CURRENT BOARD
President
Holly Hagle, PhD
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
As the Chief Learning and Research Officer for the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and affiliated faculty at the University of Missouri’s Missouri Center for Addiction Research and Engagement (MoCARE), Holly Hagle, Ph.D., brings over 20 years of experience as an addiction health services educator and researcher. Her work bridges applied research and education across the spectrum of treatment, recovery, and prevention. Dr. Hagle is an expert in applying Screening, Brief Intervention, and Treatment (SBIRT), with a significant focus on youth and young adults. Notably, she has led curriculum projects addressing Adolescent Co-occurring Disorders and the integration of SBIRT in youth settings, as well as developing educational resources for transitional age youth and young adults.
Vice President
Babalola Faseru, MBChB, MPH, CPH, CPAHA, FSRNT
University of Kansas Medical Center
Babalola Faseru, MBChB, MPH, CPH, CPAHA, FSRNT, is Professor of Population Health, Family Medicine, and Community Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) and Consultant Medical Epidemiologist at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). He earned his medical degree in Nigeria, completed an MPH as a WHO/IARC Cancer Research Fellow in Finland, and pursued postdoctoral and NIH K30 fellowship training at KUMC. Dr. Faseru directs the University of Kansas (KU) Tobacco Treatment Education Program, through which he has trained over 500 Tobacco Treatment Specialists, and has received multiple teaching awards from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. His tobacco research—funded by NIH and state agencies totaling over $25 million—has produced more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, with several cited in the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Surgeon General’s Reports. A Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, he has received international recognition, including the International Association for Study on Lung Cancer (IASLC) Lectureship Award in Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation and the Murray Goldstein Commemorative Lectureship Award from the American Osteopathic College of Occupational and Preventive Medicine (AOCOOPM). He served as Lead Section Editor for Epidemiology and Prevention in the ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine (Seventh Edition) and has spoken at the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine as a leading expert in tobacco research. He has mentored over 150 students and early-career professionals, many from underrepresented backgrounds, including mentees on the AMERSA Growing a Diverse Workforce Award Mentorship Program. He has served AMERSA as Treasurer, Member-at-Large, Associate Editor and a member of the AMERSA Publication taskforce. He is a Deputy Editor of Substance Use and Addiction Journal.
Secretary
Shannon Smith-Bernardin PhD, RN, CNL
Associate Professor, UCSF School of Nursing
President & Co-Founder, National Sobering Collaborative
Nurse Consultant, Smith-Bernardin Consulting, Inc.
Dr. Smith-Bernardin has specialized in health care for individuals experiencing homelessness since 2007, with expertise in street health outreach teams and medical respite/recuperative care for medically frail adults. Her primary focus is on the utilization of sobering centers in lieu of the emergency department and jail for adults intoxicated in public. Building from her clinical and administrative nursing experience and her doctoral work at UCSF School of Nursing, Dr. Smith-Bernardin’s work currently encompasses three roles emphasizing health services research, program development, and policy efforts. First, she is assistant professor at UCSF School of Nursing specializing in alcohol use disorders, sobering center utilization, and homeless-related research. She is funded through a five-year NIAAA grant investigating emergency medical and sobering care collaborations in the care of acute alcohol intoxication. Second, Shannon is co-founder and the first board president of the National Sobering Collaborative, a 501(c)3 nonprofit aimed at identifying and developing best practices, standards, and education towards the use of sobering centers for the care of individuals with harmful substance use. Lastly, she consults in the development of related programs for communities throughout the United States and internationally.
Dr. Smith-Bernardin holds a doctorate from University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing, a Master’s from Western University of Health Sciences, and a Bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College. She recently completed a Health Care Leadership fellowship (Cohort 18, September 2020) with the California Health Care Foundation.
Treasurer
Lucas G. Hill, PharmD, FCCP
University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
Dr. Hill is devoted to addressing substance use challenges through community engaged research and innovative educational programs. He serves as Executive Director of the Program Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU), a team of more than 40 research staff with expertise in implementation science, data analysis, and professional education. Dr. Hill graduated from the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Pharmacy, completed a family medicine pharmacy residency at UPMC St. Margaret, and completed a faculty development fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He founded the PhARM Program at The University of Texas at Austin and led several Texas Targeted Opioid Response projects focused on health professional education and community overdose prevention. Dr. Hill’s current research focuses on identifying, exploring, and addressing gaps in pharmacy implementation of evidence-based substance use disorder treatment and harm reduction strategies. He serves on the board of directors of the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA) and on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (JACCP). Dr. Hill has been recognized with several prestigious national honors, including the American College of Clinical Pharmacy New Educator Award and the American Pharmacists Association Generation Rx Award of Excellence.
Member-At-Large
Shoshana V. Aronowitz, PhD, MSHP, FNP-BC
University of Pennsylvania
Shoshana is a family nurse practitioner, community-engaged health services researcher, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at Penn Nursing. Her research examines innovative delivery models to promote equitable access to substance use treatment and harm reduction services.
Member-At-Large
Jasmine Barnes, MPH
University of Pennsylvania
Jasmine Barnes is devoted to advancing health equity and addressing substance use challenges through authentic community partnerships and harm reduction initiatives. Drawing from her lived experience and professional background in public health, she centers the voices and experiences of minoritized communities in every aspect of her work.
Jasmine serves as a Project Manager with the Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy (CAMP) at the University of Pennsylvania, where she leads efforts to build and sustain community partnerships and expand access to harm reduction education and supplies. Her approach is grounded in empathy, collaboration, and respect for community wisdom, recognizing that lasting change emerges when people with lived experience shape the solutions.
She is currently pursuing her PhD in Public Health through the Joint Doctoral Program at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego, focusing on health behavior and community engaged research. Jasmine holds a Master of Public Health from La Salle University.
Rooted in her belief that equity and inclusion are essential to meaningful public health progress, Jasmine’s work uplifts the voices of those most impacted by structural inequities. As a two-time recipient of AMERSA’s Growing a Diverse Workforce Award and a member of its Board of Directors, she aims to continue to champion diversity, collaboration, and community leadership within the field of addiction medicine and substance use research.
Member-at-Large
Jenna Butner, MD, MPH, FASAM
Yale University School of Medicine
Jenna Butner, MD, MPH is an addiction medicine and family medicine physician, and an Assistant Professor Adjunct in General Internal Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine, as well as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale School of Nursing. She is a faculty member of the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine and a recent graduate of the Yale School of Public Health, where she earned a Master’s degree with a focus on chronic disease epidemiology and environmental health sciences. Her public health advocacy and research centers on harm reduction, reducing stigma of addiction, and exploring the intersection between environment and substance use disorders. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, practicing yoga, playing pickleball, and exploring the city with her dog.
Member-At-Large
Michael Incze, MD, MSEd
University of Utah
Michael Incze is a primary care/addiction medicine physician at the University of Utah whose clinical and research interests focus on integrating substance use treatment into general medical settings, collaborative care models for substance use treatment, and care transitions. AMERSA has been his professional home and a source of inspiration since medical residency. He has served as a founding member of the AMERSA advocacy committee and a member of the AMERSA annual conference planning committee. Outside of professional life, Mike enjoys reading, cycling, skiing, composing music, and spending time with family and friends in the high desert and mountains of the American West.
Member-At-Large
Raagini Jawa, MD, MPH, FASAM
University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Raagini Jawa (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and clinician investigator at the Center for Research on Healthcare at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She received her MD-MPH at Boston University and is board-certified in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and addiction medicine. Her clinical work spans providing endovascular infection, wound and addiction care and directly informs her research which focuses on mitigating health disparities and preventable infectious and non-infectious drug-related harms for persons who use substances. She leads the Harm Reduction Research Collaborative where her current research is evaluating harm reduction service implementation in outpatient health settings supported by National Institute of Drug Abuse (K12 DA050607). For fun she enjoys gardening and singing covers under the pseudonym Bollywoodukulele.
Member-At-Large
Tae Woo (Ted) Park, MD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dept of Psychiatry
Tae Woo (Ted) Park, MD is a board-certified Addiction Psychiatrist and researcher affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Park received his MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed his General Adult Psychiatry Residency and Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Dr. Park was a Research Fellow at the VA Boston Healthcare System, then held academic and clinical appointments first at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, and then Boston University and Boston Medical Center before returning to Pittsburgh. Dr. Park’s research focuses on risks and benefits of benzodiazepine use in people who use opioids and the management of patients with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders in specialty and general medical settings.
Member-At-Large
Kristin Wason, MSN, AGPCNP-BC, CARN
Boston Medical Center
Kristin is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, a Nurse Practitioner at Boston Medical Center, and a Clinical Educator for Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction Training and Technical Assistance team. Kristin has spent years providing education and support to health care providers, and a variety of stakeholders, on best practices in the care of persons with substance use disorder(s) nationally and internationally. Kristin serves as the Director for the Grayken Addiction Nurse Fellowship program, the first addiction nurse fellowship in the United States. Kristin, has published in several peer reviewed journals and is first author of Addiction Nursing Competencies: A Comprehensive Toolkit for the Addictions Nurse. She has also co-authored and authored numerous guidelines to treat patients with substance use disorders in the outpatient setting.
Editor-in-Chief, Substance Use & Addiction Journal
Adam Gordon, MD, MPH
University of Utah/VAMC
Adam J. Gordon, MD MPH FACP DFASAM is the Elbert F. and Marie Christensen Endowed Research Professor, Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, at the University of Utah School of Medicine and the Section Chief of Addiction Medicine at the Salt Lake City VA Health Care System. He is a board-certified internal medicine and addiction medicine physician and a Core Faculty member of the VA Salt Lake City Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center, a Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development HSRD Centers of Innovation (COIN). He is also the Director of the Program for Addiction Clinical Care, Knowledge, and Advocacy (PARCKA), co-Director of the Coordinating Center of the VA’s Interdisciplinary Advanced Fellowship in Addiction Treatment, and the PI/Director of the Greater Intermountain Node (GIN) of NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network. In a 25+ year track record of leading research on the quality, equity, and efficiency of health care for vulnerable populations, he has led national VA Initiatives and research programs to improve the care of patients with addiction; received efforts on grants from VA HSR&D/QUERI, the NIH, AHRQ, PCORI, SAMHSA, and Foundations; authored over 360 peer reviewed scientific manuscripts; and is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Substance Use & Addiction Journal. He is passionate about interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary clinical care and scholarship. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and three children.
AMERSA board members can be reached by sending an email to contact@amersa.org
COMMITTEES & TASK FORCES
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee may act in place and stead of the Board when time does not permit the convening of the full Board on all matters, except those specifically reserved to the Board by the bylaws. The Executive Committee consists of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Governance Committee Chair. The Executive Director may also serve as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is responsible for oversight of Human Resources matters of the organization. This committee is responsible, with guidance from the Treasurer, for recommendations regarding fiscal policy to the Board, including but not limited to proposals and recommendations regarding investment and management of the ASSOCIATION’s reserves.
Executive Committee Members
Holly Hagle, PhD
Babalola Faseru, MBChB, MPH, CPH, CPAHA, FSRNT
Shannon Smith-Bernardin, PhD, RN, CNL
Lucas G. Hill, PharmD, FCCP
Tae Woo (Ted) Park, MD
Click here to download the 2023-2024 Annual Committee Summary Report
Governance Committee
This committee assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with a focus on board governance practices and effectiveness, board director nomination, recruitment, appointment and ongoing development, and defining membership, and working with the board and other committees on recruitment and engagement, with attention to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Governance Committee Members
Chair: Tae Woo (Ted) Park, MD
Zoe Weinstein, MD, MSc
Stephen P Murray, MPH
Click here to download the 2023-2024 Annual Committee Summary Report
Diversity Committee
The Diversity Committee is chaired by the Diversity member-at-large and focuses on increasing the range of perspectives, life experiences, cultural influences and health disciplines of AMERSA’s membership and activities.
Diversity Committee Members
Co-Chairs: Raagini Jawa, MD and Emily Hurstak, MD
Avik Chatterjee, MD, MPH
Hannan Braun, MD
Holly Hagle, PhD
Stephen Holt, MD, MS
Sunny Kung, MD
Sophia Ly
Tiffany Lu, MD, MPH
Shadi E. Nahvi, MD, MS
Jessica Merlin, MD, PhD, MBA
Click here to download the 2023-2024 Annual Committee Summary Report
Advocacy Committee
AMERSA’s Advocacy Committee provides opportunities for members to critically appraise and inform national policies that impact the health and well-being of persons who use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
Advocacy Committee Members
Co-Chairs: Mike Incze, MD, MSEd and Kate Roberts, PhD, MDiv, MSW, LCSW
Honora Englander, MD
Jeffrey P. Bratberg, PharmD, FAPhA
Rachel Winograd, PhD
Kinna Thakarar, MD
Click here to download the 2023-2024 Annual Committee Summary Report
Development Committee
The Development Committee is charged with ensuring that AMERSA reaches its annual fundraising goals as projected in the annual budget
Development Committee Members
Chair: Holly Hagle, PhD
Click here to download the 2023-2024 Annual Committee Summary Report
Mentorship Committee
Mentorship Committee Members
Co-chairs: Kristin Wason, MSN, AGPCNP-BC, CARN and Jasmine Barnes, MPH
Lucas G. Hill, PharmD, BCACP
Ximena A. Levander, MD, MCR
Valerie Gruber, PhD, MPH
Click here to download the 2023-2024 Annual Committee Summary Report
Human Resources Committee
Human Resources Committee Members
Chair: Shannon Smith-Bernardin, PhD, RN, CNL
Click here to download the 2023-2024 Annual Committee Summary Report
AMERSA welcomes members to join the Abstract Review Committee and Workshop Review Committee that convene annually in May to review submissions for the annual conference. If you are interested in being an AMERSA reviewer, please contact Rachel McCart at rachel@amersa.org.
Want to learn more about an AMERSA committee or task force? Interested in joining? Most committees are open to AMERSA members and non-members. For more information, please directly email the committee or task force chair.
PAST PRESIDENTS
Past Presidents
| 1976-1977 | Marc Galanter, MD |
| 1977-1979 | Sidney Schnoll, MD, PhD |
| 1979-1981 | Thomas J. Crowley, MD |
| 1981-1983 | Robert G. Niven, MD |
| 1983-1985 | David C. Lewis, MD |
| 1985-1987 | John Chappel, MD |
| 1987-1989 | Sidney Schnoll, MD, PhD |
| 1989-1991 | Robert Morse, MD |
| 1991-1993 | Anderson Spickard, Jr., MD |
| 1993-1995 | Hoover Adger, MD |
| 1995-1997 | Kathleen Brady, MD, PhD |
| 1997-1999 | Richard Brown, MD, MPH |
| 1999-2001 | Jeffrey H. Samet, MA, MA, MPH |
| 2001-2003 | Mark Werner, MD |
| 2003-2005 | Maryann Amodeo, MSW, PhD |
| 2005-2007 | Richard Saitz, MD, MPH |
| 2007-2009 | Peter D. Friedmann, MD, MPH |
| 2009-2011 | Patrick G. O’Connor, MD, MPH |
| 2011-2013 | Kimber P. Richter, PhD, MPH |
| 2013-2015 | Daniel P. Alford, MD, MPH |
| 2015-2017 | J. Paul Seale, MD |
| 2017-2019 | Sharon Levy, MD, MPH |
| 2019 – 2022 | Paula J. Lum, MD, MPH |
| 2022-2025 | Deborah S. Finnell, PhD, CARN-AP, FAAN |
JOIN THE BOARD
AMERSA welcomes nominations for the Board of Directors year-round.
AMERSA’s Governance Committee coordinates the Association’s election process and issues a Call for Nominations each spring, in addition to encouraging year-round submissions of nominations. Full members and Emeritus members may submit nominations for open positions. The Governance Committee reviews all nominations and puts forth a slate to the Board for a majority vote in September. Officers of the Board take office at the conclusion of the annual national conference and serve for a period of three years with the option to run and serve for a 2nd term.
AMERSA remains nonpartisan, committed to our stated values and free from political and industry influence. Due to limited resources, AMERSA’s advocacy efforts focus on 1-2 mission-driven priorities identified by membership annually. While some may prefer stronger advocacy efforts in response to the political landscape or events at times, AMERSA’s risk tolerance is factored when considering political engagement. Nominees should understand that board member fiduciary duties include acting in the best interest of the organization and communicating as a unified single entity, even when personal opinions may differ.
To nominate yourself for AMERSA’s Board of Directors, please APPLY HERE.
To nominate someone else for AMERSA’s Board of Directors, please email AMERSA Executive Director, Rebecca Northup, at rebecca@amersa.org.
Board Roles and Responsibilities
AMERSA’s Board of Directors is comprised of the following voting members:
Officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Members at Large (7 total) including one designated Diversity Member-at-Large .
Additionally there are two non-voting Board of Directors members: the Executive Director and the Editor of the ASSOCIATION journal.
Board functions include, but are not limited to, assessing the will of the membership; designing, recommending, and implementing policy; fundraising; fulfilling fiduciary, due diligence, and other responsibilities; and developing and maintaining the organizational structure of the ASSOCIATION.
Officers
The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the ASSOCIATION and shall perform all duties incident to the office of President and such other duties as may be assigned by the Board. The President may delegate as appropriate duties to relevant Board members. The President shall preside over meetings of the membership, the Board and Executive Committee. The President shall present an annual report of the ASSOCIATION to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting.
The Vice President shall assist the President in carrying out the business of the ASSOCIATION and shall, in the absence of or in the event of disability of the President, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the President.
The Secretary shall record the minutes of all meetings of the Board, of the Annual Business Meeting of the ASSOCIATION, and of any other meetings of the membership.
The Treasurer shall be the custodian of the books, records, and the funds of the ASSOCIATION. The Treasurer, or the Executive Director, shall dispense funds as authorized by the Board. The Treasurer shall submit an annual report at the Annual Business Meeting. The Treasurer, in collaboration with the Executive Director, shall determine accounting and fiscal procedures and shall propose a draft budget for the next fiscal year for approval by the Board prior to the beginning of the fiscal year, and at the annual Board meeting, or for the annual report submitted in lieu of the annual Board meeting. The Treasurer shall review finances quarterly with the Executive Committee.
Members-at-large
The members-at-large help ensure compliance with Board policies and procedures and all relevant legal and ethical standards, including policies and standards governing corporate relationships, act as representatives or spokespersons for the ASSOCIATION at the President’s request, and perform other duties as directed by the Board or the President. In addition, the Diversity Chair member-at-large leads efforts to ensure that AMERSA leadership, membership and activities are open to all and that a variety of viewpoints, experiences, and disciplines are represented, ensuring the most comprehensive thought leadership.
Commitments and Time Requirements
- All directors attend a bi-monthly virtual 60-minute board meeting
- All directors participate in at least one subcommittee or task force of the Board (bi-monthly 60- minute virtual meetings)
- Directors commit to attend the in-person annual national conference plus pre-conference board retreat (4 days)
- Average of 2-3 hours/month of email correspondence for board and committee matters
- Annual 1.5 day in-person or virtual retreat for strategic planning
- All directors must maintain AMERSA membership during their term(s)
- Costs associated with conference registration, travel, lodging and membership are the responsibility of directors
Nomination Application (link)
Deadline for 2026 Board Nomination Submissions: August 15, 2026