Centurions | Alumni - Informational Mastermind: Substance Abuse, Addiction, and Behavioral Health

This event is open to Centurions Alumni Association members only. If you are not a member of the Alumni Association, you will be able to pay your dues onsite.

Register now for an upcoming Mastermind [formerly Mini Task Force] hosted by the Centurions Alumni Association. Join in a conversation with educators, police, treatment providers, and individuals impacted by substance use and behavioral health in the greater Kansas City area. 

• Welcome House is a residential, not-for-profit, sober living recovery provider. It supports and empowers men living with alcohol and drug-addiction to have a healthy and productive life in sobriety.
• In 2022 109,000 Americans lost their lives last year to a fatal drug overdose. That's 1 adult American every 5 minutes and 1 young American every 16 minutes. 
• In the Kansas City metro, 157,000 persons aged 12 or older (8.6 percent) were classified as having a substance use disorder in the past year.
• The crisis is worsening in our community. The KC region had the highest increase (22%) in drug overdose deaths last year.
• Overdose deaths are preventable thanks to life-saving tools like Narcan, drug testing strips and other harm reduction measures. In KC, we have the ability to come together and change that trajectory. 
• This work is about love and dignity -- after all, someone who has lost their life to a fatal drug overdose will never have the chance to find recovery.
• In 2021, 20.1% of adolescents (ages 12-17) and 8.3% of adults in the U.S. reported having a major depressive episode in the past year.

Conversation Leads:

Dr. Doug Burgess – University Health
Dr. Doug Burgess serves as the Medical Director of Outpatient Psychiatric Services at University Health (formerly Truman Medical Centers).  He completed his residency training at Duke University and a fellowship in addiction psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He is board certified in Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry.  A leader in treating SUD, Dr. Burgess, educates prescribers across the Midwest on best practice use of medication for addiction treatment, and, ultimately, increasing access to treatment for those who need it. Burgess also facilitates the Missouri Telehealth Network's Opioid Use Disorder ECHO group. In addition to providing direct patient care, Dr. Burgess advocates for his patients and their healthcare by advising local, state, and federal policy makers.

Angela Dunn – Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, Behavioral Health
Angela Dunn is a Clinical Social Worker and in her 6th year as the Behavioral Health Coordinator for Kansas City Kansas Public Schools. Angela has additional experience serving families and child through her work with the foster care system and as a clinician with PACES, the community mental health center in Kansas City, Kansas. Throughout her career, she has worked hard to break down barriers for children and families to ensure they receive the mental health services they need. 

Jamie Felton – Recovery Community Member, Surviving Parent Sgt.

Ashley McCunniff  - KCPD Crisis Intervention Team
Sgt. McCunniff is a 17-year veteran of the Kansas City Police Department. Sgt. McCunniff serves as the supervisor of KCPD’s CIT Unit, which is deployed when police officers interact with people experiencing behavioral health conditions. Additionally, Sgt. McCunniff serves as the lead for the CIT Council, coordinating efforts across all seven regions in Missouri.

Suzanne Taylor – Midwest Recovery Centers
Suzanne Taylor has been working with individuals impacted by Substance Use Disorder since 2012. Prior to starting her work in this field, she completed her Bachelors degree in Social Welfare at the University of Kansas and her Masters degree in Social Work at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Suzanne is in long-term recovery and has personal experience battling this chronic disease. She has witnessed first-hand the devastation that this illness can cause for families. This experience continues to fuel her passion for this work.