At The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC), Ms. Boss engages with federal, state, and philanthropic organizations to promote effective responses to the evolving needs of the behavioral health care system. Prior to joining TAC Ms. Boss spent 15 years in state government, including as director of the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) where she had oversight of the state’s publicly funded system for people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities. Among her achievements were the management, design and delivery of statewide efforts for medication-assisted treatment expansion, developing national behavioral health integrated care models, and expanding recovery outreach programs. Wellness, recovery, and parity were consistent themes of her leadership as she advanced efforts to promote inclusion and to eliminate fear and discrimination directed toward individuals living with behavioral health conditions.

She completed her Dr.PH. at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Her doctoral dissertation examined the perceptions of Black American Rhode Island church leaders toward intervention models and harm reduction methods in the face of the opioid misuse crises. Her doctoral project was supported by the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose, based at the Rhode Island Hospital, a pre-doctoral fellowship from the RRI and a fellowship award from the F.X.B. Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. She also holds an M.P.H. from the Brown University School of Public Health and a B.A. from Knox College in Illinois.

She recently retired from the State and continues working in her private practice, as she has for 25 years. She spent 12 years in her role as Women’s Services Network Coordinator under the auspices of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, (NASADAD), including 5 years as the WSN Regional Representative for the New England States. She was the Clinical and Recovery Supports Services Coordinator for the RI Access to Recovery grant, the state’s first SUD grant to develop and introduce recovery support Services to adults involved with the criminal justice system, and veterans and their families. She worked for years as a member of Drug Court Teams as Clinical Coordinator for the both the RI Juvenile and Adult Drug Courts also holding the Treatment Seat on RI Certification Board for Chemical Dependency Professionals for almost 10 years. She worked with substance abusing clients with severe and persistent psychiatric disorders as Program Coordinator of a CMHO ACT Team. She has served on Boards of Directors for several community organizations, and helped start the RI GrandsFlourish, an organization supporting grandparents raising grandchildren due to family substance use disorders. 33 years ago, when recovery was not yet openly admitted to, she was an invited Presenter to the R.I. Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights re: Discrimination, Treatment and Recovery of persons with substance abuse disorders. The following year she became an Incorporator of RI Right to Recovery, a grassroots advocacy group for those in recovery, and the forerunner to RICARES.  She received the following awards: National Association for State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors’ Women’s Services Network Leadership Award 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Rally for Recovery Committee 2017 RI Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependence President’s Award. 2011 Social Worker of the Year in Addictions Award, NASW, RI Chapter, 2009

She is also a socially-engaged artist, scholar, teacher, academic advisor, and person in long term recovery. As director of Brown’s Collegiate Recovery Program, the Donovan Program for Recovery and Substance-Free Initiatives, she oversees multidimensional support for students, faculty, and staff in recovery or who identify as substance-free for any reason, including co-facilitating support groups, making referrals to additional professional, social, and emotional supports, advising the SoBear Student Activities Club, and managing the Donovan House, a 17-bed substance-free program house. She received her PhD in American Studies from William & Mary and her MFA in Visual Art from Purchase College, State University of New York.

Jim and his family live in North Kingstown and he enjoys the arts, especially music and film. Jim is a former lead-singer of a Rock/Blues band, during his years living in Denver – where he and his wife JoAnne adopted their two daughters Maya and Megan. Along with his relationships with many businesses through his time at PBN, Jim also enjoys his outdoor adventures including hiking, biking, tennis, golf, pickleball – and playing wiffleball and soccer with his grandson, Ashton. Jim has an infectious energy level and is looking forward to his new appointment to the board of RICARES.

He is currently the Head of People Operations for Everest Recovery Centers. Paul is also a children’s book author and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Tom has a decade of experience working on electoral and issue-based campaigns. Before Energy Action Fund, Tom spent many years at Everytown for Gun Safety, the nation's largest gun violence prevention organization, where he served as the chief of staff. In that role, he worked to align organizational strategy across legislative and political priorities and coordinated national and regional strategic campaign teams across the organization. In 2022, he oversaw the campaign to pass the first major gun safety legislation through Congress in a generation. During his time as a senior leader at Everytown, the organization grew to include over 10 million supporters, hundreds of thousands of active volunteers, and a robust political, legislative, and organizing program in all 50 states. Prior to Everytown, Tom worked on electoral campaigns – ranging from Presidential down to County Executive -- in Michigan, Missouri, and California. He is based in Providence, Rhode Island.

She then took a position as a Faculty member in the Psychology Department at Rhode Island College (July,1977).She completed her B.S. in Nursing at R.I.C in 1982 and began work at Women and Infants’ Hospital as an R.N. in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She worked there until her retirement from Nursing in 2012. In 2003, R.I. College became the first College in New England to graduate students with a B.S. degree in Chemical Dependency/Addiction Studies (CDAS). While continuing as a Full Professor in Psychology, Robin became director of the CDAS program. Under her leadership, this program has graduated over 200 students who are helping R.I. and surrounding states to deal with the Opioid Crisis. In her 43 years at R.I.C., Robin authored over 100 articles and several book chapters in the fields of Psychology, Nursing, and Chemical Dependency and has edited a two-volume set on Addiction. She volunteered on the Medical Team of the Boston Marathon, served on the National Board of Directors of the Niemann-Pick Foundation, the Board of Directors for the National Association of Neonatal Nursing, the Board of Directors of the R.I. Communities for Addiction Recovery Efforts, and the Board of Directors of the R.I.C. Alumni Association. Robin looks forward to continuing her work in these fields.

Previously, Alex has worked as an attorney at SouthCoast Fair Housing, serving the south coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, South Coastal Counties Legal Services in Fall River, Massachusetts, and with homeless veterans at the Northwest Justice Project in Washington state. Prior to law school, Alex worked at YouthCare in Seattle, Washington, providing support to queer and trans youth.