The Task Force


What is the Task Force?

The Governor’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force is a statewide coalition of professionals and community members with the goal of preventing overdoses and saving lives. In July 2017, the Governor signed an Executive Order that enhances the existing strategies of the Task Force’s Action Plan in the areas of prevention, treatment, rescue, and recovery.

The Governor’s Task Force has a strategic plan to end the overdose crisis – changing lives by ensuring racial equity, uplifting community voices, using data to drive change, and building connections to care. The Task Force is committed to addressing the root causes of overdose, including the socioeconomic factors that influence health.

The Governor’s Task Force Strategic Plan was expanded in 2021 and was expanded once more in 2023.

Who is in the Task Force?

The Task Force is the center of all drug overdose prevention and intervention activities in the state, often bringing together more than 150 people to its monthly meetings. The multi-disciplinary composition of the Task Force, with the perspectives of individual members and expert advisors, brings cross-learning to the sectors around the table.

Task Force work groups were initially formed in the four core areas of prevention, rescue, treatment, and recovery. Additional work groups have since been developed and include these focus areas: harm reduction, racial equity, first responders, substance-exposed newborns, and family.

Get Connected

The Task Force meets monthly from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm on the second Wednesday of each month on Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting

Upcoming agendas and minutes are posted on the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s website the Friday before each Governor’s Task Force meeting. We also store past presentations on this website:
View Presentation Archive

You can also attend one of many Task Force Work Groups and subscribe to our newsletter:

View Task Force Work Groups Subscribe to the Task Force Newsletter


Read the latest Task Force Report

Read Governor Daniel J. McKee’s Overdose Task Force March 2023 Semi-Annual Report. This report includes goals and activities of the Task Force, as well as funding alignment.



Read about the 2023 Strategic Plan Refresh Goals and Activities

Read Governor Daniel J. McKee’s Overdose Task Force 2023 Strategic Plan Refresh Goals and Activities At-A-Glance document. This summary document contains the goals set out in the the 2023 strategic plan refresh.


Task Force Co-Chairs and Director

Dr. Louis Cerbo, Ed.D.; Task Force Co-Chair and Director, Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH)
Thomas Joyce, LCDP, CPRS, CCHW; Community Co-Chair of the Governor’s Overdose Task Force
Ana Novais, MS; Assistant Secretary and Task Force Co-Chair, Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS)
Cathy Schultz, MPH; Director of the Governor’s Overdose Task Force


 

Task Force Expert Advisers

  • Jonathan Goyer, Director, Rhode Island Recovery Friendly Workplaces
  • Traci Green, PhD; Boston University School of Medicine and Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
  • Brandon Marshall, PhD; Brown University School of Public Health
  • Josiah Rich, MD, MPH; The Miriam Hospital

 

Task Force Members

  • Dr. Utpala Bandy, MD, MPH; Rhode Island Department of Health
  • Dr. Jef Bratberg, PharmD; The University of Rhode Island, Department of Pharmacy Practice
  • Dr. Philip Chan, MD, MS; Rhode Island Department of Health
  • Secretary Richard Charest, MBA; Executive Office of Health and Human Services
  • Dr. Alexander Chirkov, MD; State Center for the Office of Medical Examiners, RIDOH
  • Raymond Coia, New England Laborers Health and Safety Fund
  • Thomas Davis, CVS Pharmacy
  • Ashley Deckert, MSW, MA; Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF)
  • Heidi Driscoll, Rhode Island Regional Prevention Coalitions
  • Mary Dwyer, MS, M.Ed., APRN-CNS; Rhode Island Nurses Association
  • Representative Jay Edwards, Rhode Island General Assembly
  • Honorable Michael J. Feeney, Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Court
  • Dr. Sarah Fessler, MD; Rhode Island Medical Society
  • Aaron Guckian, Rhode Island Dental Association
  • Julia Harvey, Healthcare Advocate
  • Linda Hurley, CEO; CODAC, Inc.
  • Angelica Infante-Green; Rhode Island Department of Education
  • Susan Jacobsen, Director of Health Equity Initiatives, Thundermist Health Equity Zones Initiative
  • Major Dennis Leahey, Rhode Island State Police
  • Dr. Melanie Lippman, MD; Emergency Medicine, Lifespan, Inc.
  • Karyn Lowe, Governor’s Office
  • Laurie MacDougall, Education Director, Rhode Island Community for Addiction Recovery Efforts (RICARES)
  • Woffard Martha, Blue Cross Blue Shield RI
  • Michelle McKenzie, Preventing Overdose and Naloxone Intervention (PONI)
  • Senator Joshua Miller, Rhode Island General Assembly
  • Elena Nicolella, Rhode Island Health Center Association
  • Teresa Paiva-Weed, Hospital Association of Rhode Island
  • Dr. Patricia Ogera, MD; State Center for the Office of Medical Examiners, RIDOH
  • Taino Palermo, Commission on Health Equity and Advocacy
  • Peter Ragosta, RPh; Rhode Island Board of Pharmacy, RIDOH
  • Jason Rhodes, Department of Health, Emergency Management Services, RIDOH
  • Mike Rizzi, Harm Reduction Representative
  • Honorable Kristin E. Rodgers, Associate Justice, Rhode Island Superior Court
  • Chief Brian Sullivan, Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association
  • John Tassoni; The Substance Use and Mental Health Leadership Council of Rhode Island
  • Patrick Tigue, PhD; Rhode Island Health Insurance Commissioner
  • Sandra Valentine; Rhode Island Communities for Addiction Recovery Efforts (RICARES)
  • Aaron L. Weisman, Esq.; United States Attorney
  • Matthew Weldon, Department of Labor and Training
  • Kasim Yarn, Office of Veterans Affairs

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