Donna Aligata is a person in long-term recovery, a child from an alcoholic family and is a mother of four. She finds that she has much in common with other parents and family members that have all been affected by and have lived with the effects of alcohol and other drugs in their families. This connection has led Donna to work for the past 34 years in the field of addictions and mental health serving as a resource for nonprofit, private and public organizations advancing a variety of policy to practice systems change initiatives. She is skilled at training, curriculum development, facilitating cross-agency collaboration and providing consultation for working on a national level with cross agency policy makers setting new strategic direction in healthcare approaches. Donna is the president of Gold Cottage Industries, Inc., a local consulting agency and is also a psychiatric nurse. Donna has over the past ten years written grants that brought in over 33 million dollars in new programs. She successfully leveraged funding, and for eight years helped to lead and direct services at "THE CENTER" the State of Connecticut's Addiction Counselor Training Institute, credited with providing 250 courses annually for developing certified addiction counselors to work within the community. From 1998-2003 working in D.C. with Health Systems Research, she served for four years as Project Director of the substance abuse and infectious disease Cross-Training Initiative, funded by CSAT, CDC, and HRSA. Other projects Donna has worked on include assisting SAMHSA and Indian Health Services as lead trainer, establishing standards and supervised Native American facilitators on reservations in conducting strategic planning serving as lead moderator for SAMHSA, DOD, and the Veteran's Administration's site visits and policy academy, SAMHSA's Co-occurring Policy Academy meetings, and moderated the CMHS Mental Health Transformation Technical Assistance Program to governors' regional action planning meetings. Donna loves to garden, is a passionate fly fishing woman and dreams of having her own cooking show. Best of all she loves to be outdoors walking in the woods with her husband and two dogs.
Greg Williams is a young person in long-term recovery from drugs and alcohol since the age of 17. He has a strong passion for carrying a message of hope and recovery supports to those suffering from alcohol and drug problems. As an advocate he has worked towards creating positive changes in prevention, treatment and recovery policies for youth and families. He has management and leadership experience. He is very dedicated and passionate about implementing this vision in collaboration with others. Greg is an experienced filmmaker with a vast network of young people in recovery that have allowed him access to inspiring messages of hope, and capture their stories on video. The films have been used effectively as tools in schools, treatment programs, recovery groups and even Connecticut state policy meetings. Currently, Greg is the project manager responsible for facilitating the construction and implementation of www.ctyouthandfamilies.org. Greg is engaged to the woman of his dreams, Michelle, who is a registered nurse. When not compulsively checking his e-mail, you can find Greg on the softball field or in the sand playing volleyball.
Kenneth Aligata is a person in sustained recovery from alcohol and drug abuse for 20 years. He is a strong recovery advocate, and believes in the State of Connecticut's investment in treatment and that "recovery saves lives." He believes in the power and hope of recovery, peer-to-peer recovery models work and has extensive experience coaching others in sustaining recovery. Ken believes this is a family disease; and has lost his 39 year-old brother to the disease. Ken's greatest joy is giving back to others in the ways that others have given to him throughout his recovery. Ken is a past President of the CCAR Board of Directors, and currently works as Provider Relations Director at Advanced Behavioral Health in Middletown, CT. For the last 10 years, Ken and his wife, Donna, have volunteered as trainers for CCAR, with a special commitment to helping with the pardon process. Ken is also a homeowner in Marlborough, CT, father of four children, two dogs, and a cat named "Zeke Mouse Warrior." He loves to play recovery music and is an expert hand drummer.
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