America's Opioid Epidemic

Rick Dyer is an attorney and advocate for recovery who knows what it is like to be on both sides of the law. He overcame his struggles from heroin addiction, homelessness and incarceration, received a Governor’s pardon and presently practices law in the same court he was sentenced out of over 8 times. He has appeared in numerous national and international publications and broadcasts. Image: recoverylaw.us

Dr. Andrew Kolodny is one of the nation’s leading experts on the prescription opioid and heroin crisis. He is Co-Director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. While working for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Office of the Executive Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Kolodny developed and implemented multiple programs to improve the health of New Yorkers and save lives. Image: Brandeis University, The Heller School

Professor Madras is a Professor of Psychobiology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Laboratory of Addiction Neurobiology at McLean Hospital, with a cross-appointment at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Her laboratory focuses on neurobiology, brain imaging, medications development, and prevention. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine Collaborative on the opioid crisis and has received numerous awards for her work. Image: McLeanHospital.org

Barry Meier, author of Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic, was a member of the New York Times reporting team that won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. He is also a Pulitzer finalist and a two-time winner of the George Polk Award. At The Times, his work concentrated on the intersection of business, medicine and the public’s health. He exposed the dangers of various drugs and medical products, and was the first journalist to shed a national spotlight on the abuse of OxyContin. Image: BarryMeierBooks.com