Administrative Team
Connie Greene, MA, CAS, CSW, CPS
Senior Vice President, RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery
Connie Greene, MA, CAS, CSW, CPS, is the Senior Vice President of RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR) and has worked for RWJBarnabas Health since 1993. Under her leadership, IFPR has become a leader in the state in the delivery of behavioral health, drug and alcohol and addiction prevention and intervention services. IFPR is widely recognized for its training and educational programs for schools, agencies, businesses and healthcare organizations.
As co-chair of the RWJBarnabas Health’s Tackling Addiction Task Force, Ms. Greene works alongside other RWJBarnabas Health leaders to set the standard for executing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to combatting substance use disorder and enhancing pain management across the healthcare system. Since its inception, the Tackling Addiction Task Force has worked to establish best practices, ensure the highest level of quality care is delivered to patients with substance use disorder, and provide the necessary tools to promote evidence-based and comprehensive substance use disorder services throughout the RWJBarnabas Health system.
In 2023, she was re-elected Chairperson of the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) Professional Advisory Committee for Addictions. The goal of the Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) is to make recommendations pertinent to the prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery of substance use disorders, as well as co-occurring disorders, to the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services (DHS) through the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). Through such recommendations, the PAC advocates for an integrated, holistic system of care to promote overall wellness.
Recently elected Vice Chair of the New Jersey Behavioral Health Planning Council, she works alongside other New Jersey residents in the mental health and substance abuse community, including advocacy agencies, providers, consumers, family members, and State staff from various departments and divisions to oversee DMHAS planning and activities specific to the New Jersey Community Mental Health Services Block Grant and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant.
Through her expertise and unique training style, Ms. Greene is a well-known trainer and consultant to school districts in the areas of Intervention and Referral Services, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and drug and alcohol prevention and intervention programming.
Ms. Greene, earned a bachelor’s degree in Education from the City University of New York and a master’s degree in Management and Administration, with a concentration in Personnel, from Central Michigan University. She is also a Certified Addiction Specialist, Certified Prevention Specialist and Certified Social Worker.
Michael Litterer, MPA, FHELA, CHES, CPS, Vice President, RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery
Michael Litterer, MPA, FHELA, CHES, CPS, Vice President, RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR), provides executive oversight to all programs and services implemented at IFPR by a team of highly skilled and incredibly passionate staff of professionals.
Michael brings over 23 years of experience in public health and social care, with a special focus on substance use prevention and recovery, to his role. He is a Fellow of the Healthcare Executive Leadership Academy (FHELA), a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and a Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS). He holds an Executive Master’s degree in Public Administration from Rutgers University and a degree in Public Health.
Michael is a proud member of the multidisciplinary RWJBarnabas Health Corporate Tackling Addiction Task Force, which aims to holistically address the chronic disease of addiction throughout RWJBarnabas Health, reduce the stigma associated with substance use disorder and transform the way we prevent, diagnose and treat the disease throughout our system and communities.
Previously, Michael was the Deputy Director and Chief Business Officer at Prevention Links, a community-based non-profit leader focused on drugs, alcohol and tobacco prevention. His role included overseeing multiple evidence-based programs and establishing multiple Family Success Centers and the Health and Wellness Coalition of Union County. Michael was also instrumental in opening New Jersey’s first recovery high school, the Raymond J. Lesniak Recovery High School, in Union, New Jersey.
Additionally, Michael is a Class of 2019 New Jersey Health Care Executive Leadership Academy Fellow. He is a Rutgers Certified Strategic Prevention Framework Trainer and was selected as a member of the 2009 National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD-NJ) - New Jersey Leadership in Advocacy program. He has experience at the local level advocating for issues affecting prevention, early intervention, and recovery. A national presenter on the topic of substance abuse prevention, coalition building, current substance use trends and recovery, Michael has presented to thousands of parents, professionals and community members.
Elliott Liebling, MPH, Director
Elliott Liebling, MPH, Director, RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery, oversees the Institute’s operations, substance use prevention programs, and a team of mixed methods researchers tasked with designing and managing IT, data, and analytics systems. His research on peer recovery support services, substance use, pain, and access to treatment has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. Elliott is a member of the RWJBarnabas Health Corporate Tackling Addiction Task Force, the RWJBarnabas Health Pain Collaborative, and the New Jersey State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup. He received his bachelor’s degree and Master of Public Health from Brown University and is pursuing a Juris Doctor degree at Seton Hall University.
Gina Bucci, LCSW, Director
Gina Bucci is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Director at RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery. She has over 10 years experiencing treating individuals with substance use disorder and their families. In her current role, Gina oversees the Peer Recovery Program (PRP), the largest provider of hospital and community-based recovery support services in the country, with over 100 staff of Recovery Specialists, Case Managers and Patient Navigators. She also oversees the Deliberate Reduction of Opioid Prescribing (DROP) program, focused on the intersection between chronic and acute pain and substance use disorder. The DROP program is responsible for launching the health system’s Pain Collaborative to develop and standardized best practices.Gina earned a Master’s degree from Rutgers University and graduated in the first cohort of the Addiction Counselor in Training program. She has extensive experience in program development, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and group facilitation.
Monica Hanna, MPH, CHES, NCTTP, Assistant Director, Nicotine and Tobacco Recovery Program
Monica Hanna, MPH, CHES, NCTTP is the Assistant Director for the RWJ Barnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery Nicotine and Tobacco Recovery Program. Monica holds a Master in Public Health with a Concentration in Community Health from Montclair State University. She is credentialed as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) through the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). Monica also maintains a National Certificate in Tobacco Treatment Practice through the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC), in partnership with the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD). Monica has over 12 years of experience working with at-risk populations and over 7 years in leading and developing nicotine and tobacco cessation programs. Monica currently oversees the tobacco quit centers across 7 counties, including Middlesex, Mercer, Ocean, Somerset, Monmouth, Union and Essex counties. Her department consists of 9 dedicated staff members including 6 Tobacco Treatment Specialists, an Integration Manager, Community Educator, and Tobacco Coordinator who are collaboratively responsible for leading the system-wide strategic plan and implementation for tobacco services.
Jennifer Luyster, Assistant Director of Clinical Services (Southern Team – Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties)
Jennifer Luyster is an Assistant Director of Clinical Services for Barnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the Peer Recovery Program Southern team of Patient Navigators and Support Team for Addiction Recovery Southern team of Case Managers. Patient Navigators screen individuals seeking treatment and recovery support services and help link them to services. She has over twenty years of experience in the field of substance use working for non-profit and for-profit agencies, private practice, and a statewide youth helpline. Most recently, she served as the Director of the Monmouth County Intoxicated Driver Resource Center. Prior to that, she was the Coordinator for both the Substance Use Program for Women and the 2ND FLOOR Youth Helpline at 180 Turning Lives Around, the domestic violence agency for Monmouth County. Jennifer earned a master's degree in Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She also is a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC), Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS), Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) and Disaster Response Crisis Counselor for Monmouth County.
Alexis M. LaPietra, DO, FACEP
Dr. Alexis LaPietra is an emergency medicine, pain management, and addiction medicine physician at RWJBarnabas Health, where she serves as the System Director of Addiction Medicine for the Emergency Medicine and Hospitalist Service Line as well as the Medical Director for the Institute for Prevention and Recovery. She completed her Emergency Medicine residency at St Joseph’s Health in 2014 and, from there, went on to complete a pain management fellowship. She founded the St Joseph’s Health Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) Program in 2016, and her work has been highlighted in the NY Times, CNN, Fox News, NPR, and MSNBC. The ALTO program serves as a national model for emergency medicine pain management reform and, in 2018, led to the creation of the ED-ALT Act, part of the Support for Patients and Communities HR 6 bill signed into law by President Trump.
In 2020, Dr. LaPietra became board-certified in Addiction Medicine. Her current work is focused on reducing the stigma and barriers to providing comprehensive addiction care within all healthcare settings. She is also integrating harm reduction into medical practice, enabling health engagement for all patients throughout every phase of use and recovery.
Paris J Branda, MSW, LCADC, Assistant Director
Paris Branda currently holds the position of assistant director of recovery support services at RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery. Overseeing the hospital-based recovery specialist throughout all of the RWJBarnabas Health affiliated hospitals. Paris has years of experience in the substance use field, with 13 years of direct practice along with lived experience. Paris is an alumnus of Seton Hall and Rutgers State University and is also an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University’s graduate psychology program. Paris is a licensed clinical addiction counselor in NJ and has the balance between recovery supports and clinical services.