2010 NIATx Summit and SAAS National Conference

Peter Block

Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work is about chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community.

Peter is the author of several best selling books. The most widely known being Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used (1st edition 1980, revised 1999); Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest (1993) and The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work (1987). Peter is the recipient of the Organization Development Network’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004 he received their first place Members’ Choice Award, which recognized Flawless Consulting as the most influential book for OD practitioners over the past 40 years.

His latest book is Community: The Structure of Belonging (Berrett Koehler 2008). He has also authored. The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters which won the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Award for Business Breakthrough Book of the Year. Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World, was co-authored with consultant and philosopher Peter Koestenbaum (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2001).

The books are about ways to create workplaces and communities that work for all. They offer an alternative to the patriarchal beliefs that dominate our culture. His work is to bring change into the world through consent and connectedness rather than through mandate and force.

He is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops designed by Peter to build the skills outlined in his books.

Peter serves on the Boards of Directors of Cincinnati Classical Public Radio and Elementz, a Hip Hop urban youth center. He is on the Advisory Board for the Festival in the Workplace Institute, Bahamas. He is the first Distinguished Consultant-in-Residence at Xavier University. With other volunteers in Cincinnati, Peter began A Small Group, whose work is to create a new community narrative and to bring his work on civic engagement into being.

He has received national awards for outstanding contributions in the field of training and development, including the American Society for Training and Development Award for Distinguished Contributions; the Association for Quality and Participation President’s Award; and Training Magazine HRD Hall of Fame.

Peter's office is in Mystic, Connecticut. You can visit his websites at www.peterblock.com, www.designedlearning.com, and www.asmallgroup.net. He welcomes being contacted at pbi@att.net.

H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., CAS, FASAM
Director, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment

As director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. H. Westley Clark leads the agency's efforts to provide effective and accessible treatment to all Americans with addictive disorders. Dr. Clark's areas of expertise include substance abuse treatment, methadone maintenance, pain management, dual diagnosis, psychopharmacology, anger management, and medical and legal issues. He is also a noted author, clinician, teacher and spokesperson in the field of addiction and forensic psychiatry.

Dr. Clark has received numerous awards for his contribution to the field of substance abuse treatment, including the 2008 President of the United States of America, Rank of Distinguished Executive in the Senior Executive Service Award in recognition of his personal commitment to excellence in government and public service. In 2003, he was honored with Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive Award for his sustained superior accomplishments in management of programs of the United States Government and for noteworthy achievement of quality and efficiency in the public service. Dr. Clark was also awarded the 2008 John P. McGovern Award from the American Society of Addiction Medicine for his contributions toward increased understanding of the relationship between addiction and society.

Dr. Clark received his medical degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Harvard University Law School. Dr. Clark received his board certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in psychiatry and sub-specialty certifications in both addiction and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Clark is licensed to practice medicine in California, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan. He is also a member of the Washington, D.C., Bar Association.

Wilson M. Compton, M.D., M.P.E.
Director Director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Wilson M. Compton, M.D., M.P.E. is Director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the National Institutes of Health. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction, and leads the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on this urgent public health problem. NIDA also promotes the rapid translation of research results to improve drug abuse prevention, treatment, and policy in this country and globally.

Dr. Compton serves under NIDA Director Nora Volkow, managing a complex research program of national and international scope to address: (1) the extent and causes of drug abuse and addiction, (2) the prevention of drug abuse and addiction, and (3) how to organize, finance, and implement services to best treat addiction. As the head of NIDA’s Division of Epidemiological Services and Prevention Research (DESPR), Dr. Compton, along with staff, regularly addresses varied research, academic, and public audiences on a variety of drug abuse and addiction topics. For example, presentations on the neuroscience of addiction were recently delivered to federal district and magistrate judges to highlight alternative approaches for addressing public health and safety concerns related to federal prisoners returning to the community. Dr. Compton has also published widely on various drug abuse trends of pressing interest to NIDA, including the emerging prescription drug abuse problems in the United States.

Prior to joining NIDA, Dr. Compton was Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Master in Psychiatric Epidemiology Program at Washington University in Saint Louis as well as Medical Director of Addiction Services at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in there. Dr. Compton received his undergraduate education from Amherst College and completed medical school and residency training in psychiatry at Washington University. He has been the principal or co-principal investigator of multiple federally funded grants focusing on the epidemiology of drug abuse, HIV prevention, and co-occurring mental and drug use disorders. In these areas of research, Dr. Compton has authored over 100 articles and chapters, and multiple diagnostic interviews.

David Gustafson, Ph.D.
Director, NIATx

Dave Gustafson is Research Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Director of the National Cancer Institute designated Center of Excellence in Cancer Communications (chess.wisc.edu) and Director of the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the federal government’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (www.niatx.net). He is also co-leading a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program to implement evidence-based practices in addiction treatment agencies and state governments (www.advancingrecovery.net). He also leads a NIDA randomized trial to evaluate five various strategies for quality improvement.

His research focuses on the use of systems engineering methods and models in individual and organizational change. His research on organizational change aims at developing and evaluating strategies for promoting and sustaining improvement in behavioral health care and involves nearly 400 treatment agencies in 36 states. His individual change research centers on developing and evaluating eHealth systems using as the test vehicle CHESS (the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System), a computer system to help people facing serious health problems with a particular focus on cancer. His randomized trials of CHESS help understand acceptance, use and impact of eHealth on quality of life, behavior change and health services utilization. Dave is a Fellow of the Association for Health Services Research and of the American Medical Informatics Association, a Fellow and past Vice–Chair of the Board of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He also chaired the Federal Science Panel on Interactive Communications in Health, is Chair of the eHealth Institute and is a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Redesigning Health Insurance.

Pamela S. Hyde, J.D.
Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Pamela Hyde was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November 2009 as Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a public health agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.

Ms. Hyde is an attorney and comes to SAMHSA with more than 30 years experience in management and consulting for public healthcare and human services agencies. She has served as a state mental health director, state human services director, city housing and human services director, as well as CEO of a private non-profit managed behavioral healthcare firm. In 2003 she was appointed cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department by Gov. Bill Richardson, where she worked effectively to provide greater access to quality health services for everyone.

Ms. Hyde is a member of or has served as a consultant to many national organizations, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the American College of Mental Health Administration, the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and the United States Department of Justice. She has been recognized by many groups, including the American Medical Association, the National Governor’s Association and the Seattle Management Association, for her creativity and leadership in policy and program development and in organizational management issues. She has received special acknowledgment for her ability to build teams, develop coalitions and consensus, develop strategic plans and form the basis for action and achieve identified goals in a constantly changing environment.

Ms. Hyde received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School (1976) and her B.A. from Southwest Missouri State University (1972).

A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

On August 10, 2009, A. Thomas McLellan, Ph.D. was sworn in as the Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. As Deputy Director, Dr. McLellan serves as Director R. Gil Kerlikowske’s primary advisor on a broad range of drug control issues and assists in the formulation and implementation of the President’s National Drug Control Strategy.

Dr. McLellan brings 35 years of addiction treatment research to the position, most recently at the Treatment Research Institute, a non-profit organization that he co-founded in 1992 to transform the way science is used to understand substance abuse. Dr. McLellan’s contributions to the advancement of substance abuse research and the application of these findings to treatment systems and public policy have changed the landscape of addiction science and improved the lives of countless Americans and their families.

In his career he has published over 400 articles and chapters on addiction research. From 2000-2009 he was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, and he has also served on several other editorial boards of scientific journals.

Dr. McLellan is the recipient of several distinguished awards including the Life Achievement Awards of the American and British Societies of Addiction Medicine (2001 & 2003); the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Innovator Award (2005); and awards for Distinguished Contribution to Addiction Medicine from the Swedish (2002) and Italian (2002) Medical Associations.

Dr. McLellan holds a B.A. from Colgate University and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College. He received postgraduate training in psychology at Oxford University in England.

Howard Meitiner
President and CEO, Phoenix House

Mr. Meitiner was appointed President and CEO of Phoenix House in February 2007, succeeding Dr. Mitchell S. Rosenthal, the organization’s founder. A member of the Phoenix House Board of Directors since 2004, he worked with Dr. Rosenthal in 2006 to help restructure and strengthen the organization’s New York programs. As a leading international marketing and retail executive with expertise in managing growth, Mr. Meitiner was involved in turnaround projects in the private sector and served as president and CEO of several companies within retail giant Louis Vuitton.

Chief among the goals Mr. Meitiner has set for his tenure at Phoenix House is the expansion of services to reach more persons in need of help and to provide ongoing care and support for the men, women, and teens we serve. With a broader focus on families and a more flexible mix of treatment, Phoenix House will continue to lead the way in substance abuse treatment and be better able to meet the needs of our clients and their families throughout their recovery. A native of England, Mr. Meitner has lived in various cities around the world and has made New York City his home since 2001.

Mr. Meitiner’s past community involvement has included Rotary in Hong Kong and Australia and the Community Chest in Singapore, where he received a rare Corporate Community Service Award from the President of the Republic. He was most recently a member of the Sunny Hills/Children’s Garden Board of Directors in San Francisco.

Rosalind Picard, Sc.D.
Director of Affective Computing Research, MIT Media Lab

Professor Rosalind W. Picard, Sc.D. is founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory, co-director of the Things That Think Consortium, the largest industrial sponsorship organization at the lab, and leader of the new and growing Autism Communication Technology Initiative at MIT. In April 2009 she co-founded Affectiva, Inc. with Dr. Rana el Kaliouby, to commercialize technologies for emotion measurement and communication.

Picard holds a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Masters and Doctorate degrees, both in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1991 she joined the MIT Media Lab faculty, where she became internationally known for constructing powerful mathematical models for content-based retrieval of images, for creating new tools such as the Photobook system, and for pioneering methods of automated search and annotation in digital video. The year before she was up for tenure, she published the award-winning book Affective Computing, which was instrumental in starting a new field by that name. Picard has been awarded dozens of distinguished and named lectureships internationally and in 2005 was honored as a Fellow of the IEEE for contributions to image and video analysis and affective computing.

The author of nearly two hundred scientific articles and chapters in multidimensional signal modeling, computer vision, pattern recognition, machine learning, human-computer interaction, and affective computing, Picard is an international leader in envisioning and inventing innovative technology. She is recipient of a best paper prize for work on machine learning with multiple models (with Tom Minka, 1998), and recipient of a best theory paper prize for work on affect in human learning (with Barry Kort and Rob Reilly, 2001). She holds multiple patents, having designed and developed a variety of new sensors, algorithms, and systems for sensing, recognizing, and responding respectfully to human affective information, with applications in autism communication, human and machine learning, health behavior change, marketing, advertising, customer service, and human-computer interaction.

Dr. Picard has served on dozens of international and national science and engineering program committees, editorial boards, and review panels, including (most recently) the Advisory Committee for the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) division of Computers in Science and Engineering (CISE), the Advisory Board for the Georgia Tech College of Computing, and the Editorial Board of User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction: The Journal of Personalization Research.

Picard interacts regularly with industry and has consulted for companies such as Apple, AT&T, BT, HP, i.Robot, and Motorola. She is a popular keynote speaker and her group's achievements have been featured in forums for the general public such as The New York Times, The London Independent, National Public Radio, Scientific American Frontiers, ABC's Nightline and World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Time, Vogue, Wired, Voice of America Radio, New Scientist, and BBC's "The Works" and "The Big Byte." Picard lives in Newton, Massachusetts with her husband and three energetic sons.