About the Presenters

Alex Elswick, PhD joined the Department of Family Sciences in 2020 as an Assistant Extension Professor for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery.  He began his journey with the department as a graduate student in 2015, where he earned his Masters and PhD and later served Family and Consumer Sciences Extension as an Extension Associate and as an Extension Specialist.  Using this experience, Dr. Elswick’s Extension emphasis focuses on equipping Extension to build recovery capital in the community. Dr. Elswick’s research agenda examines long-term recovery from substance use disorder.  In particular, much of his research examines recovery capital, an assets-based approach to understanding addiction recovery. As co-founder of a Lexington-based non-profit organization called Voices of Hope, Dr. Elswick is a tireless advocate for people with substance use disorder.  He works to promote long-term recovery by providing education in the community, reducing stigma, and studying the effectiveness of recovery support services.

Traci Goll, has been the Director of Horizon High School for 19 years and has been working in the education field for over 30 years. Traci has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also completed her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Psychology & Special Education at Madison, with certificates in Administration and preK-12 Teaching. Traci enjoys traveling, boating, hiking, biking, being outdoors, gardening and reading. Traci loves spending time with her family and friends, especially visiting her adult kids in San Francisco and Denver.

Allison Schlosser, PhD, MSW, is a medical anthropologist with a background in social work and public health research. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Allison specializes in the intersections of culture and substance use and societal responses to drug problems in the United States. Her research draws on in-depth ethnographic and other qualitative research methods to examine lived experiences of residential treatment, medication treatment for opioid use disorder, risk reduction services, drug overdose survival, and drug overdose death bereavement.

Nicole Barnes is an 18-year employee of Park Nicollet Health Care Services and joined the Park Nicollet Growing Through Grief Program in the Summer of 2017 as the Program Manager. She has many years of experience in social work and healthcare leadership. Her current role includes partnering with nine Growing Through Grief counselors and sharing Growing Through Grief impact that is happening across the 16 partnering districts where support is provided.