Building Bridges: Enhancing Global Recovery Systems for International Recovery Day

Professor John Kelly

Professor John Kelly is the founder and director of the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Elizabeth R. Spallin Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He has served as a consultant to numerous U.S. federal agencies and international organizations, and his research focuses on addiction treatment, recovery processes, and stigma reduction.
With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Kelly is a licensed clinical psychologist who integrates evidence-based practices to support individuals and families dealing with substance use disorders. 

David Best

David Best, Professor of Addiction Recovery, Leeds Trinity University, UK: as well as being the Director of the Centre for Addiction Recovery Research in Leeds, David also holds honorary academic posts at the Australian National University, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) and the Public Health Institute (California, USA). He is also chair of the Prison Research Network for the British Society of Criminology. He has led a number of international recovery research projects and is a leading researcher in the area of recovery capital 

Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D.

An affiliate of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies and the Medical School at Yale University, and dubbed by NBC News as the “prodigy of drug politics,” and by Salon as the "quarterback of the new anti-drug movement," author, consultant, and advisor to three U.S. presidential administrations, Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D., has studied, researched, written about, and implemented drug policy for over 25 years. He is the only person appointed by Republican and Democrats to work at the White House drug office. Kevin is currently the President and CEO of the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) and SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), two non-profit organisations he founded with Congressman Patrick Kennedy. His latest book, Smokescreen: What the Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know, distributed by Simon & Schuster, won the Next Generation Indie Book Award in the Social Justice Category, and has been optioned for a documentary film. He received his doctorate and master's degrees from Oxford University and BA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Chantelle Pepper

Chantelle Pepper is the Chair of the Western Cape Substance Abuse Forum and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Addictions Care from the University of Cape Town. She works with the Department of Social Development within the Western Cape Government, where she is dedicated to addressing substance abuse issues in the community. Chantelle is committed to fostering effective policies and programs that support recovery and promote well-being. 

Mulka Nisic

Mulka Nisic is a Research Officer at the Centre for Hate Studies, University of Leicester, Secretary General of RUN- Recovered Users Network; and a founding member of the Global Gender Committee within the World Federation Against Drugs. She brings decades of active engagement in the field of drug policy and recovery from addiction. Her current research explores the lived experiences of individuals in recovery and gendered recovery pathways across nine European countries, focusing on recovery capital and stigma's role. 

Jimena Kalawski

Since 1997, Jimena Kalawski has worked in the field of consumption in different contexts. As director of several treatment programs, she later developed and implemented outreach programs, as well as individual and family psychotherapy. With a Master's Degree in Drug Addiction, Jimena was Head of the Programming Division of the National Service for the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Drug and Alcohol Consumption (SENDA) of Chile. Since June 1, 2019, Jimena is the Chief of the Demand Reduction Unit of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS). 

Michael Botticelli

Michael Botticelli is the former Executive Director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at Boston Medical Center and a Distinguished Policy Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Mr. Botticelli is the former Director of National Drug Control Policy for the Obama Administration after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate. He joined the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) as Deputy Director in November 2012 and later served as Acting Director. Mr. Botticelli led the Obama Administration’s drug policy efforts, based on a balanced public health and safety approach. Under Mr. Botticelli’s leadership, the Administration advanced historic drug policy reforms and innovations in prevention, criminal justice, treatment and recovery. He is now Chair of the GRN – Global Recovery Network. 

Boro Goic

After successfully completing rehabilitation, Boro Goic has been actively involved in the recovery field since 2002. Boro Goic established the NGO Celebrate Recovery, with the aim to help individuals and families recover from drug addiction and is active in grass root activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and region. In 2013 Boro Goic became Chair of Recovered Users Network, a unique European platform which represents the voices and rights of previous users. Furthermore, Boro Goic has been part of a global drug policy debate as a representative of recovered users and advocates for balanced and recovery oriented drug policies on national, European and UN level. 

Anja Busse

Anja Busse Programme Officer at the Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section of the UNODC Drugs, Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch - has been involved since 2005 in the implementation of UNODC’s global projects on drug dependence treatment and care in different functions. She is a Psychology graduate (University of Berlin, Germany) with further training in Public Health (Medical School Hanover, Germany), Systemic Psychotherapy and Media Pedagogics. Her current functions include the coordination of the UNODC-WHO Programme on Drug Dependence Treatment and Care. 

Željko Petković

Željko Petković is the Assistant Director of Croatian Institute of public health. With a background in criminal investigation and extensive experience in law enforcement, Željko has served in various roles within the Ministry of the Interior and has been actively involved in numerous national and international projects related to drug policy and law enforcement. He holds a postgraduate degree in criminal investigation from the University of Rijeka and is also an accomplished academic, having been appointed as a lecturer at the Police Academy in 2011. 

Matej Košir

Matej Košir has over 22 years of experience in prevention and advocacy related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. He is actively involved in numerous European projects and serves as a lecturer, author, and evaluator in the field of health and research. Matej has worked with various international organizations, including Oxford Brookes University, the World Bank Group, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations. He is a co-author of the European Prevention Curriculum and a contributor to the International Standards on Drug Use Prevention. Currently, Matej is pursuing a Ph.D. in Preventive Science and holds leadership roles in international organizations, including President of the International Confederation of Research Associations in the field of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ICARA) and  Chairperson of the Vienna NGO Committee on Drugs (VNGOC).

Elisa Rubini  (Moderator)

Elisa Rubini is a Consultant with the Institutional Strengthening Unit at the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Commission of the Organization of the American States (ES- CICAD/OAS). Ms. Rubini is the main author of the Case Care Management curriculum and coordinates international initiatives on Case Care Management, Alternatives to Incarceration with a focus on social integration for justice involved individuals with substance use disorders. She has over 15 years of experience working globally with international and civil society organizations (Organization of American States, United Nations and European Union, San Patrignano and Dianova) in the fields of drug policy, alternatives to incarceration, recovery and social integration.