Our Team
The MISSION team is made up of leaders in the field of co-occurring disorders (CODs) treatment and research, who are working to increase the effectiveness of COD treatment services across the country. They are committed to improving the lives of the individuals struggling with these disorders.
David Smelson, Psy.D.
David Smelson, Psy.D., is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the UMass Chan Medical School and research psychologist at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. Dr. Smelson is the developer of the MISSION model. His research on CODs has been funded through the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Dr. Smelson has worked closely with the Department of Veterans' Services, Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to develop, implement, and evaluate a range of services for individuals with co-occurring disorders.
DEBRA PINALS, M.D.
Debra Pinals, M.D., is the medical director of Behavioral Health and Forensic Programs in Michigan. She also has concurrent appointments as a clinical professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychiatry and as the director of the program in Psychiatry, Law and Ethics. Dr. Pinals is the co-developer of the MISSION-Criminal Justice treatment model. She previously worked at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, where she oversaw the agency’s justice and behavioral health programs, including juvenile and adult court clinic, mental health court clinical services, police training, and diversion. She also supervised mental health re-entry services and specialized veteran justice programs while providing risk management consultation throughout the agency. Dr. Pinals also previously served as the interim deputy commissioner of Clinical and Professional Services and interim state medical director of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. She has worked on matters related to behavioral and physical health integration with payment reform strategies. In addition, Dr. Pinals was an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Forensic Education program at the UMass Chan Medical School.
Jennifer Harter, Ph.D.
Jennifer Harter, Ph.D., is one of the MISSION model developers and co-author of its treatment manuals, consumer workbooks, and supplementary materials. These include a peer specialist navigator toolkit and guidebooks for addressing problematic gambling, as well as for implementing the MISSION model with American Indian and Native Alaskan populations. Dr. Harter's work emphasizes the training of MISSION staff, focusing on team-based care and evidence-based practices. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in cognitive behavioral interventions and motivational interviewing.
Paige Shaffer, ph.d., Mph
Paige is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the UMass Chan Medical School Department of Medicine, Division of Health Systems Science. Paige is an Epidemiologist with expertise in psychiatric epidemiology, the etiology of addiction, and biostatistics, and focuses on populations with co-occurring mental health and addiction. Paige previously worked as the assistant director of Statistics and Evaluation for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS), and previously as an epidemiologist at BSAS. She conducts research and writes on topics related to epidemiology, public health, homelessness, psychiatry, trauma, interpersonal violence, co-occurring disorders, disordered gambling, and addiction. She has consulted on numerous addiction-related projects with Laval University, The University of Sydney, the World Health Organization, Harvard Medical School Department of Healthcare Policy, and Harvard Medical School Division on Addiction.
ABIGAIL F. HELM, Ph.D.
Dr. Helm is a Program Director in the MISSION Behavioral MISSION Behavioral Health Lab at the UMass Chan Medical School Department of Medicine. Dr. Helm earned her doctorate in psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and she joined the lab in October 2020. As a part of the lab, Dr. Helm manages state and VA-based projects, serves as a data analyst, and supports grant submissions and publications. Her research interests include developmental psychopathology, cognitive neuroscience, and e-learning.
Elizabeth E. Epstein, Ph.D.
Elizabeth E. Epstein, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychiatry at the UMass Chan Medical School, and director of the UMass National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans. Dr. Epstein also is a professor emerita of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University. She is the principal investigator and/or co-investigator on several research grants funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Epstein also sees patients privately and is a master trainer and clinical training consultant for the Veterans Affairs program to implement evidence-based practices for substance use disorders. Dr. Epstein is the author of Addictions: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Clinicians (Oxford University Press) and two treatment manuals and patient workbooks.
Michael Andre, M.P.H.
Currently a Research Project Director in the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab, Mike is responsible for overseeing project management, data collection/management, and data analysis across all projects at both UMass Chan and the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veteran’s Hospital. Mike began working in the lab in 2017 after obtaining his bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in neuroscience from the College of the Holy Cross. Later Mike obtained his Masters in Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Amherst/Worcester with a focus on epidemiology and biostatistics. His research interests include substance use disorders, mental health, co-occurring disorders, substance use and psychiatric epidemiology, cognitive neuroscience, and health disparities.
Kathryn E. Bruzios, Phd.
Kat, Ph.D., is a Research Coordinator with the MISSION team, and is affiliated with the VA Bedford Healthcare System. She is an implementation scientist with expertise in implementation strategies and substance use prevention. Kat earned her doctorate in prevention science at Washington State University. She is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington, gaining training in human-centered design and implementation science. Kat’s research interests lie in the implementation of evidence-based prevention and health promotion programs, and the use of implementation strategies to achieve positive behavioral health outcomes for youth, families, and communities.
Jeffrey Tarantino, B.A. Clinical Research Assistant
Jeffrey is with the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab and mainly focusing on the STAR-COD and STAR-LS projects, but also working on the STAR-OUD project, as well. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 2023 and majored in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. He previously worked as a substance use counselor and oversaw the probation, parole, and court affairs of clients at the treatment facility.
Cassandra Fitzpatrick, B.A. Clinical Research Assistant
Cassandra is a Clinical Research Assistant in the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab at UMass Chan Medical School. They graduated from Fitchburg State University May of 2023 with a BS in Psychological Sciences. Cassandra works on several projects within the lab, including HEAL STAR-COD, a study measuring the effectiveness of different aspects of the MISSION treatment when combined with medication for opioid-use disorder, as well as projects involving the Department of Veteran Affairs in Bedford MA. In the future, Cassandra has plans to pursue a master’s degree in data sciences and work in data analysis.
Eleni A. Kachadoorian, B.A., Clinical Research assistant
Eleni is a Clinical Research Assistant within the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab at UMass Chan Medical School in the Department of Medicine. She graduated from Hofstra University in May of 2021 with a double major in Psychology and Criminology, and is currently working towards getting her master’s degree in clinical counseling psychology. As part of the lab, Eleni works on HEAL-K12, a project looking to examine the impact of opioid use, depression, and chronic pain on cognitive functioning. Eleni also previously worked on HEAL STAR-COD, which combines MISSION with medication-assisted treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder and co-occurring mental health disorders. Her research interests include mental health, psychopathology, co-occurring disorders, sensation and perception, cognitive psychology, and personality.
Marinna Kaufman, B.S. clinical research coordinator
Marinna is the Clinical Research Coordinator for the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab at the UMass Chan Medical School Department of Medicine. As part of the lab, she mainly works within the WEST project and the HEAL STAR-COD project. She joined the lab in 2022 while finishing her undergraduate degree from UMass Amherst in Psychology on the Neuroscience and Pre-Med track and a minor in the Arabic language. While at UMass Amherst, Marinna worked as a Research Assistant in the Social Processes and Health (SPAH) Lab. She plans to move forward with her academic career in medical school and hopes to become a pediatric psychiatrist. Marinna’s research interests include adolescent and adult mental health, behavioral neuroscience, psychiatric disorders, and neurological disorders.
Sydney Maniaci, Clinical Research Assistant
Sydney is a Clinical Research Assistant for the MISSION Behavioral Health lab. She works on the STAR-COD and STAR LS projects and will also begin working on a project through the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford. Sydney graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is moving forward in her academic career, beginning a Master of Public Health program in fall 2025. Sydney plans to dedicate her career to healthcare advocacy for those in underserved communities, specifically pertaining to sexual and reproductive healthcare, ensuring equitable support and consistent access to appropriate healthcare.
Leslie hernandez, Clinical research assistant
Leslie is a research assistant that works on a couple different projects under MISSION, including studies supported by HEAL and CDC. She has been with the lab since August 2024. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from UMass Amherst in May 2024, with a major in Psychology and a minor in Anthropology. She has a passion for helping others, especially when it comes to mental health. In the future, she hopes to attend graduate school for a PhD in Child Development. Her research interests involve child psychopathologies, emotion regulation and factors that contribute to resilience.
Andrew DePari, Clinical research assistant
Andy is a Clinical Research Assistant within the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab at UMass Chan Medical School in the Department of Medicine. His work is focused at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts where he is a part of the MISSION-CJ and Hot Spotter projects. Andy graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2022 with a degree in Biology and is currently a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at William James College.
Herschelle Reaves, Team supervisor/Case Manager
Herschelle is a Recovery Support specialist who previously worked on the MISSION West Grant and has a bachelor’s degree in human services. She has both lived and professional experience in Substance Abuse and mental health for 20 years and whose commitment to community supersedes her reputation as a no holds barred approach to clinical work. She is also a published author of her memoirs and a spoken word artist who uses poetry to articulate the pain of those who are still struggling.
Vince Kane, va center consultant
Vincent was appointed Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Wilmington in May 2017. Wilmington is a level 2 complexity facility serving more than 40,000 Veterans throughout Delaware and southern New Jersey. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Interim Associate Director for Operations at the Wilmington VAMC. Other prior assignments include Special Assistant to the SECVA. In this role, his task was to help VA resolve litigation, advanced a new master plan for the GLA campus to include enhanced clinical services and housing for homeless Veterans while developing plans to prevent and end Veteran homelessness. He also served as Associate Director at Lebanon VAMC, the National Director of the VA National Center on Homelessness among Veterans and VHA’s Executive Officer for Mental Health Services. He was instrumental in the implementation of HUD-VASH, adoption of Housing First, SSVF and VA’s Community Resource and Referral Centers. He also advanced research related to MISSION for Veterans with co-occurring disorders, suicide prevention among homeless Veterans and multiple studies related to Housing First and program evaluation for VA Homeless Services. He partnered with VA Research to develop a homeless research portfolio and the creations of the HSR&D CREATE model that coordinates research priorities with the program office. He has published in peer review journals on issues related to mental health, homelessness and improving the Veteran Experience. He is a recipient of both a Samuel J. Heyman Award and the John D. Chase Award for Executive Excellence and recently received the 2022 Thomas Wynn Sr. Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. He brings a wealth of clinical/ field experience, global perspective, and a proven track record of building community partnerships to care for Veterans. A graduate of Bryn Mawr School of Social Work and Social Research, he has more than 30 years of experience as a clinician, educator, and administrator. He currently resides in Mullica Hill, NJ.
He is currently assisting with MISSION implementation and evaluation while also providing support for future development, application and utilization of MISSION both inside VA and in the community and lastly, assisting with manuscript preparation and editing.
Arlene Horne, Case Manager
Arlene is dedicated to supporting individuals in recovery from substance use and mental health barriers. She is passionate about fostering healing and resilience, and has worked closely with individuals navigating the complexities of recovery, emphasizing a holistic approach that integrates as many aspects of community-based support as possible. Arlene is currently in nursing school for her LPN and plans to continue her education and servicing the recovery community. She is committed to advancing research that improves outcomes for those in recovery, helping to create evidence-based practices that empower individuals to lead fulfilling lives.
Tasha Moultrie Phillips, Case Manager
Tasha has over 20 years’ experience in Human Service and has a wealth of knowledge supporting clients. She has committed herself to providing quality service to participants and brings to the team her hard one approach to navigating through services for the most challenging participants.
Michael Cornier, Case Manager/Peer Support Specialist
Michael is a Case Manager/Peer Support Specialist here with the Umass MISSION Team. He is also a Recovery Coach working on getting fully certified. He has been working in the field for some time now and truly loves it. “Being able to help others fight the disease of addiction and overcome the mental health issues have become a priority of mine, since I too am a recovering addict who also suffers from mental health issues. With this opportunity I have been given, I have been able to utilize many resources to help others with finding housing, employment, furthering their education, benefits, medical treatments, PCP's, therapists, psychiatrists and that is just to name a few.” Most importantly, he is hoping to be able to show others that there is a better way and that you don't have to be another statistic, that there is hope for us all and we can all make a difference not only for ourselves but for others too.
Malika Parham-Hill, Case Manager /RSS II/Recruiter
Malika serves as one of our case managers and recruiters at MISSION. She has extensive experience working in the field of substance abuse, mental health, trauma, and the prevention of sex trafficking and exploitation, among other areas. She also worked for UMass Memorial Healthcare for 13 years as a medical administrative assistant before transitioning to the Medical School to join MISSION. She takes great pride in her work and is driven by her passion. Malika often says, “I lead by example. The best way to guide someone is to have lived in their shoes; if I can do it, so can you!”
Kelly DeVillers, Recovery Support Specialist
Kelly is a recovery specialist through the MISSION behavioral health department of UMass Chan Medical School department of medicine. Kelly has degrees in both addictions counseling and human services and is pursuing her CADC license and furthering her degree in psychology. Kelly has experience in running psychoeducation group therapy in both mental health and addiction counseling, as well as taking a special interest in how neurodivergence and addiction can co-occur. Kelly has lived experience as well as her education in the field, which makes her an invaluable asset to the population she services through her work.
Elizabeth Chappell, Recovery Support Specialist
Elizabeth is a recovery support specialist working on the HEAL STAR-COD and STAR-COD projects within the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab. These projects integrate MISSION with medication-assisted treatment to support individuals with opioid use disorder and co-occurring mental health conditions. In this role, she contributes to participant engagement, data collection, and recruitment. She is currently working on a bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Nector Garcia, Peer Support Specialist
Nector has 32 years of recovery and over 20 years’ experience with challenging participants and comes to the team with a background working within the penal system from the Hamden County House of Correction. Nector has both lived and professional experience with substance use and working with challenging populations.
Richard Moore, Peer Support Specialist
Richard has 16 years of recovery and 20 years’ experience working within the community with challenging populations. Richard brings to the team a calm and professional demeanor exhibiting patience and both lived and professional experience within the field.
James Sullivan, Peer Support Specialist
James has worked within the field of Human services for over 15 years and has a wealth of knowledge navigating services within the community. He continues to explore avenues to secure resources for his participants through outreach and networking.
Madysen Bailey, Peer Support Specialist
Madysen is a Recovery Specialist and Peer Support Advocate at UMass, using lived experience with mental health and addiction to guide and support others in their recovery. Her personal journey fuels her passion for helping individuals navigate their own paths to healing, providing compassionate, non-judgmental support. She is dedicated to empowering others to find strength, resilience, and hope in their recovery process.
Elizabeth Schwartz, Medical Student
Lizzie is currently a medical student at UMass Chan, class of 2026, and has been involved with the MISSION Behavioral Health Lab since 2023. She has worked on designing and implementing a qualitative project stemming from the UMass Chan CDC grant. Before starting medical school, Lizzie worked as a re-entry case manager at Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program for individuals releasing from incarceration who were at high risk for overdose. She hopes to go into Family Medicine and is excited to continue working with individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders throughout her career.
Mariam Fatehi, Ph.D.
Mariam is a postdoctoral researcher in the MISSION Lab at UMass Chan Medical School. She earned her PhD and master's degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia. Additionally, she completed an MA in Clinical Psychology at the Tehran Psychiatric Institute, the Iran University of Medical Sciences, and worked for eight years as a licensed psychotherapist in Tehran. Her research interests include the etiology of mental health and substance misuse, interpersonal trauma, parent-child relationships, and emerging adulthood.
Past Team Members
Amy Cardolino, Recovery Support Specialist II/Case Manager
Ayorkor Gaba, PSY.D.
Lexi L. Williams, BA - Thomas Jefferson University, MFT
Bailey Pridgen, BA - University of Alabama Burmingham Doctoral Program
Dara C. Drawbridge, PH.D.
Hannah S. Lipper, M.P.H.
Camilo Posada Rodriguez, B.A.
Juan-Sebastián González Martínez, B.S.
Kelsey Clary, B.A. – University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health
Mary Kate Duffy, B.A. – M.B.A. Candidate, Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell
Ian Farquhar, B.A. – Research Assistant, Massachusetts General Hospital
Nathan Guevremont, B.A. – J.D. Candidate, Yale Law School
Autumn Harnish, B.A. – Human Ecology P.h.D. Candidate, School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin
Rachel Mullins, M.S.W. – Mental Health and Substance Abuse Clinician, Community Healthlink, Inc.
Kathryn O’Connor, B.A. – Kinesiology P.h.D. Candidate, School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan
Elizabeth Aaker Orvek, M.S., M.B.A. – Database and Application Developer, Department of Quantitative and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Pooja Patnaik, B.A. – M.D. Candidate, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Leon Sawh, M.P.H. – Criminal Justice and Public Health Researcher, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago
Odile Scherrer, B.A. – Masters in Psychology, University of College London
Julianne Siegfriedt, M.A. – Sociology P.h.D. Candidate, College of Liberal Arts, University of Massachusetts Boston
Stephanie Singer, M.S. – Clinical Psychology Ph.D./J.D. Candidate, College of Arts and Sciences, Drexel University
Stefan Sprinckmoller, M.P.A. – Database Manager, Imperial College London, England
Max Trojano, B.A. – M.D. Candidate, Penn State College of Medicine
Sigella Vargas M.D. – Medical Resident, Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center
Roshani Vanmali, B.A. – Clinical Psychology Psy.D. Candidate, School of Arts and Sciences, La Salle University
Jennifer Vessella, L.C.S.W. – Social Worker, Bedford VA Medical Center
Brittany Walker, B.A. – Regulatory Assistant, Yale Cancer Center
Joining Our Team
To learn more about opportunities to join the MISSION team, please contact us.