Members will receive voting instructions by email and postcard by October 14, 2022. Be sure your email and mailing address are correct in Certemy.

Election of Category A: Individual Members to the Board of Directors

All current individual members are eligible to vote, regardless of what district one lives in. This year board seats are open to those who live in districts 3, 4, or 7. To verify what district you live in please visit the district map. To renew your membership,  please visit our membership site, and follow the instructions for renewal.

Anyone needing assistance with your membership status or renewal may contact the CCAPP office by calling 800-564-5927  Tuesday-Thursday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. You may email membership, use the contact form, or use the chat feature located at the bottom right of the website. Chat is available weekdays from 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM. After these hours the chat function becomes an email function you can use.

Candidates for Election to the Board of Directors

Category A: Individual Members

All individual members are allowed to vote for one candidate in each district, even if they do not live in that district.

District 3 Candidates

Elizabeth Steele

As a woman in long-term recovery and a professional in the addiction treatment industry for over a decade, I am incredibly passionate about working with programs, professionals, and organizations that support individuals and families to recover. I have dedicated my career to engaging individuals in recovery through fun, leadership, innovation, and sound clinical judgment. I have been honored to serve as a member of CCAPP’s Board of Directors since January of 2021 and feel that my education, with a Master’s in Addiction Counseling from the Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies, and my both lived and professional experience have prepared me well to continue to serve if given the opportunity.

David Mathews

As a professional addiction counselor and educator. I am credentialed originally as a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC) in Louisiana, Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LAADC) in California, an Internationally Certified Advanced Alcohol & Drug Counselor (ICAADC), and DOT-qualified Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). I hold two master’s degrees in psychology and Criminal Justice and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. In addition, I am a professional doctoral student in Substance-related and Addictive studies.

I have over 7 years and 10,000 hours of counseling and clinical experience. I have worked and provided clinical expertise in school systems, private practice, outpatient and intensive outpatient programs, rural and community health clinics, and correctional settings. Currently, I am serving as an adjunct faculty for three colleges, an addiction counselor for a California school district, and independent consultant for a behavioral health agency and firm.

If I am elected, I will work to ensure that those in my district and in recovery throughout the state of California are receiving extraordinary care and serves by their providers. Additionally, I will also work to ensure that professional counselors are equipped to provide essential and improved services to their clientele and community, particularly SUD counselors.

District 4 Candidates

Sherry Bradshaw

Sherry Bradshaw, CADC II is a Case Manager Supervisor with Fred Brown Recovery Services in San Pedro, California. Additionally, she is employed as a Counselor with American Indian Changing Spirits in Long Beach, California. She entered the field in 2013 and found her passion while working with programs such as Behavioral Health Services, American Indian Changing Spirits, and volunteering for at-risk youth who were clients at BRAVE in Long Beach, California.

She attended Long Beach City College and graduated from the Alcohol and Drug Studies Program with a counseling certificate in 2015. She soon became a certified counselor with CAADE and then transferred her credentials to CCAPP. In her current positions, Sherry plays a key role in developing and implementing management of clinical intervention services, case management, and clinical supervision. In addition to her management work, Sherry finds joy working with clients by providing individual counseling and case management services. Sherry offers the perspective of both a clinician and as a person in recovery. With these experiences and perspectives, Sherry is well-suited to assist CCAPP membership in attaining the highest professional standards.

Christine Periman

I have been in the field of Psychology for over 30 years and Alcohol & Drug Addiction for over 23 years. I have worked as a counselor, case manager, supervisor, consultant, program director, and professor. As a professor, I teach in the addiction field with CCAPP, InterCoast College, and Long Beach City College. I completed my Ph.D. in Psychology, MS in Addiction at GCU, and BA in Psychology at CSULB.

Today we have a great responsibility. We are change agents, and there are many people who suffer from addiction and co-occurring disorders. As we know, some people do not survive this disease. Those are the scariest, hardest facts we have to live with. Clients and families turn to us when they feel hopeless and are fighting for their very lives. We have to stand up and fight too. We are in this fight to give our very best because those that are hurting deserve our very best EVERY DAY.

We stand in this gap. We stand for the hurting, and we stand for the voiceless. We stand to speak for those hurting, and we stand in this gap to help those who have a lifetime of trauma, we stand to speak for them, and we stand to help. We stand in this gap to give a voice for those that hurt till they find their voice, for those that are still hurting, and for those struggling to survive. We stand in the gap to help those survivors find their voice and survive the hurt and traumas of their past and present. We stand together in this gap. Together we stand!

Today I am asking you for your vote as I run for the CCAPP Board. A vote for me is a vote for the voiceless and those that are hurt by this disease.

District 7 Candidates

 Mary Crocker-Cook

My name is Mary Crocker Cook, LMFT, LAADC and I am a long-term CCAPP member who has been representing CCAPP District 7 for the last three years. I have served on the ARCC committee, am currently on the Ethics committee, and have been sending out our District 7 newsletter during my service to keep you “in the loop.” I have worked in the field and coordinated the San Jose City College Alcohol and Drug Studies program since 1990. Our ADS Advisory Board is hosting our 7th Addiction Treatment Works counselors awards ceremony this year! I am currently the Clinical Director of a small outpatient program, Attachment Infused Addiction Treatment, in San Jose.

In my first term on the CCAPP Board, I have learned so much about state-wide SUD treatment, and I have been amazed at how robust our legislative efforts are on behalf of SUD counseling professionals. I have also enjoyed the opportunity to help some of you navigate the CCAPP process when I could. I am passionate about addiction counselors and am deeply committed to the growth of our profession. I humbly ask you to allow me to serve another term as your District 7 representative.

Guillermo Rodriguez

My name is Guillermo Rodriguez, and it’s an honor to be on this voling ballot because I believe in change and making that change starts within. One thing that has inspired me to run as a candidate for election to CCAPP’s Board of Directors is how involved CCAPP is with the community from a legislative standpoint to supporting new SUD counselors. As a lecturer at the California State University of Monterey Bay, I always encourage students to pursue their dreams and achievements. At one point in my life, I was a lost soul in my addiction. Today, my vision of a whole new profound way of living, I speak from the heart and share my story with others.

I have the passion, and it is my destiny to be an advocate in the SUD field. I work in the emergency department, and I see the damage substance use and mental health does to our community. As a clinical social worker, I continue to further my education as a doctoral of social work (DSW) student at the University of Southern California. This provides me with the opportunity to continue to learn, grow and invest in making a difference by stepping up to address the taboo: mental health and substance use among the Latino community. Being bilingual and bicultural, I will continue to empower my community by being involved in political movements as well.

I hope that with your vote and support, I will earn a seat at the table of CCAPP’s Board of Directors and be the voice for my district. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Being someone who exemplifies resilience and change, I believe that I am at the right place and time in my life for this opportunity. ¡Gracias!

Election of Category B: Program Members to the Board of Directors

All current program members that are designated as the official voting representative are eligible to vote and to nominate or be nominated. To renew your membership,  please visit our membership site, and follow the instructions for renewal.

Anyone needing assistance with your membership status or renewal may contact the CCAPP office by calling 800-564-5927 Tuesday-Thursday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. You may email membership, use the contact form, or use the chat feature located at the bottom right of the website. Chat is available weekdays from 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM. After these hours the chat function becomes an email function you can use.

Candidates for Election to the Board of Directors

Category B: Program Members

All program members’ voting representatives may vote for three candidates

Evan Amarni

Multi Concept Recovery

My name is Evan Amarni. I am a LAADC-CA and am also a Certified Intervention Professional with my master’s degree in psychology with an emphasis on Industrial Organizational Psychology. I am currently the CEO of Multi Concept Recovery in Burbank, CA where we provide Substance Use Disorder Treatment as well as Mental Health Treatment in an outpatient setting. I’m passionate about so many things in our profession but, as it relates to the Board position, I am committed to aiding whenever I can to improve credentialing needs/efficiency and ensuring the CCAPP standards continue at the highest level possible. I have been involved with previous Boards (CAADAC) and have continued to be of service with CCAPP in various capacities. It is always such an honor to be of service to an organization that has continuously provided me with so much including, but not limited to, education on legislation, advocacy, professional development, and so much more. If elected, I vow to continue to do the very best I can to represent the program members across the state and be a conduit for change and advocacy ensuring our programs have a voice with honor and integrity. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to your vote in this years election.

Warmest regards,
Evan Amarni, MS, LAADC-CA, CIP

Brandon Fernandez

CRI-Help, Inc

I joined CRI-Help in 2013 as a volunteer. Today, I have the privilege of serving as CRI-Help’s Executive Director. CRI-Help is a non-profit corporation, specializing in the treatment of substance use and co-occurring disorders. CRI-Help was founded in 1971; today, our residential programs operate over 200 DHCS licensed and certified residential treatment beds in Los Angeles County, in addition to our independent outpatient and sober living programs.

Service is a necessary component of recovery. When we talk about being of service, we often think of 12-Step fellowships. Being of service may also require active engagement in our communities. CCAPP helps shape and mold the SUD landscape in California. Our SUD landscape is a constantly changing environment. Sometimes, it feels like the change is happening to us, and that we lack agency. However, this is not the case. Policy decisions, with multi-year (sometimes decades long) ramifications are made. We can help make those decisions via our willingness to be of service to organizations like CCAPP. Issues around documentation reform, payment reform, counselor education…We have the ability to help lift our colleagues and friends, and help move our field forward.

I am dedicated to helping move our field forward, while maintaining a commitment to the values that we (our field) hold close to our hearts. I am a person in recovery. As a direct result of my recovery, I obtained a Master’s in Public Health from UCLA, I am a proud father of two boys (ages four and five), I am a member of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Substance Abuse Prevention and Control’s Provider Advisory Committee, and I am a current member of CCAPP’s Board of Directors. Recovery enables us to do incredible things, and it is our responsibility to be of service to others.

Eric Smith

Granite Wellness

My name is Eric Smith – I am honored to have been nominated for this position and humbly ask for your vote!

I’ve spent most of my life in northern California, and currently have a home near Beale Air Force Base, where I live with my 2 daughters, son, and trusted hound dog and fishing partner. I worked for years in agriculture until about 17 yrs ago I found recovery and went back to college to complete a degree in counseling.

I decided in 2004 to go back to college and learn about SUD counseling, I graduated Yuba College in 2006 and finished my certification process for a CADC II in 2008. I’ve worked for Granite Wellness Centers for 14 yrs and have enjoyed working in most all programs for a period of time. I have been Granite Wellness Centers program representative for, the past 7 or so years my focus has been primarily on program compliance and I greatly enjoy increasing quality of care to our clients through program compliance and training in my current role as Compliance Director.

If elected I plan to use my 3 yr term to first and foremost support CCAPP program members. I want to continue to be involved in the legislative process as the time for us to become licensed as a profession is long overdue, and it is time that counselors are compensated equally with other licensed profession, don’t you agree?