Lisa M. Howard, BSW, TTS

Lisa M. Howard, BSW, Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS), is a consultant to the Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA) and serves as the Northeast ATTC NY Liaison. With more than 25 years experience in the fields of human and addiction services, Ms. Howard recently completed work on a grant-funded, multifaceted training project for the Impaired Driver Services Initiative at the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). Prior to joining OASAS, Lisa was a Senior Education Specialist at the Tobacco Recovery Resource Exchange, Professional Development Program, Rockefeller College, University at Albany. The “Exchange”, a New York State Department of Health Tobacco Control Program funded initiative, supported the multidisciplinary New York State (NYS) addiction workforce in the integration of tobacco use interventions into the continuum of addiction services. Lisa and her colleagues researched, developed and implemented a modular curriculum, “Integrating Tobacco Use Interventions into Chemical Dependence Services,” for both classroom and online delivery. Ms. Howard and the staff at the Exchange provided tailored technical assistance to meet the needs of OASAS licensed and funded programs and agency administrators managing the organizational change process in all modalities regarding the implementation of tobacco-free services. The two-year grant funded project came to a close in December of 2009, however, under separate contract; the free, national award winning, online training continues to be available at www.tobaccorecovery.org

Lisa has worked in the fields of human and addiction services in diverse settings including: community and school-based prevention/treatment programs, criminal justice, and HIV/AIDS community-based programs. Ms. Howard also served for five years as the NYS Information Specialist for the Northeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) and the Assistant Director of the Institute for Professional Development in the Addictions (IPDA). Ms. Howard was on the Northeast ATTC team of trainers participating in the NIDA Blending Initiative’s train-the-trainer, “Buprenorphine Treatment: A Training for Multidisciplinary Addiction Professionals,” and was involved with several workforce development initiatives including the Northeast ATTC Leadership Institute and IPDA’s, “Advancing the Professional Development of the Frontline Addiction Practitioner,M” a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded project. She has developed and implemented training and educational programs for diverse disciplines and audiences including: addiction and child welfare professionals, teachers, HIV/AIDS service providers, patients, parents, adolescents and elementary school-age children.