Sessions and Presenters

Virgil Boysaw Jr. (Director of Prevention Services, Charting Careers)

Virgil Boysaw, Jr., a native of Cleveland, Ohio and now lives in Gambrills, Maryland, currently serves as the Charting Careers Director of Prevention Services in Annapolis, Maryland. He served in management in both the private and the public sectors for over 40 years.

Virgil holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Bowie State University. His professional work experiences have prepared him to serve in the areas of leadership and administration. Before working for Charting Careers, Inc., Virgil served as Director of Drug Free Cecil, and Prevention Supervisor at the Cecil County Department of Health. Virgil also served as the Director of Juvenile Services for the Anne Arundel County Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families. He was responsible for the oversight of the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Initiative that addressed the rate of minority representation in the juvenile justice system and the Community Conferencing grant that allowed victims, offenders, and their respective supporters to resolve their own conflicts safety and in their own communities.  Also, Virgil served as the Prevention Services Program Manager for the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration (at the time, the Single State Agency-SSA), and managed both the Maryland Prevention Block Grant, the Maryland Strategic Prevention Framework Grant (both from SAMHSA), and monitored the Maryland College Drinking Initiative. In addition, Virgil served as the Program Supervisor for the Anne Arundel County Department of Health.  He managed several community-based initiatives including the Disaster Relief Initiative (Fort Meade, Maryland); the Anne Arundel County Hotspot Initiative (Severn, Maryland); and the Strengthening Families Initiative (county-wide).

Virgil was the National Prevention Network (NPN) representative for the State of Maryland, served on the Prevention Status Reports (PSRs) on Excessive Alcohol Use (EAU) Project, and is currently a member of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Advisory Committee and a Prevention Consultant for Opioid Response Network (ORN). Virgil was appointed by Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan to the Advisory Council on Maryland Youth Camp Safety Advisory Committee, and is an Adjunct Faculty member at Anne Arundel County Community College.

Virgil has adopted the words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Sarah Smolinski (Seneca County Substance Abuse Coalition)
Sarah has four years of experience as a Problem Gambling Community Educator and is the Youth Coordinator for the United Way of Seneca County (NY). Sarah coordinates school campaigns and creates print and digital educational materials. Having experience working in retail and leading several community-based projects, she recognizes the value of forming relationships in order to make long-lasting changes.

Karen Burcroff (Seneca County Substance Abuse Coalition)
Karen has four years of experience as a Substance Abuse Coalition Project Director and facilitates the Suicide Prevention Coalition for the United Way of Seneca County (NY). Karen collaborates with multiple organizations to streamline information-sharing in an effort to improve youth and adult lives. Having over twenty years of experience in public schools, Karen recognizes the need to break down communication barriers to ensure all stakeholders are aware of available resources and services.

Launi Gum (Champions for a Drug-Free Grant County)
Since 2020, Launi Gum has served as the Program Director/Project Coordinator of Champions for a Drug-Free Grant County, a Year 9 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) coalition working to prevent youth substance use with a focus on alcohol and marijuana. She has more than 10 years of experience working with youth from Preschool through College across various settings. What started as a passion to equip youth with the ability to break generational cycles has turned into a love for cross-sector collaboration! Launi has become known in her community for her ability to develop networks and her enthusiasm for connecting people and organizations with common goals so they can mutually benefit from each other’s expertise and resources. She has a deep love for learning and is always seeking out opportunities for personal growth and professional development as well as opportunities to share her experiences putting knowledge into action. Launi has two very active teenagers at home so her free time is spent chauffeuring teens back and forth between clubs and sports.

Justin Swartz (Wyandot County Prevention)
Coming Soon

Jessica Delgado (ADAPT-Family Connections)
Coming Soon

Kassy Rice (Linn County Wellness Coalition)
My name is Kassy Rice. I am the Executive Director of the Wellness Coalition of Rural Linn County, which is located in Eastern Iowa. I am a Certified Prevention Specialist in the state of Iowa, and I have been with the coalition for 13 years. Over the years, we have provided services to 10 rural communities in substance use prevention and mental health education. We have worked to pass policies limiting smoke shops, social host ordinances, tobacco/nicotine-free parks, and restorative justice policies within our schools and colleges, and have implemented numerous evidence-based strategies within the rural communities targeting youth, young adults, and adult substance use.

Rebecca Young (Miami University)
Coming Soon

Tami Adams MSN,RN (Regional Harm Reduction Collaborative)
With a long nursing career and the last 22 years dedicated to community health outreach, Tami Adams MSN, RN has focused on supporting at-risk populations. Her latest work centers around substance use harm reduction and addressing associated risk behaviors across five southwestern counties in Ohio, covering city, suburban, and rural areas. Tami offers direct support services and safety supplies to individuals actively using substances and their loved ones. In addition, she educates and provides harm reduction resources to various community organizations including prevention, community, and regional coalitions. Tami has been awarded the Nursing Excellence Leadership Award from the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. She was also a finalist for the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year for Outstanding Contribution to the Care of the Poor and received the Miami University Nursing
Distinguished Service Award. In her free time, Tami enjoys being out in nature, volunteering, and trying to keep up with her old farmhouse that was built in 1850.

Kris Rankin (SAFE, Thrive, & TBY Coalitions)
Kris is the Coalition Director/Grant Manager for the VBC SAFE Coalition & Thrive Fort Madison and the Secretary for The Best You Coalition in Keokuk. She has worked in substance use prevention since 2010 with the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition.  During that time, she helped successfully implement a Drug-Free Communities grant and Iowa PFS State Grant within Van Buren County.  She has also successfully written and received a STOP Act Grant and SAMHSA’s community SPF-PFS Grant. She has continued to support the work of the VBC SAFE Coalition, helped establish and get DFC funding for The Best You Coalition in Keokuk, Iowa, and has most recently established the Thrive Fort Madison Coalition in Fort Madison, Iowa.  She is an active member of the Child Abuse Prevention Councils in both counties and is a board member for the Children First Board for Lee & Van Buren Counties (Early Childhood Iowa Board). She has also been actively involved in Iowa’s Alliance of Coalitions for Change (AC4C) since 2010 and has served as the secretary on the board since 2021.

Amanda Rogers (The Best You Coalition)
Amanda Rogers is the Project Director of The Best You Coalition in Keokuk, Iowa. The Best You Coalition is a comprehensive substance use prevention and healthy lifestyle group that seeks to stimulate community involvement to promote responsible behaviors among youth and adults. The Best You Coalition was awarded a Drug-Free Communities grant in 2023 under the guidance and support of the Van Buren County SAFE Coalition. On behalf of The Best You Coalition, she runs two vibrant youth councils in Keokuk: the Youth Leadership Group (6th-10th grades) and the Youth Leadership Team (11th-12th grades). She also works part-time at the Hoerner YMCA in Keokuk. The Hoerner YMCA is a vital youth-serving organization in Keokuk that she has had the honor of working with for over 12 years. Amanda got into substance use prevention because of the challenges her adopted son and many youth in Keokuk have due to generational substance use. She strives to be effective in her community by empowering, educating, collaborating, and serving both youth and adults. She is currently the president of the Lee County Child Abuse Prevention Council and is a regular community volunteer.

Jamie Belcher, OCPC (Sandusky County Public Health)
Jamie Belcher is a Health Educator at Sandusky County Public Health, focusing on behavioral health and suicide prevention.  Jamie has been the Grant Coordinator for the Ohio Department of Health Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Grant for the last 5 years. She has an Associate of Arts Degree in Social Work from Terra State Community College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Promotion and Education with a concentration in Community Health from the University of Cincinnati.  Jamie is a Certified Heath Education Specialist (CHES) and an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant (OCPC).  She is a product of youth-led prevention and has been involved in the field of prevention for over 20 years.

David Malloy 
Coming Soon

Joann Dorr 
Coming Soon