Speakers

Dr. Cresta Jones:
Dr. Cresta Jones is an associate professor of Maternal- Fetal Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She is also board certified in addiction medicine, and currently provides clinical care which focuses on optimizing care for pregnant people with substance use disorders. Dr. Jones completed her fellowship and residency at the University of Vermont Medical School. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Minnesota Maternal Mortality Review Committee and is also a member of the Minnesota Task Force for Pregnancy Health and Substance Use Disorders.  Dr. Jones’s current research involves prediction of neonatal withdrawal severity using cord blood markers.




Jessica Anderson:
Jessica Anderson holds a faculty appointment as Associate Professor. She earned her bachelor’s in nursing from Viterbo University in Wisconsin, her master’s in nursing (nurse-midwifery) from Marquette University in Wisconsin, and her post-master’s certificate as a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner and Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Colorado College of Nursing. Jessica’s professional interests include water birth, nitrous oxide for labor, women’s health care policy, practice development, rural care, maternal mortality, substance use disorder, and doula care. She is active on committees with Colorado Health Department, Colorado Hospital Association, and American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM). Jessica is currently chair of The Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative.

Jessica is currently Director of Midwifery & Women’s Health Services at the College of Nursing. She supports the four nurse-midwifery and one women’s health nurse practitioner faculty practices across the Colorado front range. In addition, she teaches in the nurse-midwifery specialty program and DNP program. Jessica continues to actively practice and support multiple quality improvement projects and programs across the college and UCHealth system. Jessica’s current program work includes rural midwifery care, recovery coach doula program, and virtual prenatal care.

Jessica has presented at local and national conferences including the ACNM Annual Meeting & Exposition, Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nursing National Conference and American Academy of Family Practice Family Centered Maternity Care Conference on an array of topics including nitrous oxide, water birth, skin to skin, breastfeeding, and perineal suturing. In addition, Jessica is a nursing textbook contributor and has published several peer-reviewed articles.

Awards

  • American Academy of Nursing Edge Runner
  • Colorado Nightingale Luminary
  • University of Colorado Innovation in Practice 

Affiliations

  • American College of Nurse-Midwives Board of Directors, Region 6 Representative
  • Colorado Maternal Mortality Review Committee
  • Chair of the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative Board 

Britt Westmoreland:
Britt Westmoreland is a recovery coach and perinatal doula with the University of Colorado’s College of Nursing. Britt is the program coordinator and head recovery coach doula for the University’s Recovery Coach Doula Program. Britt also serves as the recovery coach at the University’s FQHC, where she works directly with adults with SUD and runs a youth program for teens impacted by substance use and/or the criminal justice system.  







Susanna Trost:
Susanna Trost, MPH is an Epidemiologist on the Maternal Mortality Prevention Team within CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health. She has been with the Team since 2019. In her role, Susanna supports state- and jurisdiction-based Maternal Mortality Review Committees in the identification and review of pregnancy-associated deaths and contributes to the analysis and dissemination of data on pregnancy-related deaths in the US. Susanna holds an MPH in Epidemiology from Emory University and a BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Delaware.





Natalie Franz:
Natalie Franz, MPH, is Public Health Evaluator at the Washington State Department of Health. At DOH, Natalie led the development of clinical guidelines on lactation and substance use and their dissemination. Natalie is interested in first relationships as a basis for health and well-being and promoting patient voice & choice. In her personal time, she enjoys hiking, planting native plants in her backyard, and spending time with her 9-month-old, Margaret.






Dr. Sreevalli Atluru:
Sreevalli (Sree) Atluru, MD, born to immigrant parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, raised in Kansas and Minnesota. She attended University of Wisconsin-Madison for college and medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Residency landed her at Oregon Health and Science University for a novel four-year family medicine training with her fourth year spent primarily in the care of inpatient and pregnant people with substance use disorders. She now works as a primary care clinician providing full spectrum family medicine services including obstetrical services at UW Health Deforest-Windsor and a hospitalist with the Department of Medicine. Her area of interest involve management of substance use disorders in pregnancy. In addition to a busy clinical practice in and outside of the hospital, she enjoys yoga, spending time with family and friends, eating brunch and high intensity interval training workouts.


Hannah Schilling:
Hannah Schilling is a distinguished recovery professional and a pivotal figure in the field of substance use disorder recovery and support. Her extensive involvement in numerous influential projects and initiatives underscores her unwavering commitment to creating positive change in the lives of those affected by substance use disorders.

As a panel expert for Buckeye SCOPE, Hannah provides crucial support and resources to identify and train practitioners in the latest practices for screening, monitoring, and caring for children diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) or neonatal opiate withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). Hannah’s dedication to improving outcomes for pregnant and postpartum individuals with substance use disorders is evident through her role as a Patient Stakeholder in the EMPOWER project. Here, she actively contributes to research and training efforts aimed at enhancing options and support for this vulnerable population.

Her expertise is also utilized in the Deflection ECHO program, where she works to bridge justice and treatment systems, fostering collaborative efforts among law enforcement, medical responders, addiction treatment providers, and individuals with lived experience to address substance use crises with evidence-based solutions. Hannah also serves as a panel expert for the Weitzman ECHO Peer Recovery Support program in Ohio, a continuing education initiative that connects Certified Peer Recovery Supporters in rural areas with a supportive community and experienced faculty to enhance their skills and effectiveness in the workplace.

Hannah’s career includes pivotal roles such as the Substance Use Treatment Coordinator at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati and a leader in peer support initiatives for Hamilton County and Colerain Township Quick Response Teams. Currently, as a Health Coordinator at Hamilton County Public Health, she develops and implements programs that educate and assist both professionals and community members in compassionately addressing substance use disorders.

As the Founder and Executive Director of On the Front Lines Community Alliance (OFLCA), Hannah has cultivated a dynamic network of over 300 recovery professionals. OFLCA is a nonprofit, peer-run recovery community organization that offers community education about addiction and recovery, advocates for equitable public policies, runs anti-stigma campaigns, and provides no-barrier access to peer-based recovery support services. The organization emphasizes the development and sustainability of the peer recovery support specialist workforce through training, mentoring, and groups focused on the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP).

Hannah’s leadership in OFLCA includes hosting monthly communities of practice for peer recovery support specialists and organizing a crisis intervention forum that integrates a resource database into the workflow of recovery professionals. This approach simplifies the process of locating, referring, and tracking access to resources, thereby enhancing the quality of care provided to clients. The organization also collaborates with community organizations to create opportunities for growth and integration for participants and clients.

Hannah’s contributions to the field have been recognized through numerous awards, including the Innovation Now Award from the Addiction Policy Forum in 2020, the Nicholas Rosecrans Award from EMS World Expo in 2019, the Angel Award from the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition in 2022, and the Reds Community Cares Honoree from RecoveryOhio in 2022. She has also been honored with the National Promising Practices Award from NACCHO in both 2023 and 2024 and the Recovery Within Reach Award from the Center for Addiction Treatment in 2023. Most recently, she received the Outstanding Individual award from the Ohio Deflection Association in 2024.

Hannah Schilling’s influential work in promoting harm reduction and awareness in the Hamilton County area has been a cornerstone in establishing vital dialogues and actions. Her dedication reflects her deep-seated commitment to professional excellence and personal compassion in addressing the challenges of substance use disorders, making her a respected and impactful leader in the field.


Dr. Nichole Nidey:
Dr. Nichole Nidey is a maternal-child health epidemiologist, with an expertise in substance use during the perinatal period. As an assistant professor at the College of Public Health she teaches and mentors undergrad and graduate students. She leads two collaboratives, the EMPOWER Project and Identifying Barriers to and opportunities to support pregnant Iowans with methamphetamine use. EMPOWER is a multi-state collaborative, started in 2019, that has developed training curriculums, built the capacity of clinicians to care for pregnant patients with substance use by giving talks that feature persons with lived expertise, and is actively conducting research studies to identify best practices for improving the quality of care for perinatal patients with substance use. The collaborative on methamphetamine use in Iowa, was started in 2024, and is focused on bringing community members, healthcare professionals, persons with lived expertise, researchers, and policy members to co-learn and co-develop strategies to improve care for Iowans with methamphetamine use.
 


Andrea Weber:
Dr. Andrea Weber is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Iowa in the Departments of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine.  She is board certified in internal medicine, psychiatry, and addiction medicine and specializes in providing medical and psychiatric health care to people who use drugs.  She is the Assistant Director of the University of Iowa Addiction and Recovery Collaborative (UI ARC) within the Department of Psychiatry.






Dr. Nick Bormann:
Dr. Nick Bormann is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic. He is board certified in psychiatry and completed an addiction psychiatry fellowship in 2023. He is the medical director of Mayo’s Fountain Centers Substance Use Disorder treatment program, which consists of residential, intensive outpatient, and lodging levels of care. 








Madison Simpson:
Madison Simpson is the RN Program Manager for Addiction Support Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madi has worked in substance use as an RN for the last five years.  She is deeply passionate about destigmatizing addiction and advocating for accessible, equitable healthcare solutions. She takes a harm reduction approach to her practice to help improve health outcomes and build trusting relationships with her patients. When she is not working, you can find Madi exploring Madison with her husband Sean and dog Maya.


Latisha Goullaud
A mother of 3 children in long-term recovery from a substance use disorder. Also, a Parenting and Trauma Trainer with the Moms Do Care Grant at the Institute for Health and Recovery funded by SAMHSA, the Massachussets Department of Public Health and BSAS. She has years of experience helping mothers and families find recovery on a path that is most suitable for them. An enthusiastic harm reduction advocate that believes in strategies of loving folks and reducing harm and death for people who use drugs. Experienced with victims of interpersonal violence, coordinating care with outside agencies, and supporting mothers through labor, delivery and post-partum. A skillful program developer and strategic planner. Has managed projects such as the Lynn Community Health Center Recovery Council. An accomplished public speaker who has spoken on national and local events such as the National Council for Wellbeing and the Perinatal-Neonatal Quality Improvement Network of Massachusetts Conference.


Niraj R. Chavan:
Niraj R. Chavan, MD, MPH, FACOG, FASAM is a Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) and Addiction Medicine physician who specializes in the management of substance use during pregnancy. Dr. Chavan is an Associate Professor in the Div. of MFM, Dept. of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health at Saint Louis University (SLU). He serves as the Medical Director of the Women and Infant Substance Help (WISH) Center at SLU / SSM Health, focused on managing perinatal substance use disorders (SUD) in St. Louis, MO. He also serves as the Program Director for the MFM fellowship, core faculty for the Addiction Medicine fellowship and Course Director for a SLU School of Medicine course on “Perinatal Addiction and Maternal Mental Health”. He is Board Certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Maternal Fetal Medicine through the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology (ABOG) as well as in Addiction Medicine through the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM). He has lectured extensively on various aspects of perinatal SUD management at the local, regional and national level. Dr. Chavan’s areas of clinical and research expertise include medical complications of pregnancy, perinatal substance use disorders, obstetric quality and safety, maternal health disparities, perinatal health equity, and health systems science. In addition to his clinical training in OBGYN and MFM, Dr. Chavan is an alumnus of the Masters in Public Health (MPH) program at the Harvard School of Public Health, the Master of Science in Medical Science (MSMS) program at the University of Kentucky, concentrating in clinical and translational science and the Intermediate Improvement Science Series (I2S2) program through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital – James Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence. Most recently, Dr. Chavan was chosen for the first-ever Emerging Leaders Program through SMFM as well as the Robert Cefalo Leadership Training institute through ACOG.

Dr. Chavan serves on the Board of Directors of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (ACOG) as the Early Career Fellow-at-Large and is a member of the ACOG Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines for Obstetrics, ACOG Quality and Safety Initiatives delegation and the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) – Patient Safety and Quality Committee. Dr. Chavan also currently serves as the Chair Elect for the Missouri Perinatal Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) Board and is actively working with the Missouri Perinatal Quality Collaborative (MO PQC) to develop and implement statewide quality initiatives directed at reducing disparities in maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.


Rebecca Foss
Rebecca Foss is a Certified Peer Support Specialist and Doula, in Madison, Wisconsin.  She completed her training with Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative and continues to expand her education through UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education.  She received her Doula Training through Doulaing the Doula of Wisconsin.         

Rebecca is passionate about bringing her shared, lived experience, with substance and mental health challenges to begin change and inclusion for all who wish to explore recovery. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and creating new memories to cherish.




Julyvette Vazquez:
Julyvette Vazquez is a mother of one in long term recovery who received her BSW from Bridgewater State University and her MSW from Simmons University in 2022. Previously, Julyvette worked in recovery centers building family engagement and creating a family focused recovery group curriculum, additionally supporting mothers in recovery through delivery. Currently, she is engaging adolescents in intensive support as the lead therapist for the adolescent IOP for Mentor South Bay. She provides consulting services for various local community organizations to help increase trauma informed approaches for students and families. In addition to her social work background, Julyvette is a Reiki practitioner and holistic-focused, always integrating her aim as a shame buster and narrative disrupter into her recovery work. With her diverse experience and background, Julyvette brings a wealth of knowledge and a distinct approach. Her passion for holistic-focused social work and facilitating clinical groups make her an excellent resource in the field of mental health and substance use.


Hannah Burton
Hannah Burton is an Equal Justice Works Legal Fellow with the Health Equity Legal Project in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Hannah’s work is focused on providing interdisciplinary preventative legal advocacy and support to families in the early stages of the child protection process to help prevent unnecessary family separation and trauma. Hannah also works with the Institute to Transform Child Protection at Mitchell Hamline School of Law on various policy reform efforts aimed at improving Minnesota’s child protection laws to help keep families healthy and together. Hannah earned her J.D. from Mitchell Hamline School of Law where she represented both relatives and parents in child protection matters. Prior to going to law school, Hannah worked directly with families as a social worker for eight years in various roles within and adjacent to the child welfare system. 


Miriam Itzkowitz 
Miriam Itzkowitz, MSW, LICSW, is the Director of Trauma-Informed Care for the Institute to Transform Child Protection at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Through the ITCP Parent Representation Clinic, Miriam works directly with individuals, families and communities impacted by the child welfare system. She serves as the social work supervisor for graduate-level MSW students to link theory and practice in their field work, providing holistic family representation. Miriam develops programming and trains on best practices at the intersection of legal services and trauma-responsive care. Miriam has clinical experience counseling adults and adolescents in clinical, home, and school settings. In her private practice, Reframe Consulting, Miriam uses an eclectic approach to individual and couples therapy, incorporating cognitive, somatic, and holistic techniques to assist clients in sustaining authentic identities, coping with difficulties, and overcoming trauma. Miriam is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas School of Social Work. She received her BA from Grinnell College and her MSW from the University of Minnesota School of Social Work.