Workforce Solutions Jam | Bridging the Gap: Advancing a Diverse and Resilient Workforce for SUD Treatment

Alexandra Plante is a Senior Advisor of Substance Use at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and works alongside the United Nations Office of Drug Control Policy (UNODC) on unethical practices in substance use disorder treatment and recovery. Previously she has served as a consultant to U.S. federal agencies and state policymakers, international agencies, and private entities such as Google. Her writing has been featured in outlets such as Harvard Health Publications, Psychology Today, and The Fix. She holds a M.A. in Quantitative Research in Communications, and previously served as a Director at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School – Recovery Research Institute, and DynamiCare Health. 

Philip Rutherford is the Vice President for Substance Use in the Strategy and Growth Office at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. In this role, he expands the organization’s impact in addressing the quality, effectiveness, accessibility and affordability of substance use programs and services for National Council members. He is also tasked with charting a course for progress, transformation and equity.  

Rutherford has managed strategy and operations for several recovery-focused organizations. He is a member of committees at the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies. He serves on several nonprofit boards, including Serve Minnesota, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers and the Police Treatment and Community Collaborative. Prior to the nonprofit world, he spent most of his career at Microsoft, Micron Electronics and the Taylor Corporation. Rutherford is an active member of the recovery community and has considerable experience in the areas of reentry and equity. 

William Stauffer is in long-term recovery and leads PRO-A, the statewide RCO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Stauffer is a writer on the history and future of the American Recovery Movement. In 2019 he was honored as the Vernon Johnson Award Individual Recovery Advocate award by Faces & Voices of Recovery. In December of 2023, he testified to the US Senate Special Committee on Aging for the second time to highlight challenges and opportunities related to the growing problem of substance use disorders in older adults. He recently completed a fellowship at the Hazelton and Betty Ford Foundation in Center City MN through the A.A. Heckman Endowed Fellowship. As part of passing the torch to the next generation, International esteemed author and recovery thought leader William White asked Mr. Stauffer to open the First National Conference on Addiction Recovery Science held by NIDA, NIAAA and the Recovery Research Institute at Harvard with his remarks. He is an adjunct Professor of Social Work at Misericordia University in Dallas PA.

Shelly Weizman is a human rights lawyer who currently serves as the associate director of the Center on Addiction and Public Policy at the O’Neill Institute at Georgetown Law and as faculty at Georgetown’s Master of Science in Addiction Policy and Practice. She previously worked in the governor’s office in New York, where she oversaw policy and operations related to addiction, mental health, and disabilities, and began her legal career as a civil rights attorney in New York City. Before law school, she worked with youth and families at a variety of addiction treatment programs. She is also a person living and thriving in long-term recovery from addiction.