Speakers
Our Vision
Our vision as a coalition is to educate Idaho healthcare workers on the disease of addiction. We will create annual conferences related to the diagnosis and care of the addicted population. We will provide Continuing Education Credits (CEU's) to doctors, pharmacists, nurses and therapists. We will create scholarships and resources for those who cannot afford recovery resources. Scholarship proceeds will be awarded to healthcare workers in need of addiction treatment, monitoring program expenses, and addiction conference attendance.
Our Vision
Our vision as a coalition is to educate Idaho healthcare workers on the disease of addiction. We will create annual conferences related to the diagnosis and care of the addicted population. We will provide Continuing Education Credits (CEU's) to doctors, pharmacists, nurses and therapists. We will create scholarships and resources for those who cannot afford recovery resources. Scholarship proceeds will be awarded to healthcare workers in need of addiction treatment, monitoring program expenses, and addiction conference attendance.
DR GENE-JACK WANG
MD
Dr. Wang is a board certified Nuclear Medicine physician. He joined NIAAA as a senior clinician and the clinical director of LNI in 2013. Prior to his current appointment, he was a professor of Radiology at Stony Brook University, a senior scientist and chairman of the medical department at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He also held a joint appointment as a professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. His research focuses on the application of PET and functional MRI to the study of various brain disorders. He is currently using PET, MRI and simultaneous PET/MRI to study the neuro-psychiatric mechanisms and manifestations of alcoholism, drug addiction and obesity in humans. As results of his imaging research, he has published 315 original articles, 51 review articles, 19 book chapters
Dr. Wang’s work with Nora Volkow, MD and others has led to a revolution in thinking about whether drug abuse is or is not a disease of the brain. Their group and their data led to the “Drugs Hijack the Brain” campaign at NIDA. He uses PET to study the effects of drug expectation on the ability of psychostimulants to increase extracellular dopamine and the relationship to the reinforcing and addictive properties of stimulant drugs in cocaine-addicted subjects. In methamphetamine abusers, he uses PET to assess the effect of long-term detoxification to the recovery of the brain dopamine system.
SUZANNE WEES
MSN, CNRN
Ms. Wees has received an ASN, BSN, BSM, and MSN and holds a minor in Mandarin Chinese from Shanghai University, Shanghai, China. Ms. Wees became one of the first Registered Nurses in Idaho to pass the Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN) exams in San Diego, CA. Ms. Wees is currently completing a PhD in Cultural/Organizational Psychology through Grand Canyon University. Her dissertation work centers on the care of the addicted Healthcare Professional, and the cultural influences that affect recovery rates. Ms. Wees is known for her work on recovery program development in China. She was one of the first women invited to speak to inmates, physicians and nurses inside several prisons in China. She has also spoken in several prisons in Malaysia, and Philippines. Ms. Wees has spent the better part of 2 decades researching the Neuroscience of Addiction and speaking nationally and internationally at nursing conferences, hospitals and rehab centers on the Neuroscience of Addiction.
JUDY CRANE
LMHC, CAP, ICADC, CSAT
Judy is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Guest House Ocala and her leadership is guided by over three decades of experience working in both residential and outpatient settings. She is a Certified Addiction Professional in Florida, a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, a Certified Hypnotist, certified in EMDR and an internationally recognized specialist for healing trauma and PTSD. Over the last 15 years, she has developed one of the country’s leading treatment centers specializing and trauma/PTSD and addiction recovery as well as spearheaded Spirit2Spirit Healing, a new movement in experiential and holistic therapies. She is a sought-after speaker and presenter on PTSD and sexual trauma resolution, and she currently also serves as a consultant for many of the country’s leading treatment centers to train their clinical teams.
In 2010, Judy was chosen to receive the Administrator of the Year Award from the American College of Addiction Treatment Administrators for her significant achievement in the field of addiction treatment administration. In 2012, she was selected as the Behavioral Healthcare Champion in recognition of her life-changing therapy, services and support to Americans who suffer from mental health and substance abuse disorders.
Judy believes that persistent addictions, chronic relapse and repetitive self-sabotage are often the results of unresolved trauma. Healing occurs when we identify the “root cause” of addiction. She often says, “You have to unravel the trauma story to understand the addiction story and write the recovery story.”
For Judy, The Guest House Ocala has been a labor of love. Its creation is a combination of every healing moment within her lifelong service and commitment to others. Her continued work is motivated by both unrelenting vigor and fixed determination. Here, her passion and purpose have collided.
DR MARK BROADHEAD
MD
Mark Broadhead MD received his doctorate in medicine from the University of Nevada School of Medicine and completed a residency in psychiatry at the University of Alabama Birmingham. He is Board certified in General Adult psychiatry and Consultation psychiatry. He has been Board certified in Addiction Psychiatry since 1996.From 1993 until 2000, he was Affiliate Faculty at Idaho State University and a staff psychiatrist at State Hospital South where he developed a co-occurring disorder program for those with mental illness and Substance Use disorders. Since 2000, he has been on Faculty at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine as an award-winning teacher, lecturer and clinician. Dr. Broadhead has been the Medical consultant to the Idaho Board of Medicine’s Physician Recovery Program and Southworth Associates for over 20 years. Currently, Dr. Broadhead supervises the Medication Assisted Treatment Program at Norther Nevada HOPES clinic in Reno, Nevada.15
BENJAMIN SEYMOUR
CADC, CIP
Benjamin Seymour is a nationally recognized interventionist, counselor and public speaker. He previously served as the founder and CEO of treatment centers throughout the Pacific Northwest, and is well versed in co-occurring disorders, monitoring programs for healthcare professionals, trauma recovery and behavioral health as a whole. With 18 years of experience in behavioral healthcare, Ben offers a diverse background and perspective. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, on television, a featured columnist and throughout various media venues, to share his experience as an addiction professional.
Prior to his passing in 2017, John Southworth asked Ben to serve as his successor and the director of Southworth Associates International. Ben also serves as the Program Coordinator for the Idaho Physicians Recovery Network, The Program for Recovering Nurses, Pharmacists, The Lawyers Assistance Program and The Nevada Physicians Assistance Program.