Tuesday, April 24, 2012
7:00 p.m.- 9:30 p.m.
Supported through a grant from Covidien-Mallinckrodt

Introduction to the Awards Program
Please join us for the centerpiece of our Conference, a moving tribute to those individuals who have been nominated and selected by their peers for extraordinary service in the opioid treatment community. These successful Award recipients have devoted themselves to improving the lives of patients in our treatment system. Dr. Vincent Dole and Dr. Marie Nyswander were the first recipients of this Award in 1983. The Association has been responsible for bestowing this honor since the first Regional Conference of 1984 in New York.

The Nyswander/Dole “Marie” Awards will be presented by Beny J. Primm, MD, Executive Director, Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation, Brooklyn, NY.

The 2012 American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence National Conference recognizes outstanding contributions to opioid treatment by honoring the following individuals with the Nyswander/Dole Award.

Joseph V. Brady, PhD, Maryland
During an impressive 50 year career, Dr. Brady made far-reaching contributions to the understanding and treatment of opioid use disorder. Dr. Brady published field-changing work on expanding the traditional approach to methadone treatment by designing the first mobile methadone treatment service in the country. He also founded the Division of Behavioral Biology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he was influential in the development of countless young addiction research scientists. Dr. Brady received the Pacesetter Award from the National Institutes of Health in recognition of his contribution to over 500 research publications and scientific presentations. He was a founding member of the College on Problems in Drug Dependence (CPDD) and was a significant figure in the advancement of methadone maintenance through his pioneering research and mobile methadone delivery programs. His award is being accepted posthumously by his daughter, Kathleen Brady, MD.

Otto C. Feliu, MS, New York
For over 30 years, Otto Feliu has been the director of Crouse Health Hospital Chemical Dependency Treatment Services. He also holds a Governor’s appointment to serve on the NY State Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and has served on the Board of Directors of the Committee of Methadone Program Administrators of New York State, Inc. Recognizing that addiction affects the entire family, he is facilitating the implementation of an evidence-based cognitive behavior support group model for family members of patients with substance abuse disorders. Mr. Feliu has been instrumental in ensuring that patients who participate in Drug Court in Onondaga County are allowed to remain in medication assisted treatment.

As a clinician, educator, administrator, activist, and community leader, Otto has continued to strive for greater awareness and understanding of the disease of addiction.

Hilary Jacobs, MSW, Massachusetts
Hilary Jacobs is an accomplished Public Health Senior Analyst with an unwavering commitment for medication assisted treatment. Ms. Jacobs has demonstrated proficiency in health care financing and policy, performance management, clinical management, systems development and quality assurance. Her expertise in policy making in government settings and compassionate leadership has changed the landscape for methadone treatment patients and providers in Massachusetts. She is a clinician with 30 years of direct care and administrative experience in addiction treatment. She is well respected by her colleagues who describe her as fair, thoughtful, dedicated and generous. Ms. Jacobs has been a Program Director at North Charles, Inc. before becoming the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, Department of Public Health in Massachusetts.

Edward J. Johnson, MA, South Carolina
A leader in the field of medication assisted treatment in South Carolina, Edward Johnson helped form and is the current president of the South Carolina Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence. Mr. Johnson has been instrumental in providing Hepatitis and HIV workshops, and other vital trainings to virtually every opioid treatment program in the state. Mr. Johnson has fostered a more effective working environment within the state by helping to develop relationships between State officials and OTP staff. Through his chairmanship of the Board of the South Carolina Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors, he helped to reduce the stigma associated with medication assisted treatment and provide guidance and influence for the credentialing process of OTP counselors. Mr.Johnson’s many advocacy efforts include supporting patient health and safety and increasing resources to enrich patient care in South Carolina OTPs.

Barbara Schlichting, LCSW, New Jersey
Ms. Schlichting has devoted her career of almost 40 years to service in the field of addiction treatment. Ms. Schlichting’s work in opioid treatment and her efforts to ensure that all individuals suffering from the disease of addiction receive the most clinically appropriate and affordable treatment available has served as a model of leadership in New Jersey. She has expressed this commitment as a counselor, clinical supervisor, Executive Director of Somerset Treatment Center, and continued her service by accepting leadership roles in the Associated Treatment Providers of New Jersey and as the President of the New Jersey Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence.

She has served on several state-wide committees and has testified before legislative hearings to bring significant change in the perception of medication assisted treatment and the patients who are receiving these services.

Stacy Seikel, MD, Florida
Dr. Stacy Seikel is currently the Medical Director at the Center for Drug Free Living. She serves as a PCSS Mentor for Buprenorphine, has co-authored an addiction medicine chapter in a family practice physician textbook, and is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences. She has served in leadership roles for the Florida Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Society of Addiction Medicine, where she worked to educate and reduce the stigma associated with medication assisted treatment. In addition, Dr. Seikel has been lauded for advancing the Florida Prescription Monitoring Program, her advocacy for pregnant and post partum opioid addicted women and their babies, and the development of a medication assisted treatment program in a local Florida jail. Aside from being frequently interviewed by media concerning addiction and opioid dependence, she is known by colleagues to provide compassionate care and exhibits a true empathy for her patients.

Steve Tapscott, MA, Texas
During his more than 30 years as a CEO, manager and sponsor of Texas Treatment Centers, Mr. Steve Tapscott has become widely known for his strong advocacy for patient rights, evidence-based care, patient empowerment and increased accessibility of treatment.

He was the founder and chairman of the Texas Methadone Treatment Association and was co-founder and CEO of the Texas Opioid Treatment Alliance. He has also served as a past Texas representative on the AATOD Board of Directors. In the hectic days following Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Tapscott rented a large van and drove numerous daily round trips to ensure that displaced Louisiana methadone patients received appropriate continuity of care during that emergency. Mr. Tapscott created the first patient advocacy group in Texas and has organized numerous state patient/provider conferences and fundraisers.

Stephan Walcher, MD, Germany
Dr. Walcher is a specialist in anesthesiology, intensive care and addiction medicine. Working in the addiction field since 1981, Dr. Walcher has operated the largest opioid treatment program in southern Germany. In his program, he successfully integrated drug treatment services with the treatment of infectious diseases, as well as providing psychosocial support, psychiatric services and access to general medicine. He is the co-founder and long-time chair of the German Association of Addiction Medicine and the Bavarian Academy of Addiction; he also is on the Board of Directors of the European Opiate Addiction Treatment Association.

William C. Wilson, California
As a pioneer in medication assisted treatment, William Wilson established the first opiate in-patient detoxification program in Southern California in the 1960s at Olive View Hospital. Shortly thereafter, he opened a second 30 bed facility in Rosemont. Mr. Wilson wrote and established the first protocol for outpatient methadone maintenance in California, which led to the opening of the Narcotics Prevention Project, the first program in California to be approved for the use of methadone. Mr. Wilson has been a tireless advocate of patient rights and patient access to treatment. Mr. Wilson’s work with law enforcement, politicians, state regulators, and the community has changed attitudes about addiction and remains an impressive testimony to his dedication to patients and the field.

William White, MA
William L. (“Bill”) White, Senior Research Consultant at Chestnut Health Systems, has worked full time in the addiction treatment field since 1969 as a community activist, counselor, clinical director, administrator, and research associate. He was one of the founding staff members of Lighthouse (Chestnut Health Systems, 1973) and, following positions in Chicago and Washington, D.C., returned in 1986 to start Chestnut’s research and training division. He has provided training and consultation in 45 states and in Asia and Europe. Bill has authored or co-authored more than 300 articles, monographs, research reports and book chapters as well as 16 books. Bill’s book, Slaying the Dragon—The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America received the McGovern Family Foundation Award for the best book on addiction recovery. Bill has also authored or co-authored books/monographs detailing the histories of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, and recovery among Native American tribal communities. His other books focus on such diverse subjects as promoting organizational health of addiction treatment institutions, ethical issues in addiction counseling, American cultures of addiction and recovery and the Chicago model of AIDS case management. Bill is the past-chair of Recovery Communities United and has served as a volunteer consultant to Faces and Voices of Recovery since its inception in 2001. Bill was featured in the Bill Moyers’ PBS special Close To Home: Addiction in America and Showtime’s documentary Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 20th Century and served as a consultant to the 2007 HBO special Addiction. His sustained contributions to the field have been acknowledged by many awards.

Roxanne Baker
As a tireless fighter for medication assisted treatment and the rights and dignity of patients, Roxanne Baker has for the last three years served as President of the National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery, Inc. (NAMA Recovery). Ms. Baker’s work on minimizing discrimination through efforts to eradicate stigmatizing language is legendary in the advocacy community, who has often referred to her affectionately as the “language police.” Ms. Baker’s lifetime of volunteer work includes serving as a moderator on two web-based peer self-help recovery lists and fearlessly advocating for needle exchange programs in California. She has presented workshops at AATOD conferences, at Certified Methadone Advocate trainings and at other events across the country with an infectious enthusiasm. As a member of the California Narcotic Treatment Program Advisory Committee, Ms. Baker is a stalwart when it comes to ensuring the goal of every deliberation is improvement of patient care and the assurance of dignity and respect in the treatment setting. Ms. Baker continues to work with many patients as an ombudsman, making herself available to mediate program disputes and teaching patients to be empowered to advocate for themselves as part of their own recovery. Ms. Baker serves as a model and mentor to all who seek to put patients and their welfare at the center of medication assisted treatment.