Kim Linkel comes to you from Batesville, IN a small rural community in Southeastern Indiana, yet a short drive to Cincinnati, OH. Linkel has held several roles over the past 25 years during her career in coalition work at the local, regional, state and level and most recently joined the KM Clark Consulting Group. Prior to this role she served as the Director of the Coalition for a Drug Free Batesville from 2012-2023. Additionally, she has serves as a Coach with the Coalition Development Support team for CADCA where she provides coaching to coalitions nationally on coalition related topics. Kim is a Certified Prevention Specialist II (CPSII) and a Certified Grant Professional (GPC) and holds a master’s degree from Saint Mary of the Woods College in Leadership Development.

Specialties:

1) Coalition Development
2) Community Engagement
3) Community Readiness
4) Project Management
5) Grant Writing
6) Youth Engagement

Rick Collins is a Cincinnati, OH, native who has resided in Hawai‘i since 2003. He specializes in public health policy on alcohol and other drugs. He is the co-founder of the Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance and the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth, and he currently serves as Coalition Director for three community coalitions across Hawai‘i. His experience includes building new community coalitions, local and state-level policy development, and community organizing to plan and implement policy strategies to reduce the harms of substance use. Rick has been a consultant in CADCA’s Coalition Develop Support since 2018. He currently serves on the boards of the US Alcohol Policy Alliance and Hawai‘i Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council. He is a Certified Prevention Specialist with an MS in Counseling Psychology from Chaminade University.

Specialties:

1) Building new local and statewide coalitions
2) Developing local and state-level prevention policies
3) Community education through earned and owned media
4) Engaging grassroots community members, building community leaders
5) Creating coalition structure to accomplish goals
6) Expertise in alcohol policy
7) Experience in cannabis and tobacco policy
8) Collecting qualitative data on root causes and local conditions
9) Grant writing experience
10) Coalition supervision
11) Prevention policy campaign management

Lesley demonstrates effective leadership through her adept tactical and strategic management of community-based coalitions, aiming to enhance the perception of harm and reduce substance use. She holds a Marketing degree from Hofstra University and boasts more than three decades of experience in pivotal leadership positions. Her expertise spans coalition development, strategic planning, quality management, and training, with a strong emphasis on statistical analysis and process enhancements. Under her guidance, the coalitions she has collaborated with have earned numerous national accolades (Coalition of the Year, Intermediate Outcomes, Dose of Prevention, and two Blue Ribbons), recognizing their exceptional achievements and tangible results in the realms of prescription drug prevention, underage drinking reduction, and the curbing of youth cannabis use. In 2018, she earned the esteemed distinction of being awarded the Hunterdon County New Jersey Businesswoman of the Year, a testament to her outstanding contributions and accomplishments.

Lesley is passionate about creating a better community by being involved with many organizations. She is deeply committed to enhancing the community by actively participating in various organizations. Some of these organizations include being the Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, past chair of Crime Stoppers of Hunterdon County, board member of Overdose Fatality Review Team, and Executive board member of the Partnership for Health of Hunterdon County. She has been fortunate to live in many parts of the country like Georgia, New York, California, Nevada, Colorado and now New Jersey. Most of all, Lesley loves to spend time with her dogs, at the beach and with her family. If you ever get the chance to meet with Lesley, quiz her on 80’s music trivia!

Specialties:

1) Facilitating and fostering an environment where people have a voice, through capacity building.
2) Strategies to address: Opioids, Underage Drinking, and Cannabis
3) Sustaining coalitions.
4) Advocacy for policy changes and recovery.
5) Building strategies to implement Medication for Opioid Use Disorder
6) Implementing harm reduction initiatives.
7) Strategic Prevention Framework and 7 Strategies of Community Change
8) Advocate and amplify the voices of marginalized demographics affected by systemic obstacles.

Julie Furne is an Advanced Certified Prevention Specialist, living and working in Iowa. Julie has been working in prevention for 10 years, the last 5 she has been a DFC Project Coordinator. The coalition Julie coordinates was selected as 2023 Coalition of the year. Alcohol use rates had decreased by over 50% over 10 years. Julie has been a CADCA Coalition Development Support Coach since 2023.
Julie is a graduate of Mount Mercy University with a degree in Criminal Justice Administration. Julie worked in the Juvenile Welfare field for 20 years, working with families who were working to address the effects of substance misuse on families. In 2013 Julie made a career change to the prevention field, working to create healthy communities so fewer families and individuals are working through the effects of substance use.

Julie’s specialties are capacity building and member engagement. Julie has experience with the unique challenges rural coalitions face and assists coalitions to identify their strengths and how they can address those challenges. Julie is able to assist coalitions in developing strategies to engage under represented sectors and reinvigorate coalitions in a post covid world. Julie is able to help coalitions problem solve and apply best practices including the Strategic Prevention Framework. Julie is an expert in alcohol strategies, especially policy work.

Specialties:

1) Capacity Building and Member Engagement
2) Rural Coalitions and Engaging Under Represented Sectors
3) Alcohol Strategies and Policy Work

Dorothy Chaney is the Founder of Wisconsin Community Health Alliance, now known as Impact Community Planning Group, an organization committed to supporting coalitions, agencies and individuals to improve the health of their communities and the environments in which they live. Chaney works nationally and also locally to address health disparities and support the development of local solutions to complex problems. For more than 20 years, Dorothy has worked with community based coalitions throughout the United States, supporting their efforts to combat the impact of substance use on youth and families. Dorothy has also served on many state level work groups and advisory committees in Wisconsin. Chaney also works with communities to implement collective impact and results based accountability approaches as a strategy to improve community health. Dorothy is a consultant with the CADCA and has also consulted on a variety projects for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and is a nationally recognized trainer and public speaker. In addition to being committed to supporting communities in public health efforts, Dorothy is a strong youth advocate and currently serves as an elected Board of Education member in Marshfield WI, where she resides with her two daughters. Prior to moving to Wisconsin in 2006, Ms. Chaney served as the State Executive Director for MADD in Minnesota. Chaney has a bachelors degree in political science and a masters degree in adult education.

Specialties:

1) Health Disparities
2) African American, Native American, and LGBTQI+ population
3) Development of local solutions to complex problems
4) Implementation

José is a native of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, and a seasoned leader, consultant, and trainer who focuses on the problems his area communities face. He consults on program and organizational development for nonprofit organizations, fundraising, strategic prevention framework, and youth substance abuse prevention among Hispanic populations. He is a U.S. Army veteran whose background includes business and nonprofit organization management, school teaching, and community organizing. His current work includes being Project Director and Youth Advisor for the Sabana Grande Coalition for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (COMPASS). As Executive President, Pietri leads the Sabana Grande Community and Economic Development Corporation (SACED) board of directors, where he oversees the operations of various community initiatives, including business incubation and NGO development, disaster case management, community housing, and resilience initiatives. He is fully bilingual, facilitating training in English and Spanish. His leadership and passion have been instrumental in the community coalition-building process in Puerto Rico, several of which he mentors.

Specialties :

1) Strategic Prevention Framework
2) Coalition-building processes
3) Coalition organization/infrastructure
4) Fiscal agent relationships
5) Grant writing and administration