Adolf Kofi Afful

CHRIS BUDNICK

MSW, LCSW, LCAS, CCS has been working in the addiction treatment and recovery field since 1993. Chris became a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor in 1998. He graduated from East Carolina University in 2000 with a Master of Social Work. Chris has been fully licensed as a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist since 2001; a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2002; and a Clinical Certified Supervisor since 2003. He was an intern from 1999 to 2000 with Healing Transitions International, Inc. and has been employed with them since 2000. Learn more...

DAN O'LAUGHLIN, PRESIDENT AND CHAIR

Dan is the Chairman of the Board of Recovery Africa and Executive Director of Hopeful Way Foundation.  He is a person in recovery who went to Ghana as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1967, and until the present has been working with developmental activities in various parts of Africa.  He believes that the RA mission is to assist programs rather than projects in Ghana, projects where Ghanaians make a commitment to assume ownership and sustainability.  While RA is primarily a 12-step related organization, Dan confirms that RA also assists faith based and other approaches.  He believes that RA has an important role to play in promoting collaboration and building a recovery movement in Ghana and beyond.  Learn more...

DAVID WHITERS

David is as a person in long-term addiction recovery. This means it has been more than 30 years since he last used any illicit drugs or alcohol and more than 28 years since he used nicotine. He attributes his personal recovery to his faith in God, his involvement in his 12-step recovery program, and his involvement in his church. He is the founder and former Executive Director of Recovery Consultants of Atlanta, Inc., a preeminent faith-based, peer-led Recovery Community Organization and HIV prevention program. During his tenure with RCA, Inc., he raised more than 10 million dollars in federal funding. Learn more...

DEBBIE DUNGEE

After decades of using alcohol and drugs and finding myself homeless, jobless and penniless, I finally surrendered and prayed to God for help. I successfully completed a 28 day inpatient treatment program at which time I was accepted into an Oxford House in Beltsville, Md. The women and the traditions of the Emack Oxford House saved my life. It was there that I saw the importance of peer to peer support. After volunteering for Oxford House and serving as House and Chapter officers, I was offered a position with the corporate office of Oxford House Inc. I served as Loan Manager and oversaw the opening of houses in Ghana. During my 12 years with Oxford House, I got involved with the development of Recovery Africa and now serve on the Board of Directors. Learn more...

KRISTEN K. HARPER

Kristen K. Harper, M.Ed., LCDC, is the Executive Director of Recovery Communities of North Carolina, a nonprofit devoted the promotion of addiction recovery, wellness and citizenship through advocacy, education and support in the beautiful state of North Carolina. Prior to Kristen joining the team in North Carolina, she had the great fortune to be the first, full-time Executive Director for the Association of Recovery Schools (ARS), where she assisted in the creation, sustainability and accreditation of recovery high schools across the country.  As the Collegiate Recovery Community Replication Coordinator for Texas Tech University's Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery from 2011-2013, Kristen provided technical assistance to over 80 universities seeking to create and manage collegiate recovery programs in all regions of the country. Learn more...

LARRY GAINES

Larry Gaines is the Chief Executive Officer of Serenity House, Inc. They have been treating alcohol and other addict since 1972. Recovery Dynamics was developed as a necessity to treating a group of people at the same time in a selected time frame. The method had to be simple, direct and in a sequence in order to educate. The author of Recovery Dynamics and founder of Serenity Park, which is the flagship of the model, the late Joe McQuany would be pleased, and honored as I am to play a small part in this endeavor. The method we have developed is used in at least 40 different States in the U.S. and five countries. It has been my pleasure to help carry the recovery messages to Ghana in 2011 and 2013.  Learn more...

Kathleen Gibson - 

Kathleen Gibson is the Chief Operating Officer at Oxford House Inc.

MATTHEW BROWN, SECRETARY

Matthew Brown joined the national non-profit consulting firm Shultz & Williams in 2008 after 18 years of experience in communications, fundraising, and strategic planning in both the private and non-profit sectors.  During his tenure at Schultz & Williams Matt has served a wide range of clients including: The Association of Zoos & Aquariums, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, The American Institute of Architects Foundation, Capital City Public Charter School, The American Shakespeare Center , NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Prince George’s African American Museum & Cultural Center, the American Clean Skies Foundation, Arch Development Corporation, The National Women’s History Museum, The Association of Educational Publishers, Friends of Moccasin Bend National Park and The Meals On Wheels Association of America. Learn more...

SEAN MCCARTHY, TREASURER

Sean McCarthy is a semi-retired lawyer living in Potomac, Maryland. A graduate of Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Sean worked briefly for a Federal agency and the US Congress, before his 20 year legal career with IBM and affiliated companies in the US, the United Kingdom, and France. He later worked as a senior lawyer for telecom and cell phone service providers in Maryland. Prior to retiring in 2014, Sean worked for a number of years as outside counsel to a military contractor in Hunt Valley, Maryland. He currently works pro bono with Catholic Charities and the Maryland State Bar Association helping asylum seekers. Sean is also Treasurer of Recovery Africa, Inc.  

THERESA O'LAUGHLIN CARMODY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Theresa O’Laughlin Carmody is the Executive Director of Recovery Africa, Inc (RA). She is of American, Ethiopian and Ghanaian heritage and has lived and experienced the cultures of various African countries. As a person in recovery, while living in Ghana, she and the founders of Recovery Africa noticed the lack of community-based support services for people suffering from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Recovery Africa was founded out of that vacuum.  Learn more...