WVARR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bob Hansen, MS – President
Bob (Robert) Hansen, MS, the recently retired Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), planned and directed West Virginia’s efforts in combating the opioid epidemic from December, 2018 through October, 2020. He was appointed to this position by Governor Jim Justice. Bob also served as the Director of Addiction Services for Marshall Health prior to his appointment as Director of the ODCP.
Early in his career, Bob served as Director of DHHR’s Office of Behavioral Health Services, where he over saw the development of community-based behavioral health services throughout the State. He then became President and CEO of Prestera Center for Mental Health Services, Inc. of Huntington, West Virginia, where he managed an annual budget of $44 million and 825 staff members from 1990 to 2012. During that time, Prestera Center became the largest community-based behavioral health center in WV.
Bob has served as a governing board member of Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital, President of the Behavioral Health Care Providers Association of West Virginia, and as one of the first members of the statewide Governor’s Advisory Council on Substance Abuse. He has served on numerous other non-profit boards of directors in the Huntington area and also on a statewide basis. He earned a B.A. from Marietta College, and an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Syracuse University.
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John Leite – Vice President
Assistant to the Commissioner, WV Bureau of Public Health
John is the Assistant to the Commissioner at the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health. John is a Lima, Ohio native with experience in bringing collaborations to fruition. An Ohio University alumnus, Leite worked for the Healthcare Collaborative of Greater Columbus, where he focused in improving health care for all people in Central Ohio by mobilizing collaboration among public and private partners. He also worked for InteraSolutions, where he developed the expansion of the use of the company’s Screen for Opioid Abuse Risk (SOAR) assessment tool throughout the state of Ohio. John has led projects that brought together diverse groups to address communication challenges among healthcare providers, design alternative drug sentencing programs, implement technology platforms, and improve health outcomes. He previously served as the SUD Collaborative Director, a position jointly funded by the Bernard McDonough Foundation, the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, the Sisters Health Foundation, the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley, and the Fenton Foundation.
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Dr. Debra Young, EdD, LGSW, Treasurer
Assistant Professor of Social Work, Marshall University
Debra Young is an Assistant Professor of Social Work with Marshall University’s Master of Social Work Program. Prior to becoming a social work educator and program coordinator in academia in 2008, Dr. Young practiced for 14 years working in child welfare, individuals with developmental disabilities through clinical direct service, consultation, and program development. Dr. Young completed the EdD in Curriculum and Instruction and an EdS in 2010 with Marshall University and her MSW with WVU in 2000. Dr. Young teaches a variety of courses in generalist and advanced social work and also provides extensive training through the Social Work Education Consortium (SWEC) WV for newly hired WVDHHR child welfare workers. Her research and service interests are in the areas of family and community violence, human trafficking, and rural social work practice ethics. Dr. Young is a member of NASW-WV and CSWE and is a Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) in WV. Dr. Young lives in Charleston, WV with her family.
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Sheila Kelly – Secretary
Behavioral Health Consultant, The Health Plan
Sheila Kelly is a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist. She has served as president of the WV Behavioral Health Provider’s Association, the West Virginia Psychological Association, and the WV Association of Professional Psychologists. She is currently employed by The Health Plan as a behavioral health consultant after retiring from state government where she served as Program Manager for Behavioral Health for the OHFLAC, Assistant Commissioner at the Bureau for Behavioral Health, a Health Care Policy Analyst at the WV Health Care Authority and as Special Assistant to the Hartley Court Monitor. She resides in Huntington. She holds degrees from WV Wesleyan College and West Virginia University, as well as a certification of advanced study from the WV College of Graduate Studies. She operated a private practice of psychological assessment for 25 years and was clinical director of Starlight Behavioral Health services. She was also employed by three state hospitals and three comprehensive community mental health centers in clinical and administrative roles. She resides in Huntington.
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Jay Phillips, MBA
Executive Director, Seed Sower Inc.
Jay launched Seed Sower after diverse professional history spanning over 25 years. He served for 10 years in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist and signals intelligence specialist in a Military Intelligence unit. He spent the last 5 years of his military service assigned to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, working in support of international chemical and biological arms control and weapons of mass destruction nonproliferation programs. He completed his military service as an instructor and Non‐Commissioned Officer in Charge of the Russian Arms Control Speaking Proficiency Course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Ca. Following his military career, Jay completed his MBA at West Virginia University in 2013. He has utilized his education and experience in civilian career paths within the Department of Defense, The Department of Veterans Affairs, and most recently as a senior financial management analyst with the Internal Revenue Service where he focused on internal auditing, and program and process improvement initiatives. Jay has a deep passion for service to others, particularly marginalized and stigmatized populations suffering from substance use disorder.
This passion led him to resign from federal service in 2021 and devote the rest of his professional career to developing Seed Sower into a positive force in the fight against substance use disorder in West Virginia. Seed Sower operates a 12-bed recovery residence for women in rural Greenbrier County, WV and is preparing two new locations – a recovery residence for pregnant and parenting women in Montgomery, and a Recovery Community Organization in Beckley, both scheduled to open in Spring 2023. He believes that recovery happens in community, and strongly supports developing strong partnerships within functioning regional recovery ecosystems. He lives in Beckley, WV and he is married to his wife Paige, and has 3 sons – Sam (23), Caeden (18) and Cooper (17).
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Kristin Tiedeman, MA, CAD
Outreach and Engagement Specialist , Fletcher Group Inc.
Kristin is talented in working with organizations to develop and sustain recovery housing and support services in many rural communities. Experienced in workplace and reentry initiatives, she promotes an understanding of the barriers to employment and safe housing faced by individuals seeking recovery. As a person with lived experience, Kristin knows first-hand how important housing, a recovery support system, and recovery communities are to a person’s long-term recovery. Kristin is a Certified Alcohol and Drug counselor with Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Arts degrees from Morehead State University.
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Raj Masih
Raj is the Lead Regional Coordinator for the WV Office of Drug Control Policy Action County initiative. He works for the Potomac Highlands Guild, in the 8 counties of Region-2. He has worked in Substance Use Prevention since 2015 on multiple Bureau for Behavioral Health and SAMHSA programs. He has a Masters of Public Health, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health. Raj is certified as a WV Prevention Specialist II, and an Internationally Certified Prevention Specialist. He is also certified by the American Board of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. As a Research Professor at Future Generations University, he enjoys innovation and also holds multiple patents in the Digital Health Technology space. He is a member of the Recovery Subcommittee of the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse and Treatment, and is a Board member of the WV Clinical Translational Sciences Institute, and WV Local Health, Inc. Raj lives in Grant County, with his wife Barbie Masih. Importantly, he is a person in long-term recovery.
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Danika Brown
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WVARR STAFF
Emily Birckhead, MSW – Executive Director
emily@wvarr.org (304) 360-0165
Emily Birckhead is the executive director of the West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences. She graduated from WVU with her BS in Political Science and received her Master of Social Work Degree (MSW) from Marshall University. She is a person in recovery and is certified as both a CCAR Peer Recovery Coach and 200-RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher). Emily has previously worked as a Recovery Coach with the Partnership of African American Churches and as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Try This WV. She has supported the development of organizations including West Virginia’s first Collegiate Recovery Program (WVU CRP) and WV Recovers, an integrated, statewide peer recovery network for people with mental health and substance use disorders. She served on the Board of Directors for the WV Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors from 2017-2020 and the Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center (KPCC) from 2019 – 2024. She is a member of the National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR) Board of Directors, the Recovery Housing Workgroup of the WV Governor’s Advisory Council for Substance Use Disorders’ Community Engagement Subcommittee, and serves on the WV First Foundation Expert Panel.
Josh Sapp – Assistant Director
josh@wvarr.org (304) 989-6768
Autumn McCraw – Community Engagement Coordinator
autumn@wvarr.org (304) 989-0388
Danny Hale – Certification & Compliance Coordinator
danny@wvarr.org (304) 989-0792
EJ Jenkins – Certification Reviewer
ej@wvarr.org (304) 542-5575
We are so grateful for the commitment, contributions, and dedicated leadership of our former and founding directors:
David Bailey
March 2021- December 2025
Past Treasurer, Standards & Ethics Committee
Nancy Daugherty
February 2022- December 2025
Past Secretary
Jim McClanahan
December 2018- December 2023
Past Treasurer, Past President
Jonathan Dower
December 2018- December 2023
Founding Treasurer, Past Vice President
Frankie Tack, MS, AADC-S, NCC, CTTS
December 2018- December 2022
Founding Secretary, Past President
David Cisler, MA, LSW
December 2018- December 2022
Former Secretary
Kevin Knowles
December 2018- December 2022
Founding President
Robert Albury, JD, LADC
December 2021- August 2022
Past Secretary
W. Bradley Sorrells, JD
December 2018- September 2022
Marie Beaver
December 2018- December 2020
Founding Vice President
Reggie Jones
December 2018- December 2020
Rocky Meadows
December 2018- March 2020