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THE TEAM
Karen Thomas
Karen Thomas, Executive Director of the WVCC, has nurtured the coalition since its inception. Karen provides staff supervision, monitors match requirements, ensures sustainability and provides fiscal management and other administrative functions.
Annie Colonna
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
As Program Director, Annie’s responsibilities include working closely with committees to support coalition activities such as member recruitment and retention, establishing and monitoring strategic benchmarks to meet objectives, supporting coalition volunteers including youth, and coordinating data collection and analysis.
Francesca (Frankie) Bryson
As Coalition Coordinator Frankie provides support to coalition members and partners. She ensures that prevention resources are available. Frankie meets and establishes relationships with key stakeholders and works closely with the Youth Coordinator, the Youth Committees, and Coalition Chairs. She also supports strategic planning activities and assists with all coalition media, training and special events.
WVPC Sector Organization
Each of our 12 sector representatives, including youth, utilize their connections with the community to help publicize the successes of the WVPC. All sector representatives are carefully selected to perform the roles that best suit their individual skill sets. Each is also qualified to take a lead role in evaluating the effectiveness of the activities in the Action Plan that correspond to their sector.
Meet The Sector Representatives
Felicia Wishnia
YOUTH
Felicia Wishnia takes a leadership role in the WVPC Youth Task Force recruiting other youth to substance use prevention. The Youth Task Force reviews the processes and outcomes associated with youth-focused media campaigns, events and focus groups.
Ryan Caldwell
PARENTS
In his role as the Parent Committee Chair, Ryan Caldwell directs the work of the committee and provides parent education and promotes social media messages for parents. Ryan analyzes parent-focused initiatives and focus groups. As Parent Committee Chair, he shares data and processes to get parents’ feedback on the timing and tone of media messages as well as the phrasing and responses of parent focus group questions.
Wayne Patterson
BUSINESS
Wayne Patterson monitors input from the business community to ensure our messages and focus groups speak their language. Wayne educates the business community about the importance of the coalition and helps us address barriers encountered when building partnerships with local businesses.
Jennifer O'Connor
MEDIA
Jennifer O’Connor, Editor of the Warwick Dispatch, monitors our efforts to publicize the WVPC’s successes via traditional and social media outlets. Jennifer helps the coalition to determine the effectiveness of our media outreach and help us to maximize our reach. She provides media advocacy on pertinent policy issues; publicizes the coalition’s messages, activities, accomplishments and social marketing initiatives; and ensures coalition support from other media outlets.
Georgianna Diopoulos
SCHOOLS
Georgianna Diopoulos leads us in the implementation of the OCYDS and the interpretation of the results. Georgianna is committed to reducing youth substance use. She also provides guidance on cultural competency and contributes a broader perspective to the evaluation process by placing social indicators in context.
Kerry M. Demetroules
YOUTH SERVING
Kerry Demetroules has a key role in the development, implementation and analysis of youth focus groups and key informant interviews. Kerry works closely with the Parent Committee and Youth Task Force to recruit members to the WVPC and provides education to both parents and youth. She also helps support data collection efforts by helping to organize focus groups and key informant interviews with youth.
Lt. John Rader
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Lt. John Rader of the Town of Warwick Police Department grew up in Warwick and has many community ties, and so is uniquely suited to leading the Law Enforcement and Safety Committee. He fully supports all coalition efforts by promoting our programs in the community and within police department, and by speaking at special events and meetings. Lt. Rader ensures coalition support from other members of law enforcement, local government and the adult population of Warwick. He also ensures that drug-related crime statistics are available and helps us to interpret the data and input we receive from police officers.
Rev. Jennifer Morrow
RELIGIOUS
Rev. Jennifer Morrow of the Warwick United Methodist Church shares our concern about substance use in our community and its impact on church members. As a leader in the local Council of Methodist Churches and a member of Warwick’s Ecumenical Council, she acts as a liaison between the coalition and Warwick’s other religious groups, encouraging fellow clergy to support the coalition. Rev. Morrow helps us access clergy for key informant interviews and focus groups and helps us understand their feedback as it relates to the congregations they serve.
George McManus
CIVIC/VOLUNTEER
George McManus is a founding member of the coalition and is also active in the Warwick Lions Club, is a Village of Warwick trustee, and past member of the Warwick School Board. George takes a lead role in analyzing both process and outcome measures. He also gets feedback from members of these organizations as it relates to the effectiveness of our campaigns. George is effective at recruiting key stakeholders that are committed to preventing youth substance use. As Chair of the Coalition, he leads the Steering Committee. He uses his many connections within Warwick to mobilize the community and ensure we have the support we need to succeed.
Dr. Kevin Bryson
HEALTHCARE
Dr. Kevin Bryson DDS is a dentistry practitioner in Montgomery, New York. He supports the Capacity Committee by advancing the mission of the Warwick Valley Prevention Coalition in the health care community in our area. Dr. Bryson provides access to healthcare professionals, as we seek their input in analyzing youth drug use trends and the effectiveness of our prevention messages.
Barry Cheney
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
OC Legislator Barry Cheney has been a champion of the coalition since its inception. He keeps us updated on New York’s medical marijuana laws and guides our efforts to advocate for ordinances that limit marijuana-related businesses from opening in Warwick. As part of the Steering Committee, Barry takes a lead role in role in analyzing both process and outcome measures for the Action Plan and is responsible for providing leadership related to committee’s activities that include providing advocacy on pertinent policy issues and publicizing and promoting coalition’s messages, activities, accomplishments and social marketing initiatives.
MaryAlice Kovatch
OTHER ORGANIZATION INVOLVEMENT
MaryAlice Kovatch is a Prevention Educator with the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Council of Orange County. In her role as a Substance Abuse Policy Committee member, she is able to utilize her expertise to review policies relating to alcohol and other drugs in schools, at community events and within alcoholic beverage selling/serving establishments. MaryAlice Kovatch will help us to identify and interpret emerging drug trends and monitor the effectiveness of our youth strategies and social media messages. She also helps the Coalition Coordinator provide education to youth in Warwick’s schools.