Addiction in Society Panel

As part of King's Brain Awareness week, Dr. Laura Rosen will be moderating a panel on addiction in society. Panelists are Dr. Jesus Chavarria (Western Psychology), Linda Sibley (former CEO of CMHA Thames Valley), and Brandon Vecchiola '21 (King's alumnua and addiction counsellor). Students, staff, faculty, and alumni are welcome to join in-person or online to learn more about how addiction impacts individuals and the communities in which they live.

Can't attend in person? Join us on Zoom

Panelists:

Linda Sibley, former Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive Officer at CMHA Thames Valley

Linda brings a wealth of experience from her 44-year career in the addiction and mental health sector. Her leadership as an Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive Officer at CMHA Thames Valley has been marked by a fervent commitment to service quality and advocacy for individuals facing addiction and mental health challenges. Linda's hands-on experience in community-based care, the development of system-wide standards of care and expertise in change management underscores her strategic influence on organizational and societal change.

Brandon Vecchiola '21, veteran and Manager of Business Development for CMHA TVAMHS

Motivated to serve and to make a difference, Brandon Joined the Army when he was 18 years old. He served for 12 years, deploying to Kandahar, Afghanistan, as part of the International Security Assistance Force, on Operation Athena. Following his military career and inspired by his own recovery journey (and the wellness journey of his comrades), Brandon pursued a degree in Psychology from King’s University and a career as an addiction and mental health counsellor. Having gained valuable leadership experience as a soldier, psychological researcher, and mental health counsellor, Brandon decided to pivot into leadership and management and is now the Manager of Business Development for CMHA TVAMHS. When Brandon isn’t working, he is travelling, boxing, sailing, playing guitar, writing poetry, or deep in the backcountry kayaking into the wilderness.

Jesus Chavarria, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Western, Director of the RoAD lab

I received my PhD in clinical psychology from Florida State University in 2017. I was then awarded a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health Related Research, which funded a postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago Medical Center where I investigated the psychopharmacology of alcohol use under the mentorship of Dr. Andrea King. After my time at the University of Chicago, I was awarded a Discovery Fund Fellowship from the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health where I continued to investigate the psychopharmacological effects of alcohol under the mentorship of Drs. Christian Hendershot, Samantha Wells, and Jurgen Rehm. In 2022, I became an assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of Western, where I am the director of the Research on Addictions and Disparities (RoAD) laboratory.