Board of Directors

Michelle is a person in long term recovery. She is a mom (of two humans, a dog and a cat). She is public health researcher at The Miriam Hospital focusing on opioid overdose prevention for the last 15 years and HIV prevention for about a decade before that. She runs an opioid education and naloxone distribution program and is very dedicated to supporting and expanding harm reduction efforts in Rhode Island. She is a member of the Governor’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force. Michelle loves to hike, camp and commune with nature.

Michael Fine is an award-winning author, community organizer, public health expert/leader, and family physician. Dr. Fine serves as Chief Health Strategist for the City of Central Falls Rhode Island.  He served as Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health 2011-2015; Dr. Fine was the Medical Program Director at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and practiced for 16 years in urban Pawtucket and rural Scituate, Rhode Island.  Dr. Fine is believes substance use addiction and recovery are important public health concerns.

Robin Kamienny Montvilo received a B.A. degree in Psychology from Brooklyn College (CUNY), and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Fordham University. 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.

Paul has worked in the substance use treatment field for 10+ years with a background in Human Resources and 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.

Rick is a practicing criminal defense lawyer in Rhode island who has lived in Lil Rhody his entire life.  He has been a board member at RICARES for about a decade. Also, since 1992, a Board member at Bridgemark, LLC, a residential/outpatient substance misuse service center in Warwick. Working in the recovery community is his real passion. “You cannot keep it unless you give it away!”

Rebecca Boss is a highly regarded leader of behavioral health care and developmental disabilities services with special expertise in addiction and recovery solutions. At 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.

Lindsay Garcia (she/her) is the Assistant Dean of the College for Junior/Senior Studies and Recovery/Substance-Free Student Initiatives at Brown University. 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.

Steve has been a trainer and consultant on recovery and treatment issues since retiring from the Brown University School of Public Health as the director of the New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center.  He has served periodically as a RICARES board member and chair during the past 20 years.  He was Board Chair of Faces and Voices of Recovery, a national recovery advocacy organization.  He was a co-founder of the Center for Addiction Recovery at Rhode Island College.  He currently serves as a board member for Thrive Behavioral Healthcare.  Steve has been in sustained recovery from an alcohol use disorder since 1986.

Alex West (he/him, they/them) is a person in long-term recovery. Alex is the Associate Director of UConn School of Law’s Housing and Eviction Defense Clinic. 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.