. He
received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and his J.D. from
the Capital University Law School. He also previously worked in the packaging and
quality assurance departments at Anheuser Busch while attending law school. He had
a private practice as a defense attorney for nine years prior to being elected. In 2012,
Moses implemented a medically assisted Drug Court Program to his docket that utilizes Vivitrol/Naltrexone.
Maureen O’Connor, JD, Chief Justice, The Supreme Court of Ohio
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is the 10th chief justice and the first woman in Ohio
history to lead the Ohio judicial branch. Since she took office in 2011, Chief Justice
O’Connor has led significant reforms and improvements in the Ohio judicial system,
including establishing a task force to examine court funding statewide, creating a
committee to examine the administration of the death penalty and proposing improvements to strengthen judicial elections in Ohio. She first joined the Supreme
Court of Ohio as a justice in January 2003. Her career in public service and the law
spans three decades and includes service as a private lawyer, magistrate, common
pleas court judge, prosecutor and Supreme Court justice. She earned her Bachelor of
Arts at Seton Hill College in 1973 before going on to earn her law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1980.
Jeff Orr, Commander, Trumbull-Ashtabula Group Task Force
[email protected]
Jeff Orr is the commander of the Trumbull-Ashtabula Group Task Force. The Trumbull-Ashtabula Group Task Force (TAG) is a multi-county agency that was formed by
the sheriffs in the counties of Trumbull and Ashtabula. TAG is a specialty crimes unit
that focuses investigations on drug traffickers, gangs, firearm traffickers and homeland
security issues. The process to form TAG began shortly after September 11, 2001, when
the sheriffs determined that communication on crime between counties could be improved by regionalization. The TAG Task Force consists of deputy sheriffs having full
law enforcement powers in each of the participating counties. TAG also enlists the assistance of federal and state law enforcement agencies in the pursuit of their mission
— improving quality of life by reducing crime in their communities.
Tracy J. Plouck, Director, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
[email protected]
Tracy Plouck is director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Services and has been a member of Gov. Kasich’s Cabinet since January 2011. She has
served twice as Ohio’s State Medicaid director and also as a deputy director for both
the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and the Ohio Office of Budget
and Management. Tracy holds a master’s degree in public administration from The
Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University. She is the
current president of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and also serves as a board member of the Council of State Governments’ Justice
Center.
8
Paula Prentice, Summit County Council Member
[email protected]
Paula Prentice is currently serving her third term as Summit councilwoman. As
chair of the Human Services Committee for 12 years, Paula oversees the county levy
agencies, including Children Services, Developmental Disabilities, Alcohol Drug and
Mental Health, and Summit County Jobs and Family Services. In addition, she serves
on the Children Aging-out of Foster Care Task Force, Children and Family First
Council and the Summit County Opiate Task Force. On the state level, Paula chairs
CCAO’s Health and Human Services Committee. Nationally, she is the vice chair of
the Social Services Subcommittee of NACo’s Human Services and Education Steering
Committee. Paula is a retired public school teacher and administrator.
Bob Proud, Clermont County Commissioner
[email protected]
Bob Proud is serving his seventh term as a Clermont County commissioner and is
president of the board. He also chairs the state advisory committee for RECLAIM
Ohio with the Department of Youth Services and was appointed to serve on the Governor’s Council for Juvenile Justice. Bob served as president of the Ohio Community Corrections Association and the Ohio Department of Corrections Community
Corrections Advisory Board and currently serves on the Ohio Criminal Sentencing
Commission and the Clermont County DUI Court Advisory Board. He was chosen
to serve on the National Association of Counties (NACo) Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee and on the methamphetamine action group. Currently, Bob
serves as chair of the CCAO Public Safety and Justice Committee.
Jim Ryan, Executive Director, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Association of Ohio
[email protected]
Jim Ryan is the executive director of ADAPAO Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention
Association of Ohio (ADAPAO) and an Ohio certified prevention specialist II with
more than 30 years of experience in prevention; training and consultation; cultural
competence; and youth, professional and community development. In addition to his
role with ADAPAO, Jim has provided training and consultation services with an array of local, state and national organizations. Jim is a master trainer of the Center for
Substance Abuse Prevention’s Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training (SAPST).
He also chairs the ADAPAO Prevention Think Tank, an advocacy and planning collaborative of Ohio’s leading prevention professionals; co-chairs the OhioMHAS Prevention Roundtable; and serves on the Prevention Committee of the Ohio Chemical
Dependency Professionals Board.
Sharon Schnelle, PhD, JD, Director, Research & Evaluation, American Institute
for Justice Innovation - [email protected].
Sharon Schnelle is the director of Research and Evaluation at American Institute for
Justice Innovation. Prior positions include project director for the Ohio Department
of Youth Services, a program administrator for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and court improvement analyst for the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Sharon has her PhD in criminal justice and criminology from the University of Cincinnati and her Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School.
9
Christian Sigman, County Administrator, Hamilton County
[email protected]
Christian Sigman was appointed as the Hamilton County administrator in 2011 after
serving as an assistant county administrator for five years. He has over 20 years of public administration experience, beginning as a police officer and progressing through increasingly more responsible senior positions in local government. He holds a Bachelor
of Arts with a double major in psychology and criminal justice from Indiana University - Bloomington. He also has a Masters of Public Administration from the School of
Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. In 2002, Christian completed
the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the Harvard Kennedy
School of Government.
Ruth Simera, MEd, LSW, Program Administrator, Criminal Justice Coordinating
Center, Northeast Ohio Medical University - [email protected]
Ruth Simera is the program administrator for the Ohio Criminal Justice Coordinating
Center of Excellence and provides consultation and technical assistance to promote
jail diversion alternatives to Ohio communities, including enhancement of CIT programs. She coordinates the Ohio Cross-Systems Mapping Initiative and works with
a team of trained facilitators to provide Sequential Intercept Mapping workshops to
Ohio counties. Ruth is a member of the Ohio Attorney General’s Task Force on Mental
Illness and Criminal Justice. She served on the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission Subject Matter Expert (SME) group for revision of the Corrections CIT lesson
plan and is currently on the CIT Steering Committee for the Ohio Department of
Rehabilitation and Correction. Ruth was also an adjunct faculty instructor with the
Center for Applied Conflict Management in the Political Science Department at Kent
State University for 10 years and is a contracted trainer for the Ohio Child Welfare
Training Program.
John Tharp, Lucas County Sheriff
[email protected]
John Tharp was sworn in as the 45th sheriff of Lucas County in 2013. Being elected
sheriff culminated his many years of law enforcement experience, beginning with his
25 year career with the Toledo Police Division. During his tenure with the Toledo
Police Division, John was assigned to Field Operations, Narcotics Squad, Drug Task
Force and the Homicide Squad. In 1997, he began his career with the Lucas County
Sheriff ’s Office and was initially named the director of Court Services; he subsequently became the commander of the Administrative Services Section. Included in
his duties were assignments to Homeland Security, Great Lakes Northern Border Initiative, Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Lucas County Joint Task Force. He served
in the United States Army as a combat medic during the Vietnam War. As a result of
this service, he was awarded the Bronze Star.
10
Lee Ann Watson, PhD, Associate Director, Clermont County Mental Health and Recovery Board
[email protected]
Lee Ann Watson, PhD, CRC, LPC-S, is the associate director at the Clermont County
Mental Health and Recovery Board. She has over 25 years of experience working in
adult community behavioral health. In her current position, Lee Ann is responsible
for grant writing and monitoring, program development and assessment, planning
and evaluation for the county’s behavioral health system, as well as community education and advocacy. She also works closely with prevention services in Clermont
County and is actively involved in the development of the county’s Project Dawn and
the implementation of school-based drug prevention services. Lee Ann is the coordinator for the Clermont County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program, co-chair
of the Clermont County Opiate Task Force, co-chair of the Clermont County Suicide
Prevention Coalition and vice chair of the Coalition for a Drug Free Clermont County. She is also a certified mental health first aid instructor, a certified QPR (Question,
Persuade and Refer) instructor, a certified TIP Fidelity reviewer, and a certified CIT
trainer and CIT coordinator. She received her PhD in rehabilitation counseling from
The University of Iowa.
Ginger Yanchar, M.S.S.A., LISW-S, Clinical Supervisor, Community Counseling
Center of Ashtabula County - [email protected]
As a clinical supervisor for the Community Counseling Center of Ashtabula County,
Ginger is responsible for the development and management of the Supported Employment Services program at Community Counseling Center. She has over 20 years
of experience in the behavioral health and social services fields, with extensive experience in the supervision and management of employment services. She earned her
Bachelor of Arts in psychology/music from Heidelberg University, and her Master of
Science in social administration from Case Western Reserve University. She has also
provided employment consultation services through the Center for Evidence Based
Practices at Case Western Reserve University.
Connie Zemmelman, JD., Judge, Lucas County Juvenile Court
[email protected]
Connie Zemmelman has been a Lucas County Juvenile Court judge since June 2007.
She is a member of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and was
appointed in 2009 to the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education. Prior to taking the bench, she practiced law for 25 years. Her practice focused
on family issues, including adoptions and surrogacy law, juvenile law and probate law.
Connie also served as a magistrate in the Lucas County Probate Court. She received
her undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University and her law degree
from the University of Toledo College of Law.
11