Board of Directors
Chairperson: Susan Radway
Susan has a doctorate degree in child and youth studies with a concentration in nonprofit management. She retired after 50 years of working in SECT. Her experience in public school systems, private nonprofit organizations, local municipal and state government, and federal grant management provides a unique perspective and understanding in developing collaborations and partnerships. In her free time, she enjoys hiking throughout Connecticut and Maine.
Vice-Chairperson: Michele Fontaine
Michele has more than 40 years of experience in the behavioral health field, with a concentration in addiction and supported employment work. She has designed and managed various programs in New York City as well as for Community Health Resources in the Connecticut River Valley. She is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor with the CT Department of Public Health as well as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (retired). Michele joined the board in 2022 and hopes to use her experience to contribute ideas and direction in SERAC‘s advocacy and prevention strategies. Michele is a resident of Woodstock and is especially focused on SERAC‘s efforts in that area.
Treasurer: Kate Alves
Kate has been with Chelsea Groton Bank for 18 years. She graduated from Merrimack College in 2004 with a bachelor‘s degree in mathematics. She is also a 2008 graduate of the Connecticut School of Finance and Management and a 2011 graduate of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut Leadership Program. Kate lives in Groton, Connecticut, with her husband.
Secretary: Stacey L. Lawton, LMSW
Stacey began her career in the treatment of substance use disorders in 1993 with the Southeastern Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and has held several key roles within the agency, advancing to her current position in 2019. She has maintained the operational excellence of the organization for three decades, leading the team in the delivery of quality, affordable treatment services. Stacy earned her bachelor‘s degree from Eastern Connecticut State University and her master‘s degree in social work from the University of Connecticut. She and her husband enjoy small-town living in Bozrah, Connecticut, and have two adult children.
Members:
David J. Brailey Ed. D
David earned his doctoral degree in educational leadership from Saint John's University and also holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in health education with a concentration in drug and alcohol education from Southern Connecticut State University. He has worked in the prevention field for 45 years, mostly in higher education. As a college professor, he has trained over 600 teachers in drug and alcohol education, social-emotional development, and family systems theory. Currently, he is an associate professor at Mitchell College and board member of the Interdistrict School for Art and Communication (ISAAC).
David Burnett
After a brief stint in the business world and racing motorcycles in California, David left to teach high school dropouts in the Neighborhood Youth Corps, an LBJ Great Society program. After several jobs, including one as a live-in dorm supervisor at Waterford Country School, and completing graduate work in psychology, he became the sole employee at The Leisure Center, a drop-in center for people discharged from Norwich Hospital. 41 years later in 2019, he retired from that center, now called Reliance Health and grown into a multi-faceted mental health center with 300 employees and clinical, residential, vocational, homeless, and day programs for people with psychiatric challenges and intellectual disabilities. David currently lives in Norwich with wife Nancy, races bicycles and chases grandchildren in various parts of the country.
Oliver Jones
Oliver is a retired director of Community Enterprises, a human services agency in Gales Ferry, CT, that provides supported employment and day program services to individuals funded through DMHAS, DDS and BRS. He was a member of the Southeastern Mental Health Network management team and secretary for the Eastern Regional Mental Health Board, and presently sits on the board of directors for the Eastern Connecticut Transportation Consortium. He holds a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and lives in Ledyard, CT, with his wife, Elaine.