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About Me

Dynamic and results-driven healthcare executive with a proven track record of leading large-scale, innovative programs that drive impact, expand access, and enhance financial sustainability. A visionary leader in substance use disorder (SUD) services, health equity, and social determinants of health, committed to developing cutting-edge, patient-centered models of care.

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Key Accomplishments & Leadership Impact:

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  • Expanded Agency Funding & Workforce: Secured and leveraged federal, state, and local grants to increase funding from $2.3M to over $20M, expanding the team from 25 to 230 employees and significantly scaling the organization’s impact and reach.

  • Transformed Peer Recovery Services: Led the statewide expansion of the nation’s first hospital-based Peer Recovery Program across New Jersey’s largest academic healthcare system, integrating peer recovery specialists into hospital care teams. Scaled the program to serve 20,000+ patients annually, establishing a national model for hospital-based recovery support.

  • Optimized Quality & Financial Performance: Directed all substance use disorder (SUD) initiatives for the system’s NJ Department of Health CMS Quality Improvement Program (QIP), generating nearly $30M in annual quality-based incentive payments while strengthening financial sustainability and patient outcomes.

  • Developed NJ’s Largest Tobacco Cessation Program: Led the design and scaling of the state’s most extensive tobacco cessation program, funded by the NJ Department of Health, delivering critical support to thousands of patients.

  • Pioneered Evidence-Based Prevention Initiatives: Spearheaded the implementation of the Communities That Care evidence-based prevention model—the first of its kind in New Jersey—expanding access to proven prevention strategies. Played a key role in developing NJ’s Regional Prevention Coalition system of care.

  • Innovated Social Care Documentation & Automation in Epic: Designed and implemented first-of-its-kind Epic documentation for peer recovery services, integrating an automatic triggering system that instantly alerts peer recovery specialists when a patient with SUD requires care, ensuring rapid response and seamless coordination. Also led efforts to integrate statewide social care resources into Epic’s Community Resource Directory, enabling streamlined referrals to community-based providers.

  • Shaped Policy Development & Advocacy: Led efforts to establish state-level policies allowing peer recovery specialists to dispense naloxone in emergency departments, expanding access to life-saving interventions.

  • Created Innovative Reimbursement Models: Led the development of the state’s first commercial-based and CMS-approved Medicaid reimbursement models for peer recovery support services, ensuring financial sustainability and broader access to care.

  • Advanced Research & Data-Driven Solutions: Led the design and implementation of multiple published research projects in collaboration with Rutgers and Temple University, using data-driven insights to inform best practices, drive innovation, and improve long-term patient outcomes, serving as an executive member of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center/RWJBH Research Collaborative.

 

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

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  • Selected as a Becker’s Hospital Review Rising Stars: Healthcare Leaders to Know 2023

  • Recipient of the 2008 President’s Call to Service Award

  • Honored by the Joint Legislature of New Jersey for Exemplary Leadership in the Field of Prevention and Addiction

  • National Speaker Presenter on the topic of substance abuse prevention, early intervention, and recovery supports

  • Founder and Past-President, Central Jersey Stampede Baseball Travel Organization
     

​LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS

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  • Member of the RWJBH Corporate Tackling Addiction Task Force        

  • Chair of the RWJBH Corporate Health Equity Committee

  • Member of the RWJBH Human Trafficking Committee

  • Member of the RWJBH NJ Dept. of Health Quality Improvement Program (QIP) Executive Advisory Committee    

  • Member of the RWJBH Corporate Behavioral Health Council

  • Served as RWJBH System Executive Lead for integration and implementation of the NowPow (UniteUs) social services resource platform    

  • Former Chair of the national RISE Healthcare Workgroup on Social Determinants of Health

  • Member of the America’s Essential Hospital’s Opioid Advisory Committee
     

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