Executive Staff

Marie J. Waldek,

a Certified Prevention Specialist Supervisor, has been actively involved in the field of prevention for more than 20 years. Prior to being named Executive Director of IHD in 2010, Marie served as IHD's Deputy Director for several years. She continues to serve as a coordinator for a substance abuse coalitionin Rhode Island.

Marie has planted deep roots in the region's prevention community. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Rhode Island Communities for Addiction Recovery Efforts and the Rhode Island College Institute for Addiction Recovery. Marie has served on the Rhode Island Certification Board for the Certification of Chemical Dependency Professionals and, most recently, served as an item writer for the International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium.

A member of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and a graduate of the CADCA academy, Marie has set ambitious goals as Director of IHD. Geographically, she is implementing a plan to expand IHD's service area from Rhode Island into Massachusetts and Connecticut, with a longer term goal of covering the entire North East.

Marie has also defined specific market segments that can benefit from IHD's prevention programs and services - Communities, Workplaces and Schools. While IHD has a history of providing prevention services to schools and communities, offering these services to small to medium sized companies is a new venture. IHD's Workplace Prevention program is based on the SAMHSA model, which is proven to increase productivity and employee morale, while reducing absenteeism, accident and turnover rates.

Under Marie's leadership, IHD also plans to enter the field of addiction recovery services. She believes that programs that engage persons in recovery in their community's prevention efforts are a win-win for both the person in recovery and the communities in which they live.

mjwaldeck@ihdri.org

Nancy Arnold Devaney,

a Certified Prevention Specialist Supervisor and a graduate of CADCA's National Coalition Institute, has been a grant manager and project director at IHD since 2004. Nancy has coordinated the Narragansett Prevention Partnership since 1997. Nancy also served on the Narragansett School Committee from 2000-2008 and as a community consultant for NIAA Environmental Management Grant, Common Ground at URI conducting a needs assessment in Narragansett about the impact of college age drinking in the community. She partnered with with the Narragansett Police Department to begin the Narragansett Alcohol Vendor-Police partnership that is still in operation today.

Currently, Nancy manages a DFC grant as the coordinator of the Narragansett Prevention Coalition. Through the work of that grant in cooperation with partners in the community, studies have shown a 10 to 12% decrease in underage drinking. As a community coordinator, Nancy knows that sustainability is critical to prevention efforts. She engages all sectors of the community and stages public events to bring the community's attention to problems related to alcohol and substance abuse.

When she is not working on the community level, Nancy's face is well known in local and state government. She has testified and successfully advocated for "best practice" legislation related to alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco on both the state and local levels.

Nancy is excited about the future direction of IHD — expanding its market area and offering prevention services to both recovery programs, businesses and organizations throughout the Northeast.

ndevaney@ihdri.org