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Our Board of Directors

Nzinga Harrison, M.D., D.F.A.P.A., F.A.B.P.M.

Dr. Harrison is passionate and outspoken about the need to expand the addiction medicine workforce.  She serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Eleanor Health, an innovative mental health and addiction treatment company, and has more than 15 years of experience practicing medicine. She is a double board-certified physician with specialties in general adult psychiatry and addiction medicine. She completed undergraduate training at Howard University in Washington DC, medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and residency training at Emory University in Atlanta.

 

Dr. Harrison has spent her career as a physician treating individuals from marginalized communities with substance use and other psychiatric disorders. As a physician executive, she has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, roles committed to creating and improving systems-based delivery of psychiatric and substance use disorder care. She is a vocal advocate for stigma reduction and is passionate about the necessity for whole-person care as individuals and communities seek to recover from and prevent substance use disorders. You can read more about these issues in her new book, Un-Addiction: 6 Mind-Changing Conversations That Could Save a Life.

 

She also appears in the award-winning documentary Tipping the Pain Scale, which addresses the crisis of addiction in America. Dr. Harrison holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the Morehouse School of Medicine and sits on the Practice Management and Regulatory Affairs Committee for ASAM.

Beth Nauman, Ph.D., M.P.H.

As Managing Director at Louisiana Public Health Institute, Dr. Naumen leads the organization's health services research, community-based research, and program evaluation teams.

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As Research Director of REACHnet (a PCORnet Clinical Research Network), she works with multi-institutional teams to develop and optimize research technologies, data infrastructure, and stakeholder engagement to facilitate efficient, multi-site research integrated into healthcare delivery systems. She collaborates with investigators across partner health systems and academic institutions to develop and implement patient-centered research initiatives and produce real-world evidence to inform improved healthcare delivery. She also works nationally through the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet) to implement large, multi-site pragmatic trials.

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Beth received her M.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees from Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine and holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences.

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Kathryn Walker, J.D., M.P.H.

Kathy Walker is a disability rights attorney with a strong commitment to community inclusion. She is a senior attorney with the Center for Public Representation and has worked with people with disabilities throughout her career in various capacities. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a JD/MPH from the University of Miami. Kathy has worked for The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability as a criminal justice fellow, for the Department of Justice as a trial attorney, and for Pisgah Legal Services as the Director of Medical Legal Partnerships.

 

In her Medical Legal Partnership role, Kathy worked directly with Western North Carolinians experiencing substance misuse and other mental health crises to help people secure needed benefits and services. Kathy believes resource availability should not be conditioned upon recovery. She believes in stigma reduction for all types of disabilities and believes that people with disabilities must be afforded the same rights, choices, and opportunities as everyone else. 

Dane Mullis, M.S.W.

Dane Mullis is a social worker with expertise in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and disability rights. He serves as the lead advocate for substance use disabilities at Disability Rights North Carolina, the federally designated protection and advocacy agency for the state.

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Dane holds a Bachelor of Social Work from Western Carolina University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Kentucky with a focus in addiction studies. Before joining Disability Rights NC, he worked as a primary counselor/therapist in clinical settings, gaining valuable experience in direct care and support for individuals with substance use disorders. Through this clinical experience Dane discovered the common inconsistencies and negligent practices used in substance use treatment facilities, leading to a desire work at a more macro level to help improve these issues.  As a certified peer support specialist with lived experience, Dane brings a unique and informed perspective to his advocacy efforts.

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In his role, Dane focuses on addressing systemic barriers to healthcare access for individuals with SUD, emphasizing the importance of reducing stigma and enforcing civil rights protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He is also a committed advocate for harm reduction strategies, collaborating closely with organizations across North Carolina and neighboring states to advance equitable and effective care.

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Dayspring Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.  Our Tax ID is 85-1463864.

All donations are tax-deductible according to the law.  

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