Leadership
Jill M. Williams, MD, Medical Director and Co-Founder
Jill Williams, MD is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at Rutgers University- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick. She holds faculty appointments at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and is affiliated with the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies. She received her medical degree from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway and completed her residency training at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Dr Williams also completed a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
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The focus of Dr. Williams work has been in Addressing Tobacco in individuals with Mental Illness or other Addictions. She is a member of the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD), the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), and the American Association of Community Psychiatrists (AACP). Dr. Williams has developed training curricula for behavioral health professionals and manualized treatments for treating tobacco in mental health settings.
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Dr. Williams has received research funding from sources including the National Institues on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and American Legacy Foundation. Her publications have appeared in numerous journals including Nicotine and Tobacco Research, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.
Trish Dooley Budsock, LPC, CTTS, Program Director
Patricia Dooley, MA, LPC, CTTS joined the CHOICES team in 2010 as Program Director. Trish has a Master’s Degree in Counselor Education, and is a Licensed Professional Counselor, as well as a Tobacco Treatment Specialist. Trish has been the clinician for a number of clinical trials specific to various medications and behavioral therapies for tobacco dependence in the SMI population in the Division of Addiction Psychiatry. In her role, Trish manages many of the day to day operations and helps to organize the CHOICES team.
Marie Verna, Advocacy Director and Co-Founder
Marie Verna is a Senior Training and Consultation Specialist at Rutgers University Behavioral Healthcare’s Center for Excellence in Psychiatry (CFEP) where she develops and delivers wellness and recovery curricula to champion teams at behavioral health organizations nationwide. She works with the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in developing a Wellness Action Plan and with the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (NJ-DMHS) to promote the integration of physical healthcare with mental healthcare. Prior to the CFEP, Marie was the Director of Advocacy at the Mental Health Association in New Jersey , where she prioritized the development of policy concerning tobacco cessation, the education of consumers about the risks of smoking, the discriminatory and critical shortage of tobacco-cessation services and feasible recommendations for addressing wellness.
Margaret Molnar, Liaison to NJ Division of Mental Health Services
Margaret Molnar is the Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs to the NJ Division of Mental Health Services. Margaret is very committed to the needs of consumers and works with the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services on a variety of projects dedicated to improving Wellness and Recovery in persons with mental illness.
