Amy Anderson BSW, MS, LPC, CSAC worked previously as the Human Services Program Director for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Continuing Studies. She taught a number of classes on the topic of substance use disorders and presented throughout Wisconsin. As a Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor, she worked at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Oconomowoc, specializing in substance use disorder treatment and recovery. She joined Wisconsin Voices for Recovery in June 2018 as an Advisory Council member, and was appointed to the Intervention and Treatment Committee for the State Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse in July 2018. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Social Work, and later a Master’s Degree in Counselor Education from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.
I am proud to say I was a part of the original Summit in Minnesota where Faces and Voices of Recovery was born. I am in long term recovery and have been advocate for many years. My passion for this movement has not changed. I am employed with Wisconsin Community Services as a Peer Services Coordinator for the Drug Treatment Court in Waukesha County. I have been in the field for many years working in case management, prevention, and intervention. My current passion is Peer Support, advocating for incorporating Peer Services in numerous programs. I am a Certified Peer Specialist and State trainer for Certified Peer Support as well as Career Coach, Recovery Coach, Life Coach, and interventionist. I am also a passionate speaker, writer and singer. As well as this Advisory Council I serve on the Substance Use Advisory Committee Waukesha County, Heroin Task force, CHIPP (community Health and improvement planning process), Waukesha County Peer Support Committee, Southeastern Reentry Council and Ministry leader for Celebrate Recovery.
Jerry VanKirk is Department Chair and veteran instructor of an undergraduate degree program in Substance Use Disorder Counseling at Moraine Park Technical College in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Jerry has served in a variety of capacities in the substance use disorder treatment field over the past 3 decades as an educator, counselor, administrator, advocate and consultant with numerous organizations. He also has keen interests in international education and has taught in the Peoples Republic of China at Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2004, 2005, and 2007. Jerry is the proud father of his daughter born in Jiangxi Province, Peoples Republic of China.
Founded by Tina Perry, Just Listen has been servicing the men, women, and children of Ozaukee and surrounding counties since 2011. As an addict in long-term recovery and mother of a child in recovery, Tina recognized a shortage of resources conducive to lasting sobriety and created Just Listen. While the organization’s focus is community events, it has recently expanded its services to include certified recovery coaching, online and in person support groups, medication intervention training, emergency room support following an overdose and PharmCheck sweat patch monitoring.
David “Mac” Macmaster, CSAC, PTTS has been an addiction specialist since 1975 in Iowa and Wisconsin. Mac has been a certified addiction counselor, program director, administrator, grant writer, program developer, interpersonal skills trainer and prevention specialist. Mac achieved the Advanced Member in the American College of Addiction Treatment Administrators when he was the director of New Directions at the St. Francis Medical Center in La Crosse. After 25 years in the traditional addictions field, Mac developed an interest in tobacco and nicotine dependence. Mac is a Tobacco Treatment Specialist trained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and co-founder of Wisconsin Nicotine Treatment Integration Project (WINTIP) dedicated to save lives by integrating evidence-based nicotine dependence treatment into Wisconsin addiction and mental health services.
Megan is the Executive Director, Coaching Manager & Treatment Liaison, and serves on the Board of Directors of Three Bridges Recovery in Wisconsin Rapids. In her roles, Megan supports community programming and strives to represent the consumer voice by building partnerships of the community and for the community. Megan approached Three Bridges looking to enlist as a recovery coach, yet was hired instead as program supervisor. She has always had a passion for helping others, but found that her own to journey to recovery allowed her to further engage those desiring recovery. Megan started her journey into recovery management at RecoveryCorps/ AmeriCorps program working as a Recovery coach. She continues to gain knowledge through her studies in Human Services and AODA, and has trained extensively in the peer support provider area. Megan currently has oversight responsibility for Three Bridges Recovery’s recovery coaching, sober housing, and skills for life programming. She joined Wisconsin Voices for Recovery in 2019 as an Advisory Council member, and believes strongly that recovery is possible and that anyone can achieve their goals with determination.
Jerry Seitz, SAC has been employed at MMC since 2006 as a Substance Abuse Counselor. He provides inpatient, outpatient and day treatment services. Jerry graduated from the Memorial Medical Center Counselor Training Program in 2005. Prior to joining the staff at MMC, Jerry worked at Indianhead Residential for 2 years. He was the night/weekend house manager. He also worked as a substance abuse counselor at Koinonia Residential Treatment Center (now known as Options). In 2016, he received his National certification for addiction professionals (NCAC1). Jerry has been with Wisconsin Voices for recovery for 6 years. He works with the drug court program in Ashland county and serve as president of a nonprofit organization called Partners in Recovery, which has recently opened a drop in center in Ashland WI. Jerry is in long term recovery and very active within the recovery community.
Dr. Anthony "AJ" Ernst has more than 30 years of experience as a clinician, administrator, and program evaluator. He is the former Director for SAMHSA’s Native American Center for Excellence which provided training and technical assistance on substance use disorders and suicide prevention to more than 150 tribes. AJ also served as the Director of Human Services for the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians after they declared a State of Emergency in 2013, and he served as the Director of Technology Transfer for SAMHSA’s Co-occurring Center for Excellence. Currently, AJ is a Senior Technical Expert on several national projects at JBS International, Inc. in North Bethesda, MD. AJ lives near Madison, WI with his wife and daughters and remains active in the recovery community.
Fred Garcia is a Wisconsin state certified bilingual Social Worker and supervisor for Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Garcia has been employed with Waukesha County for more than 24 years providing services to residents of Waukesha County. Mr. Garcia is the former Executive Director of the Hispanic Collaborative Network and a current board member. Mr. Garcia is also a board member of Wisconsin Family Based Service Association. Mr. Garcia is a strong advocate for the Latino community and has been on the advisory council for Wisconsin Voices for Recover since the council’s inception.
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