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2022 Recovery Research Summit: Advancing a Recovery-Ready Nation


Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) hosted the 2022 Recovery Research Summit: Advancing a Recovery-Ready Nation in partnership with our leading sponsor Fors Marsh Group (FMG) on September 14 and 15, 2022. This invitation-only event was free to attend and was be conducted virtually via Zoom. 

Background GRI convened the inaugural recovery research summit, Assessing Progress and Setting Priorities in Recovery Research, on July 27, 2020. This inaugural gathering brought together more than 200 participants—including recovery researchers, academic institutions, private funders, corporations, and senior government officials from HHS, ONDCP, CDC, SAMHSA, and NIH—to identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities to advance the field of recovery. Key findings and recommendations that came out of the first summit can be found here. 

Agenda This year’s summit addressed emerging topics related to recovery research, aligned with the priorities set forth in the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) National Drug Control Strategy, “Building a Recovery-Ready Nation.” ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta opened the conference, and was followed with reports from federal leadership, recently funded recovery research grantees, and other recovery-invested thought leaders.  

The summit was organized around three areas of discovery and inquiry:   

  • Expanding the science of recovery  
  • Making recovery possible for more Americans  
  • Eliminating barriers and increasing opportunities (for recovery)

The virtual summit opened on Wednesday, September 14 at 3:00 p.m. with words from Dr. Gupta, director of ONDCP, followed by a fireside chat conducted by senior leaders reflecting on how we have progressed and what is next. Thursday, September 15 included a day of panel discussions addressing the progress made in the field of recovery research and its impact on improving sustained recovery. 

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Planning Committee 

The 2022 Recovery Research Summit is chaired by Dr. Andrea Barthwell in her role as a board member of GRI. Summit 2022 Planning Committee members include: 

  • Andrea Barthwell (chair), GRI, Board Member; ONDCP, former Director of Demand Reaction; American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), former President  
  • David Best, Recovery Research Institute, Author and Professor 
  • Carlos Blanco, NIDA, Director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research 
  • Dona Dmitrovic, SAMHSA, Senior Advisor for Recovery 
  • Matt Escoubas, FMG, Director of Social Impact; GRI, Board Member
  • Peter Gaumond, ONDCP, Senior Policy Analyst/Chief, Recovery Branch 
  • Cathie Hartnett, GRI, Board Member 
  • Christopher Jones, CDC, Acting Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 
  • John Kelly, Recovery Research Institute, Founder and Director; Harvard Medical School, Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine 
  • Memi Miscally, FMG, Director of Health Communication Research
  • Deidra Roach, NIAAA, Program Director of the Treatment, Health Services, and Recovery Branch 
  • Karen Scott, FORE, President

 

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Presenting Sponsor

GRI would like to thank Fors Marsh Group (FMG) for being the presenting sponsor of Summit 2022. 

 

About FMG: Fors Marsh Group is a research and strategy firm and a certified B Corporation committed to helping people make better decisions. FMG’s Social Impact Division provides pro bono research, marketing, and communications support to nonprofit organizations working to solve pressing societal challenges. FMG leverages its internal resources to support systems change and engage in social impact on the issue of SUD.

 

FMG has committed to conducting a national multiyear survey to measure public opinion on aspects of SUD related to the workplace. The Workplace Recovery Survey seeks to generate a statistically valid snapshot of Americans’ knowledge, attitudes, and experiences regarding recovery from SUD in the workplace, with an emphasis on employer-based recovery policies, practices, and services. The first results of the survey will be released at Summit 2022.

GRI is grateful for the additional support from FORE and Pear Therapeutics in advancing attention to recovery research. 

2022-09-30T15:06:19-04:00

New Report by Recovery Experts Advocates Expanding Research to Help People With Substance Use Disorder

New Report by Recovery Experts Advocates Expanding Research to Help People With Substance Use Disorder

Fors Marsh Group (FMG) announced today the completion of phase one of its multiphase partnership with Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) with a new report and set of recommendations that serve as a road map for public and private sector organizations to expand and prioritize research around recovery from substance use disorder (SUD), also known as drug and alcohol dependence.

The joint report, Virtual Summit: Assessing Progress and Setting Priorities in Recovery Research on Substance Use Disorder (download PDF) summarizes the proceedings from the 2020 Virtual Summit: Assessing Progress and Setting Priorities in Recovery Research, hosted by FMG and GRI that brought together over 200 leaders from federal, state, philanthropic, and recovery advocacy organizations to examine challenges and opportunities in the field of addiction recovery. The report also outlines five themes to help guide national priorities in the field of recovery research.

The summit was structured to build on the 2018 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Recovery Research and Evaluation Technical Expert Panel Summary Report, which assessed the current state of recovery support services in addressing SUD in the United States.

The summit report’s recommendations were distilled in consultation with the summit’s co-chairs:

  • Andrea Barthwell, former president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and GRI board member
  • John Kelly, Director of the Recovery Research Institute, Center for Addiction Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and
  • Andrew Finch, Peabody College of Education and Human Development and Vanderbilt University.

The summit yielded five key themes:

  1. Define Recovery in SUD and Expand Recovery Research: The field of SUD recovery research has expanded beyond abstinence as a sufficient avenue for measuring recovery. To make further progress in the field, consistent measures must expand to include quality of life, self-efficacy, and social functioning. This definition must also encompass various stages of the recovery process and acknowledge the many paths people take to sustain recovery.
  2. Explore Persistent Inequities Through Recovery Research: Inequities in access to recovery support services stem from and contribute to larger socioeconomic and health disparities. These inequities in access to care and outcomes are particularly prevalent in many communities, including those with people of color, lower-income populations, people in rural areas, and LGBTQIA+ people. Therefore, policymakers need evidence-based research that addresses persistent barriers to recovery—particularly SUD-related stigma and discrimination—and racial, gender, socioeconomic, and geographic inequities.
  3. Prioritize the Investigation of Adolescent and Emerging Adult SUD Recovery: Policymakers and researchers need a better understanding of recovery and remission among adolescents given that SUD most often begins during this time. In addition, a better understanding of adolescents’ unique needs and experiences with SUD can advance earlier intervention and sustained recovery.
  4. Evaluate the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SUD Recovery: Alcohol use and fatal overdoses have increased rapidly during the pandemic. An estimated 90,237 Americans died of overdose during the 12 months during the 12 months between September 2019 and September 2020. In addition to potentially driving more substance use, the pandemic has likely resulted in more use of substances in isolation, which reduces calls to emergency services by peers or bystanders. As a result, policymakers and researchers need to identify more innovative approaches for continuing service delivery, mutual aid, and other needed social support for people who may be isolated.
  5. Establish SUD Recovery as a Formal Research Domain: Recovery research needs to establish its domain with a multidisciplinary approach, encompassing the neurobiology of addiction and recovery, the developmental and psychosocial dimensions, the role of culture and stigma, and the relative effectiveness of various models for the organization and financing of services.

“The themes outlined in this report include actionable guidance based on input from our nation’s foremost experts in the field of addiction recovery,” said FMG CEO Ben Garthwaite.  “We recognize there are more steps ahead, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that this guidance doesn’t end up on a shelf, but rather prioritized into policy to help lift the 23 million Americans living in recovery from SUD.”

Dr. Barthwell said, “We have made progress bringing together the academic, public health, philanthropic, and recovery communities to integrate policy, science, and lived experience of acute SUD. But without more research across population bases and a stronger infrastructure for community-based delivery of support services, we will be at a disadvantage.”

“Adolescents respond differently than adults who seek long-term recovery. We need to learn more about what is unique in the journey of recovery for young people who are still getting their education, developing their social networks, and living in families where there may be family members in active SUD,” said Dr. Andrew Finch.

Dr. Kelly added, “Due to the chronic nature of SUD, the risk of recurrence of symptoms remains elevated even after long periods without any symptoms. Therefore, continuing care and support for individuals in recovery remains essential for up to 5 years following active SUD—not just days or months.”

About FMG

FMG is a company that uses business as a force for good, and as a B Corporation, the company governs from a set of values and policies that compound the positive impact for its employees, clients, and partners. Since 2002, FMG has focused on applying science and strategy to create positive behavior change in people and program and policy improvements in large organizations and government. The company is committed to working with the public and private sectors to build a body of research in SUD that will result in a range of science-based services that are accessible and will increase the number of people who can sustain their recovery.

About GRI

GRI focuses on building a philanthropic pool that supports organizations and provides services to people in early recovery from SUD. By partnering with public, private, and pop culture leaders, GRI works to erase the stigma of SUD and to share best practices that are scientifically proven to help keep people from relapsing. For more information, visit the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation.

[1] Ahmad, F., Rossen, L., & Stutton, P. (2021, June 16). Products – Vital Statistics Rapid Release – Provisional Drug Overdose Data. National Center for Health Statistics; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm

 

 

2021-06-30T11:52:28-04:00

Fors Marsh Group and GRI Support Recovery High Schools

Fors Marsh Group (FMG) and Global Recovery Initiatives (GRI) Foundation are partnering to co-host the annual Amethyst event. This benefit, to be held on November 20 at 11:30 a.m. EST, is a virtual event celebrating national recovery high school students and the Association of Recovery Schools (ARS). The event will support ARS’s efforts to obtain the technology needed for distance learning and recovery high school infrastructure.

The fast-paced hour-long virtual event will delve into the role recovery high schools play in helping young people sustain their recovery and complete their high school education. The event will feature Dr. Andrew Finch, Ph.D., a leading expert of recovery schools at Vanderbilt University and one of the founders of ARS. He will be joined by two recovery high school alumni who will share their success stories.

“Substance use disorder (SUD) affects millions of people, and teenagers are no exception,” said Matt Escoubas, FMG’s Director of Social Impact, “The Amethyst event will help raise awareness of an incredible resource available to youth in recovery.”

Recovery high schools are an alternative to traditional high schools, designed specifically for students in recovery from SUD and co-occurring disorders. Today, there are dozens of recovery high schools in the United States, and more in the development phase.

“Like schools across the country, recovery high schools have been affected by the pandemic and the transition to distance learning—but our community has special challenges,” said Michael Durchslag, Vice President of ARS and Director of P.E.A.S.E. Academy, “Students with SUD are usually encouraged not to isolate and rely on their support networks—but social distancing and remote learning make this significantly more difficult.”

Increasing awareness of recovery high schools is another example of the many efforts FMG and GRI are leading to reduce stigma and strengthen the infrastructure for recovery services in the United States.

To learn more about recovery high schools and how to help, click here

About FMG

FMG is a company that uses business as a force for good. Since 2002, it has focused on applying science and strategy to create positive behavior change in people and program and policy improvements in large organizations and government. This work is conducted within seven core U.S. markets: health, defense, technology, finance, homeland security, policy, and consumer. As a B Corporation, FMG governs from a unique set of values and policies that compound the positive impact achieved for its employees, clients, and partners.

About GRI

GRI’s focus is to build a philanthropic pool that supports organizations providing services to people in early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). By partnering with public, private, and pop culture leaders, GRI works to erase the stigma of SUD and share best practices that are scientifically proven to help keep people from relapsing.

https://www.forsmarshgroup.com/knowledge/news-blog/posts/2020/november/fors-marsh-group-and-global-recovery-initiatives-foundation-partner-to-strengthen-recovery-high-school-infrastructure/

2020-12-09T12:52:06-05:00

Nikki Sixx’s SIXX:A.M. Assembles Rock, Country, Metal All-Stars For a Great Cause

Nikki Sixx has pulled together an all-star group of artists for a new version of the 2016 SIXX: A.M. song “Maybe It’s Time” in support of National Recovery Month. The Mötley Crüe bassist has roped in Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor, Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott, Brantley GilbertFive Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, AWOLNATION and Bad Wolves‘ Tommy Vext for a song that will be part of a music industry-wide effort to draw attention to the opioid criss while raising funds for the recovery community.4

Read the original article HERE.

The song’s release on Friday (Aug. 21) is timed to advance September’s National Recovery Month, which kicks off on Aug. 31 with International Overdose Awareness Day and runs through Sept. 30’s International Recovery Day. Sixx hatched the idea to re-record the track from SIXX: A.M.’s Vol. 2, Prayers for the Blessed album and to earmark all artist royalties to the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation to support those in early recovery, with Better Noise Music making a matching contribution.

“I am proud to bring together these artists to help raise funds for the Global Recovery Initiative Foundation,” said Sixx in a statement. “The opioid epidemic did not go away when the pandemic came along. Just the opposite… those in early recovery became even more at risk than before so it’s more important now than ever to raise awareness and support them. I really believe that united we can make a difference and save lives.”

Listen to the song:

The industry initiative includes support from Live Nation, Ticketmaster, iHeart, Pandora, SiriusXM, Entercom and many others, with the song also slated to appear on the soundtrack for the upcoming Better Noise Films release about teen addiction, SNO BABIES, which will be out on VOD on Sept. 29; Better Noise Films’ share of the profits will also be donated to GRI.”So, Nikki rang me to see if I’d lend a vocal to ‘Maybe It’s Time.’ After hearing the track for the first time in a while, I was reminded how good it is so I was in! It felt right, all around giving back to the much-needed Global Recovery Initiative,” said Elliott in a statement, with Vext adding, “Alcoholism and drug addiction are family diseases. They’re the only diseases that everyone is mad at and hurt if you have it. People don’t get upset at you if you get cancer. It’s because with addiction, it affects everyone whose life touches the sufferer.”Slipknot’s Taylor called addiction a “real issue” that is “affecting young people more and more every year, so it’s very, very important for all of us to pitch in and do our part, especially some of us who have lived through it…those of us who have survived… it’s the least I can do.”The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic increase in opioid-related overdoses and deaths according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, which said drug overdoses increased by 42% in May as those struggling with substance use disorders have lost their support systems and become isolated from treatment options.

Better Noise Entertainment CEO Allen Kovac tells Billboard that ever since he helped Sixx enter rehab more than 15 years ago they have made it their mission to talk about the dangers of addiction and search for concrete ways to help those in its grip. “What we’re trying to do is take this beyond just awareness,” said Kovac of why he’s including the song in the end titles of Sno Babies and encouraging his peers in music, film, TV and radio to get involved to raise the kind of  money that will allow GRI to put people in the field to do direct outreach to those suffering from addiction.”The biggest challenge if you’re a Prince or Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Petty or Michael Jackson is you need to talk to someone, and that’s the hardest ting because of the stigma that people don’t know who to call,” Kovac says of the difficulty in getting those who need it help; both Kovac and Sixx are on the board of GRI. “All these organizations are giving us this time and exposure because they care about our industry, which is losing so many artists… and the industry needs to not just talk about it, but have a call to action.” Because when someone like Juice WRLD dies from drug-related causes at a young age, Kovac says, Live Nation loses their global touring revenue, but radio and streaming services also lose out on potential new music from great artists, film companies lose stars of today and tomorrow and we all lose out to a killer that took more lives in 2017 than the entire Vietnam War.”There is a cure, but it’s destigmatizing and being able to get awareness out there and have an outcome [that matters],” Kovac says. “You can create all the foundations in the world, but unless you get an outcome you haven’t done much. And our outcome is to get people out there in the fields.

Check out the “Maybe It’s Time” video and Sno Babies trailer below.

2020-10-20T09:27:08-04:00

Better Noise Films releases the first trailer for Sno Babies; A portion of the proceeds will go to GRI

VIEW ON DEMAND AND DIGITAL NOW

 

New York, NY (July 30, 2020) – Better Noise Films has released the first trailer to Bridget Smith’s feature film SNO BABIES. The film, produced by Allen Kovac, Mike Walsh and Michael Lombardi, stars Katie Kelly (Game of Silence), Paola Andino (Queen of the South), Michael Lombardi (Rescue Me), Evangeline Young (The Good Wife) and Joanne Baron (This Is Us). SNO BABIES will be available on On-Demand & Digital platforms on Tuesday, September 29.

Trailer YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/_e2f_CtJTvo 

A gripping and emotive tale, SNO BABIES depicts the grim realities of addiction and its effects on a middle-class suburban town. Kristen and Hannah are best friends–smart, likable and college-bound– and also addicted to heroin. The pair of seemingly unlikely addicts spiral down a path of destruction, hiding their secret from well-meaning but busy parents behind pink bedrooms and school uniforms SNO BABIES shows how easy it can be to both miss and hide the signs of addiction behind the façade of “good” neighborhoods and pleasantly busy communities.

SNO BABIES is the first feature from Better Noise Films, a new venture from entertainment mogul Allen Kovac. As manager of artists such as Bee Gee’s, Luther Vandross, Blondie, Meatloaf, Motley Crue and The Cranberries, Kovac has put together many TV Documentaries for his artists such as HBO special ‘The Bee Gee’s One Night Only’, MTV VH1 special ‘Mötley Crüe’s Resurrection of Mötley Crüe’, Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise. Most recently Kovac co-produced Netflix 2018 sensation ‘The Dirt’ based on the life of Mötley Crüe, with 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and SNO BABIES is the first of two 2020 releases for Kovac’s Better Noise Films.    

Kovac said, “Studio heads, agents and managers know there is nothing sadder than when an artist or actor you’ve worked with passes away through misadventure. This movie is a wakeup call to the entertainment industry that we can’t lose more Academy Award winners like PrincePhilip Seymour Hoffman, or River Phoenix.”  He continued “With over 70,000 people dying of drug overdoses in 2019 in the USA, this film is a way parents can open up the conversation of drugs with their kids before they go to college, an older brother can share a link to SNO BABIES to his younger brother to watch and say that he’s there to answer any questions afterwards, or for a rehab group to watch together. This is a conversation we need to have in the USA to destigmatize addiction. I have worked with Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe and SIXX:AM for 13 years to make this a global conversation to save lives, please join us!“

With the country’s opioid epidemic spiking from COVID factors, and the entertainment industry continuing to lose its people to substance use disorders, Better Noise Entertainment has committed to fighting this problem by collaborating with the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) to raise funds that will strengthen the field of recovery and directly benefit struggling communities. Better Noise Entertainment will use their expertise in content creation, audience connection and creative storytelling to develop and amplify messaging to a wide pop-culture audience. Better Noise Films’ share of profits is being donated to GRI. In addition, all artist royalties from the soundtrack are being donated to GRI with matching contribution by Better Noise Music. The donation will be used to deploy 1,000 Recovery Corps workers into communities to provide peer support and access to services for those in early recovery.  

Other entertainment industry companies collaborating on this project to save lives include Live Nation, Ticketmaster, iHeart, Pandora, Sirius among others.

“Pop culture is a key vehicle to breaking stigma and educating the public about both danger and hope,” said Catherine Hartnett, Executive Director of the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI). “Young people, especially, resonate with messaging that is cultural and reflects emotional and personal experience.  This movie and its soundtrack convey a message of hope coming from despair and can give a young person who is struggling a sense of hope that they too can get well and thrive.”

“It’s incredibly important to shine a light and lend a helping hand to people that are struggling with substance abuse, especially during these trying times,” said Rick Franks, President of Live Nation North American Touring. “Live Nation is proud to support Better Noise in their commitment to save lives and raise awareness for such an important cause.” 

The official SNO BABIES soundtrack features some of the biggest names in rock music today.  The soundtrack will include two tracks from SIXX:A.M. and will include the Top 10 hits from Country/Rock star Cory Marks (“Outlaws & Outsiders”) and from chart toppers Bad Wolves (“Sober” – the #1 hit) as well as new music from Eva Under Fire, From Ashes to New and Escape The Fate.  

For additional information on the film, please visit https://snobabiesmovie.com/ 

Assets can be found at https://bit.ly/SnoBabiesAssets 

#LETSSAVELIVES

ABOUT BETTER NOISE FILMS

Better Noise Films (BNF), a Better Noise Entertainment company (BNE), is led by entertainment industry pioneer, Allen Kovac (CEO) and COO Dan Lieblein (Cinecom, October Films, and USA Films). BNF develops feature films, unique programming and other original content. Along with Better Noise Music, a leading global independent record label, Better Noise Films serves as an emerging platform for delivering top quality content that engages audiences, develops artists and builds the BNE brand. The company’s first 2 releases, SNO BABIES and THE RETALIATORS are due out Fall 2020.

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For US release information, please contact:

Lee Meltzer / R&CPMK / [email protected] 

Jamie Roberts / Better Noise Entertainment / [email protected]  

 

2020-10-22T20:11:27-04:00

Better Noise Music Festival to Benefit the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation

Better Noise Music Festival To Stream Worldwide

By Nora Hones On Jul 14, 2020

Better Noise Music, the independent music label, announces the Better Noise Music Festival on July 16. The festival will benefit Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation which provides support services for people in early recovery from substance use disorders. The festival will feature live performances, unseen footage and more.

Read the Original Article on NYSmusic.com

The Better Noise Music Festival has an impressive line-up of new and classic performances, artist messages and sneak peeks at two Better Noise Films projects slated for the fall. The films are Sno Babies and The Retaliators. The line-up includes big names like Motley Crue, Five Finger Death Punch, and the Dirty Heads.

The full line-up includes: Motley Crue, Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, Awolnation, Cory Marks, Dirty Heads, The Hu, Bad Wolves, Escape The Fate, From Ashes To New, Fire From The Gods, Bleeker, Tuk Smith, Islander, All Good Things, Hyro The Hero, Eva Under Fire, Nevrlands. Little Stranger, Tempt, The Bottom Line, and Thousand Thoughts.

The festival will air worldwide on July 16 at the following times: 3PM PST, 5PM CST, 6PM EST, 11PM BST, and 12AM CET. The festival will air at 8AM ACT on July 17. The event is in partnership with LiveXLive. All live streamed performances will be simulcast by LiveXLive on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Twitter. Proceeds will benefit the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) to provide support services for those in early recovery from a substance use disorder.

For more information on the festival please visit Better Noise Music’s website and LiveXLive’s website.

2020-10-20T09:27:32-04:00

Recovery Access Coalition Launches to Advocate for Digital Therapeutics

A group of addiction and mental health advocacy organizations have formed the Recovery Access Coalition, an initiative that will address barriers to accessing digital therapeutics that have been authorized by the FDA to treat substance use disorder.

Among the coalition’s member organizations:

  • Advocates for Opioid Recovery
  • Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation
  • Kennedy Forum
  • National Council for Behavioral Health
  • Shatterproof
  • Young People in Recovery
  • Pear Therapeutics, which is also a project sponsor

>> BHE PODCAST: Pear Therapeutics president and CEO Corey McCann, MD, PhD, discusses digital therapeutics and the Recovery Access Coalition.

The Recovery Access Coalition is pushing for Medicare coverage of digital therapeutics at the federal level, Medicaid at the state level, and coverage by the commercial health insurance market. With the COVID-19 pandemic still surging and social distancing measures in place, the coalition noted in a news release announcing the project’s launch that digital therapeutics can facilitate treatment remotely, keep patients better connected with caregivers, and empower patients’ self-assessment skills and help them to better navigate care.

“Addiction is a disease that thrives in isolation,” Patrick J. Kennedy, former U.S. Rep. and founder of the Kennedy Forum, said in the release. “Because of social distancing, COVID-19 has already put millions who live in recovery from substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder, at extreme risk. The inability to regularly access traditional forms of care will only compound the problem—thus an urgent need for more remote treatment options.”

June 29, 2020
Tom Valentino, Senior Editor
2020-10-20T09:27:36-04:00

Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation Expands Board of Directors: Nikki Sixx, Allen Kovac, Matt Escoubas, and Alexandra Cameron

Nikki Sixx

New board members bring strong mix of experience and position that will help GRI expand philanthropy for people in early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD)

SILVER SPRING, MD—March 11, 2020—The Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) announced today the addition of four new members to its board of directors: international rock icon Nikki Sixx; entertainment industry legend Allen Kovac; Fors Marsh Group’s (FMG) Director of Special Initiatives Matt Escoubas, and iHeartMedia VP Alexandra Cameron.

Pam Cytron, CEO of Pando Systems and board chairman of the GRI said, “We are thrilled to add these new board members who will bring their wisdom, expertise, and networks to expand philanthropy for people in early recovery from substance use disorder (SUD)—a nationwide problem that affects every sector of American life—from individuals and their families to the country’s employers and communities.”

About the New Board Members:

Nikki Sixx is a founding member and the bassist of the band Mötley Crüe (over 100 million albums sold worldwide) as well as the author of three New York Times bestselling books, including his memoir The Heroin Diaries, which will debut as a musical in 2020. He is 18 years sober and has been a dedicated recovery advocate, philanthropist, and public speaker. He is a frequent media contributor to CNN, Fast Company, MSNBC, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone. He has also spoken to members of Congress for National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.

Allen Kovac, a 40-year veteran of the entertainment industry, founded Better Noise Music (AKA, Eleven Seven Music Group), Tenth Street Entertainment, and TDA Productions. He has developed and promoted a wide range of artists, including Tom Petty, Talking Heads, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Duran Duran, The Cranberries, Mötley Crüe, and Meatloaf.

In 2006, Allen founded Better Noise Music to give artists an integrated worldwide marketing platform and direct distribution with iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and Deezer. Better Noise has been named the #1 Active Rock label by Mediabase two years in a row (2018 and 2019).

In 2019, Allen was honored by Sir Richard Branson with the Innovator Award at the Association of Independent Music (AIM) Awards. 

Allen has produced a number of programs that focus on SUD. He co-produced the highly successful Netflix biopic, The Dirt, based on the best-selling autobiography of the band Mötley Crüe. He also produced Sno Babies, a gripping story about a 16-year-old heroin-addicted honor student that shows how one can begin recovery; the movie is scheduled for release in 2020. In addition, he is the producer of The Heroin Diaries, a theater show based on the bestselling memoir of the same name by Nikki Sixx, which will run in 20 cities across the United States beginning in fall 2020. 

Matt Escoubas is Director of Special Initiatives at Fors Marsh Group (FMG) where he oversees the company’s social purpose division tasked with addressing social challenges through in-kind, employee-led project teams. Throughout Matt’s career he has championed causes that strive to improve lives through evidence-based research. He brings more than 25 years of experience to his current role having led a wide array of public health and social change campaigns on behalf of federal and private sector clients. His work spans a range of topics, including opioid use disorder, addiction recovery, heart disease and stroke prevention, tobacco prevention, and pediatric palliative care. His efforts have received multiple industry awards, including a PR News Platinum Award, Bronze Anvil Award, two National Health Information Awards, and three Thoth Awards.

Alexandra Cameron is Vice President Strategic Partnerships & Government Initiatives for iHeartMedia.  She also leads iHeartMedia’s significant commitment toward combatting the opioid epidemic, including its role as cofounder of The National Opioid Action Coalition (NOAC). iHeart’s active role in responding to the crisis has included thought leadership events and multiple audio and digital campaigns to heighten awareness and break stigma around substance use disorder, including a National Recovery Month effort which enlisted artist support from Macklemore, Camila Cabello, Dan + Shay and others. iHeartMedia and NOAC have adopted GRI as a charitable partner for SUD issues. Alexandra is also on the Advertising Week Advisory Council and is the former CEO of Keek, a startup social video network, growing it to 75 million users. She has served as Chair and Board Director for numerous industry trade organizations and spent over 5 years as Market Manager for 3 iconic NY radio brands.

About Better Noise Music

BETTER NOISE MUSIC is the premiere independent music label under BETTER NOISE ENTERTAINMENT, a content creation and marketing company that produces music, books, films, documentaries, TV shows, theatrical productions and tours.  Better Noise Music (formerly Eleven Seven Music), founded in 2006 by music industry veteran and independent pioneer Allen Kovac, focuses on artist development and has grown into a music industry independent powerhouse, with a roster including Five Finger Death Punch, AWOLNATION, Mötley Crüe, Atlas Genius, Papa Roach, Bad Wolves, Nothing More and The Hu. Partnering with FUGA, AMPED and Membran, the company operates a global marketing and distribution platform with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, London, Berlin, Toronto and Sydney.  https://betternoise.com/

About FMG

Fors Marsh Group (FMG) applies science and strategy to create positive behavior change in people and program and policy improvements in large organizations and government. This work is conducted within seven core U.S. markets: health, defense, technology, finance, homeland security, policy, and consumer. As a certified B Corporation, FMG’s business practices create positive impact beyond our client portfolio, extending into the community through pro bono service to nonprofits aligned with FMG’s corporate values.

About GRI

The Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) is the first and only national community foundation dedicated to building philanthropy for organizations that deliver recovery support services to people with SUD.

GRI funds the expansion of organizations that have demonstrated success in:

 

  • Deploying public, private, and pop culture resources to strengthen the field of recovery; 
  • Engaging philanthropy leaders to invest in nonprofit, recovery-focused programs and making grants in local communities throughout the United States; and
  • Reducing the stigma around SUD and recovery.

For more information, visit:  https://globalrecoveryinitiatives.org/

Contact: Caitlin Carroll

[email protected]

310.824.3997 

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2020-06-18T14:13:16-04:00
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