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Staff/Board



Staff

Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling staff members are here to serve the public. Following are brief staff biographies:
Marlene D. Warner, MA, Executive Director
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Before becoming the Council's Executive Director in 2011, Marlene worked as the Council's Program Director for 10 years. Her professional experiences are in the fields of nonprofit administration and higher education in the Washington, DC area. She holds a MA from George Washington University and a BA from Gettysburg College.

Tom Luongo, MPA, Fiscal Director
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Tom brings more than 28 years of experience in the fiscal sector to the Mass. Council. He’s held multiple positions in diverse settings, from state government to small businesses to non-profits. Tom holds a MPA from Suffolk University and a BA from Merrimack College.

Kathleen M. Scanlan, MA, Senior Advisor, Special Projects
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Kathy has been with the Council since 1987, serving first as Program Director and later as Executive Director from 1998 to 2011. In 2011, she retired and began serving the Council in a part-time capacity on special projects. Her background is in program development, adult education and non-profit management and her expertise has been recognized with numerous awards. Kathy earned a MA from Boston College and a BA from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY.

Margot Cahoon, Communications Director
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Margot has more than 16 years of public relations experience promoting leading non-profit healthcare organizations. Prior to moving “home” to Massachusetts, Margot was the Director of Communications for a national non-profit in New Jersey. She holds a BA in Communications from the University of Rhode Island.

Jim Wuelfing, CPP-R, NRPP, Director of Prevention and Recovery
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Jim worked as a Prevention Consultant for the Council for 11 years, and has recently been appointed as the Council's Prevention Director. His areas of expertise include: cultural competency, problem gambling prevention, peer education, community organizing, spiritual growth, strategic planning, curriculum development, and stress management. Jim earned a BA from the College of the Holy Cross.

Francia Peguero, Fiscal Assistant
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The Council is pleased to announce Francia Peguero as its new Fiscal Assistant. When Francia was 13, she moved from the Dominican Republic to Boston. She attended English High School in Jamaica Plain and Salem State College, where she studied Business Administration. She feels that her bi-lingual Spanish and English capabilities make her a good fit for the Council’s receptionist position, as do her organizational, computer, and people skills.

Karen Sicher, Administrative Manager
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Karen began her career with the Council as a volunteer. In 2011, she became the Council’s Special Projects Assistant and she was later promoted to Administrative Manager. Her professional background includes administrative support roles in the healthcare industry, as well as experience in the non-profit sector. As a person in recovery for problem gambling, Karen brings unique understanding and compassion to the job. She’s a highly-organized, personable, go-getter who plans to use her experience and position at the Council to facilitate programs for women seeking help with gambling problems.

Victor Ortiz, MSW, LADC II, Intervention and Treatment Support Director

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Victor worked as a Latino programming consultant to the Council for many years before his current appointment as Intervention and Treatment Support Director. His professional expertise is in the areas of child welfare and behavioral health. Victor recently earned his MSW from Simmons School of Social Work.


Amanda Poggenburg, Program Specialist, Prevention & Recovery

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Before her recent appointment as Program Specialist, Prevention & Recovery at the Council, Amanda served as a volunteer with AmeriCorps Vista, where she worked as the Prevention and Wellness Coordinator for the Upshur County Family Resource Network in Buckhannon, West Virginia. In the position, she had the opportunity to work with various non-profit organizations to deliver healthy lifestyle presentations and to plan fun alternative events for students. Amanda holds a BS from West Virginia Wesleyan College.


Board

The Mass. Council is governed by a Board of Directors. Following is a list of the fiscal year 2012 members:

President Rodney Hoffman, Esquire, Deutsch, Williams, Brooks, DeRensis, Holland & Drachman, PC, Boston


Clerk Kevin Donoghue, MBA, Principal, Donoghue Financial Services, Boston

Nancy Cummings, Braintree

 

Pierre Gabriel, BA, MPA, Director International Marketing, Foxwoods Casino, Hingham

 

Kevin M. Grant, MPP, Vice President, The Karol Group, Boston

 

Steve Janssen, Mansfield

 

Jo-Anne Kane, Worcester

 

Richard McGowan, SJ, PhD, Boston College, Carroll School of Management, Chestnut Hill

 

Haemoon Oh, PhD, Department Head and Professor, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

 

Ed Talbot, AdCare Hospital, Worcester, former Chief of Staff, Bristol County Sheriff's Dept., Dartmouth

 

Eric M. Turner, MBA, Investor in private practice, former Director of Mass. State Lottery, Waban