Dr. Holly Raffle named 2014 "Prevention Champion" by State Mental, Addiction Agency

State Mental Health, Addiction Agency Names 2014 “Prevention Champion”
Ohio University faculty member honored for work to advance prevention science in Ohio
 
The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) has named Ohio University faculty member Holly Raffle, Ph.D., its 2014 Prevention Champion of the Year. Dr. Raffle, an assistant professor with the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development, was honored last week as part of the 25th annual Ohio Prevention and Education Conference (OPEC).
 
“‘Heart of the community,’ ‘empowerment,’ ‘patient,’ ‘visionary’ and ‘brilliant’ are but a few of the words stakeholders and staff use to describe Dr. Raffle and her work,” said Dr. Tammy Collins, deputy director for prevention and wellness programming at OhioMHAS. Dr. Raffle is very deserving of this award as she shares the value and vision that all Ohioans deserve to live in happy, healthy and safe communities."
 
Now in its second year, the Ohio Prevention Champion award seeks to recognize an individual outside the traditional alcohol and other drug addiction prevention system who has taken up the cause and helped to advance prevention science and create measurable change. Honorees are nominated by their peers and others within the statewide prevention services network.
 
Dr. Raffle has served as the lead evaluator for Ohio’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) project the past five years. The idea behind the SPF is to use findings from public health research along with evidence-based prevention programs to build capacity and sustainable prevention. This, in turn, promotes resilience and decreases risk factors in individuals, families and communities. Dr. Raffle also has played an integral role in nurturing the Ohio Youth-Led Prevention Network, guiding the group in the development of a logic model and strategic plan for youth-led prevention. She also secured permission from the university to utilize her community service hours to work with the Interagency Prevention Partnership to explore the feasibility of developing and implementing a statewide youth survey.
 
ABOUT OPEC: OPEC -- Ohio’s largest training conference for professionals in the field of alcohol and other drug addiction prevention -- is sponsored by the Ohio Departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Health and Education. This year, the conference merged with Ohio’s annual Early Childhood Mental Health Conference to become the Ohio Prevention and Early Intervention Conference. More than 600 professionals attended this collaborative effort held on the Ohio Wesleyan University campus June 2-5.
 
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