Janice Petersen, Ph.D.

"As a representative from a state prevention organization, I have seen the tremendous amount of effort that CADCA exerts when advocating for community interests. CADCA serves as a conduit for interchange among federal, state and local partners to coordinate strategies for community capacity building. The partnership has provided a comprehensive approach to address substance abuse and related problems. CADCA is poised to help build drug-free communities, and to provide member coalitions with training and technical assistance that is drastically needed. I am very proud to be a part of an organization with such dedicated staff, who truly work to build and strengthen the capacity of community coalitions to create and maintain safe, healthy and drug-free communities." — Janice Petersen

Dr. Janice Petersen serves in the capacity as Director of the North Carolina Office of Prevention, and the Prevention and Early Intervention Team Leader in the Community Policy Management Section of the Division of MH/DD/SAS. As director, she is held responsible for ensuring that prevention is on the radar in the continuum of care for the three disability areas.

She makes policy recommendations regarding substance use disorders, and serves as a liaison between federal, state and local agencies regarding coordination and collaboration of substance abuse prevention planning and programming. In her role as team leader, she is charged with leading her team in developing best practice protocols for prevention issues in mental health promotion, developmental disabilities support, and substance abuse prevention. Her research interests include retention and recruitment of the prevention workforce, cultural responsiveness for prevention programming, and evidence-based (informed) program implementation across the life span. Nationally, Dr. Petersen is the appointed representative to the National Prevention Network (NPN) for the state of North Carolina, currently serving as its First Vice-President, and serves on the CADCA-Community Advisory Committee where she is a voice for community coalitions. She is an appointed member on several state and federal task forces, expert panels and councils and works to represent the substance abuse prevention issue in behavioral health care.

Dr. Petersen received her Ph.D. degree in Clinical/Community psychology from Pennsylvania State University (where she was an American Psychological Association Minority Fellow), an M.S. degree in psychology with specialization in minority mental health from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. (an NIMH trainee), and a B.A. degree in Psychology/Social Welfare from Dillard University in New Orleans, La. (presidential scholar).