ALEXANDRIA, VA (November 19, 2025) — CADCA is proud to announce the recipients of its 2026 National Leadership Forum Awards. Every year, CADCA recognizes exceptional individuals that have made significant contributions to the field of substance use prevention and community coalition leadership. The awards will be presented during the 36th Annual National Leadership Forum, February 2-5, 2026 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

“Our honorees represent the very best of public service and community leadership, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements at our National Leadership Forum,” said CADCA President and CEO General Barrye L. Price, Ph.D. “These distinguished leaders have shown what it means to stand up for the well-being of our communities.”

This year’s honorees exemplify innovation and dedication to creating safer, healthier, and stronger communities.

Outstanding Youth Leader: Sharmada Venkataramani 
Recognizes an outstanding young person for service to a coalition and their dedication to preventing substance misuse  

Sharmada is a rising junior at South Forsyth High School, passionate about youth advocacy and prevention work. She began by publishing a piece on Big Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis for the state social studies fair and further engaged with the Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council. There, she launched the “Elevate with Awareness” campaign, highlighting the importance of teen marijuana use awareness. Sharmada also led students in advocating for nicotine regulation bill HB 1260. As the youth sector lead for the 2024-2025 school year, she guides 30+ students on various prevention projects.

Additionally, she collaborated with District 4 Commissioner Cindy Jones Mills to establish the Forsyth County Youth Mental Health Coalition, distributing over 750 mental health resource guides. Sharmada serves as the county organizing deputy director at the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, representing over 1500+ students to advocate for youth-focused reforms. She is also the JV president of her school’s mock trial team, a state-level award winner, and an officer in her school’s Future Business Leaders of America Club. In her free time, she enjoys Indian classical dancing and spending time with friends. Sharmada aims to attend law school and pursue a career in securities law.

National Newsmaker Award: Amy Neville & Alexander Neville Foundation 
Recognizes an individual or organization that has used their platform or media presence to bring national attention to substance use prevention issues   

Amy Neville is the President of the Alexander Neville Foundation (ANF), an organization her family founded after the tragic loss of her 14-year-old son, Alexander. A drug dealer on Snapchat sold Alex a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl that took his life. This unimaginable loss compelled Amy to confront the fentanyl crisis and the growing dangers of unregulated social media platforms.

Through ANF, Amy works closely with young people to co-create meaningful drug prevention and social media education programs. The foundation is rooted in youth collaboration and has become a guiding voice in efforts to curb substance misuse and reshape the digital environment for children and teens. Amy continues to speak nationally on synthetic drug dangers, social media harms, and the urgent need for corporate and legislative accountability.

In April 2025, Amy appeared in Bloomberg Media’s acclaimed documentary Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media, which explores the real-life consequences of Big Tech’s unchecked power. Her powerful presence in the film underscores her message: “This is all about money… We need to take back the power from these companies.”

Amy has also shared her family’s story and insights on CNN, FOX, CBS, ABC, and in Rolling Stone’s investigative piece “Inside Snapchat’s Teen Opioid Crisis.” Her mission remains clear: to prevent more families from experiencing the devastation hers has endured and to ensure youth are protected both offline and online.

National Leadership Award: Kirk Lane 
Recognizes leaders who have been longtime supporters of the community coalition movement and who use their voice and influence to educate the community about the importance of substance abuse prevention 

Arkansas Drug Director Kirk Lane was appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson on August 7, 2017. In his current role, Lane serves as the Director of the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP), which works to support communities across the state through innovative prevention, treatment, and recovery initiatives. Under his leadership, ARORP partnered with CADCA to help Arkansas coalitions build capacity to secure federal Drug-Free Communities (DFC) funding. As a result of this partnership, seven of 13 ARORP-supported coalitions were awarded DFC grants, bringing $4.3 million in federal investment to Arkansas communities.

Previously, Director Lane served as the Chief of Police for the City of Benton, Arkansas. Director Lane began his law enforcement career in 1982. In 1986, he worked for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office for 22 years rising to the rank of Captain. His assignments during this time period included Patrol, Narcotics, Investigations, SWAT and Honor Guard. In January of 2009, Lane retired from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office as the Investigation Division Commander and was appointed the Chief of Police of the Benton Police Department.

He attended the University of Virginia and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. He is a graduate of the Arkansas Law Enforcement Academy, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Commander’s Academy and the FBI National Academy 197th session. He has served on boards representing Arkansas for the Regional Organized Crime Information Center and was the Chairman of the Arkansas Chief’s Association Legislative Committee. Director Lane also served on advisory boards for the Criminal Justice Institute, the Arkansas Prescription Monitoring Program and the Arkansas Alcohol and Drug Coordinating Council.

Director Lane is an active member of the Arkansas State working group for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and received the 2012 Marie Interfaith Leadership Award for his work in this area. He also serves on the CADCA Board of Directors.

CADCA Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Mark Gold 
Honors an individual whose career and contributions have had a profound and sustained impact on the prevention field 

Mark S. Gold, M.D. is a world-renowned expert on addiction-related diseases and has worked for 40+ years developing models for understanding the effects of opioid, tobacco, cocaine, and other drugs, as well as food, on the brain and behavior. Today, Dr. Gold continues his research, teaching, and consulting as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. He publishes a weekly article for Psychology Today that translates the latest science on addiction-related issues into easy to understand, accessible information for the general public that CADCA distributes to its members.

À propos de l'ACCCA 
CADCA is the premier prevention association equipping coalitions with tools, knowledge, and support to create positive change in their communities. CADCA’s vision is safer, healthier, and stronger communities everywhere. Through our work we have built a network of more than 7,000 coalitions across the United States and over 28 countries. At the core of CADCA’s creation is the belief in the effectiveness and efficiency of local coalitions as catalysts for drug-free communities globally, combating substance misuse through the implementation of comprehensive strategies for community change.