About the Council
The Advisory Council provides guidance and support to ACORN’s management team. Members consist of a diverse mix of MSU staff and faculty as well as community partners across Michigan. Advisory Council members are invited based on their extensive professional experience with opioid-related issues. ACORN is lucky to have their expertise to help our program build new partnerships and actively recruit new host sites while maintaining current ones.
Advisory Council Members
MSU Faculty and Staff
Farha Abbasi, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Director, Muslim Mental Health Conference
farha.abbasi@hc.msu.edu
Omayma Alshaarawy, MBBS, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine
ashaara@msu.edu
Kaston Anderson-Carpenter, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
kason@msu.edu
James (Jim) C. Anthony, PhD
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
janthony@msu.edu
Jessica Barnes-Najor, PhD
Director for Community Partnerships, OPEN-MSU
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychology
barnes33@msu.edu
Kipling Bohnert, PhD
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
bohnertk@msu.edu
Clifford L. Broman, PhD
Professor, Department of Sociology
broman@msu.edu
Kevin Brooks, MSc, PhD
Director, Program Evaluation and Health Services Research Unit
brooks52@msu.edu
Cheryl Eschbach, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Health and Nutrition Institute Director, Justin S. Morrill Hall of Agriculture
cheryl@msu.edu
Rose Henderson
Program Manager, OPEN-MSU
hende286@msu.edu
Jennifer Johnson, PhD
C.S. Mott Professor Endowed Professor of Public Health
Professor of OBGYN, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
jjohns@msu.edu, jennifer.johnson@hc.msu.edu
Lauren Kennedy, PhD
Extension Specialist, Community Behavioral Health, Michigan Substance Use, Prevention, Education, and Recovery (MiSUPER)
kenne552@msu.edu
Geoffroy Laumet, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology
laumetge@msu.edu
Juli Liebler, PhD
Assistant Director of Virtual Degree Programs
Assistant Professor, School of Criminal Justice
lieblerj@msu.edu
Marvin McKinney
Academic Specialist, Outreach Administration
mckinn23@msu.edu
Kathleen Oberst, RN, PhD
Director, Institute for Health Policy
oberstka@msu.edu
Cara Poland, MD, M.Ed., FACP, DFASAM
Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine
Certified Addiction Medicine Specialist
glavinca@msu.edu
Leslie Simons, NP, ANP-BC
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology
lsimons@msu.edu
Mieka Smart, DrPH
Assistant Professor, College of Human Medicine
Director, Leadership for the Medically Underserved (LMU) Certificate Program
Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University
smartmie@msu.edu
Michelle Snitgen
Assistant Director, Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL)
msnitgen@msu.edu
Laurie Van Egeren, PhD
Interim Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement
vanegere@msu.edu
Thomas W. Wojciechowski, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice
wojcie42@msu.edu
Community Partners
Ann Cameron
Head Start Director, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
ann@itcmi.org
Connie DePlonty
Anishnabek Healing Circle Client Services and Voucher Coordinator, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
connied@itcmi.org
Julia Widney Felton, PhD
Doctor, Henry Ford Health Systems
Assistant Professor, Division of Public Health
feltonj2@msu.edu
Christina Pudvan
Substance Use Disorder Prevention Coordinator, Northern Michigan Regional Entity
cpudvan@nmre.org
Linda Vail, MPA
Health Officer, Ingham County Health Department
lvail@ingham.org