Real Help-Real Hope: How Can We Access You Part 4?

Katy Freund brings a unique blend of law enforcement experience and public health expertise to her work in overdose prevention. She earned her undergraduate degree in Anthropology from the University of Georgia in 2000, followed by a Master of Public Health in Global Health Practice from the University of South Florida in 2008.

Katy began her career serving as a patrol officer in 2003 with the Athens-Clarke County and Peachtree City Police Departments, where she worked for seven years before transitioning into public health. In 2012, she joined the Fulton County Board of Health as a Disease Intervention Specialist and later as Health Outreach Supervisor, overseeing communicable disease clinics and outreach initiatives.

Since 2020, Katy has served as the Public Health Analyst for the state of Georgia with the Overdose Response Strategy (ORS). In this role, she leads efforts to design and implement programs aimed at preventing overdose and substance use disorder, while fostering collaboration and information sharing across government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private sector partners.

Beyond her professional work, Katy is passionate about spending time outdoors, enjoys spicy food, and expresses her creativity through pottery and sculpting. 

Rev. Dr. Vonshurii S. Wrighten is a graduate of The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia. While matriculating at ITC he was inducted into Theta Phi International Honor Society. While at the I.T.C. he received honors for his leadership ability and was awarded the Daniel Lott Jacob Leadership Award, Isaac R. Clark Preaching Award and the Deans Award. His focus of study was the Psychology of Religion and Pastoral Care and Counseling. Upon completion of his course work at the ITC, he furthered his clinical experience by completing a year of Clinical Pastoral Education at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Rev. Wrighten is a Master Level Addiction Counselor and a certified John Maxwell life coach, trainer, and speaker. 

Rev. Vonshurii S. Wrighten, has over thirty-five years of experience as a leader in the field of addiction and behavioral health. In response to his bi-vocational call, his focus has been to integrate the sacred and secular treatment the millions who suffer with the disease of addiction. As the former Director of Fuqua Hall of the Atlanta Union Mission he assisted in building one of the premier faith-based recovery centers in the state of Georgia. As the Assistant Project Director of the Southeast Addiction Technology Transfer Center, at Morehouse School of Medicine, Reverend Wrighten helped to forge one of the nation’s largest faith-based conferences. He is currently the Pastor of The New Life AME, in Scottdale, GA. In addition, he is the Director of Substance Use Disorder Initiatives and the State Opioid Treatment Authority in the Office of Addictive Diseases in the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. Rev. Dr. Wrighten is known for his visionary leadership and his ability to initiate and execute from vision to realization.  

Dr.KimberlyColeyHenderson,

Dr.KimberlyColeyHenderson,servesasthe OrganizerandChiefExecutiveOfficerof CareLink of Georgia, a Non-Profit Corporation dedicated to facilitating access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) treatment for patients with financial barriers.As CEO of CareLink Of Georgia, Dr. Henderson has allocated and disbursed over $7 million to Opioid Treatment Programs across Georgia, since 2023, supporting MOUDtreatmentforuninsuredandunderinsuredindividualswithOpioidUseDisorder (OUD) who lacked financial resources for care.Additionally, CareLink plays an active role in educating key stakeholders about MOUD.

Dr. Henderson brings extensive clinical and business expertise to her work. With more than 25 years dedicated to serving the OUD patient community, Dr. Henderson has demonstrated enduring commitment and leadership. In 2021, she was honored with the DBHDDAward of Excellence for her contributions to the treatment of individuals with OpioidUseDisorder.Dr. Hendersonhas alsobeenanactivememberoftheOpioidTreatmentProviders of Georgia (OTPG), previously serving as Treasurer and currently, as of 2024, holding the position as Presidentof OTPG. Previously, she had a distinguished tenure at Eckerd Drugs, where she participated in the Pharmacy Speakers Bureau, served as Corporate Initiatives Representative, and held the position of Pharmacy District Manager. During her time with Eckerd, she was also a member of the Georgia Drug Utilization Review Board. Subsequently, Dr. Henderson worked as a Pharmacy and Durable Medical EquipmentAuditor for Xerox Corporation, auditing claims for major health insurance providers such asAetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Humana.

Rachel Morris is the Communications Specialist for Georgia Prevention Project. Her role includes building and maintaining community partnerships, managing the day to day activities of our team members, and overseeing any creative projects related to our social media or community outreach. In addition, she manages our Substance Education Training Program, Internship Program, and our new College Expansion Program. Rachel joined the GPP family in January 2021. Rachel originally found her way to GPP as a college undergraduate looking for a local organization to complete her capstone project through. GPP was kind enough to take her on as an intern, and it was history ever sense. During her internship, Rachel gained valuable experience in event planning and management, program design, and in communications. She had the opportunity of designing our first ever virtual Vape Summit, which allowed middle and high school students from across the state to learn about the dangers of vaping amidst COVID-19. That following year Rachel was brought on as our Substance Education Training (SET) Program Coordinator, where she single handedly re-vamped all of our educational resources that are currently offered for both middle and high school educators. Additionally, she established our Annual SET training and has trained over 100 educators in the state of Georgia on the impact of substance use. Thanks to her, our resources are now in 95 counties across the state. GPP has given Rachel a deep appreciation for the non-profit field and she looks forward to growing both professionally and personally in the coming years. Rachel was born and raised in Duluth Georgia and graduated from Kennesaw State University with her Bachelors in Public Health Education. She is currently working on achieving her CP Certification (Certified Preventionist) to ensure that she is utilizing best practices within the substance use prevention field. Rachel is a multi-passionate person and enjoys hiking, painting, yoga, and cooking in her spare time.

Jeff Breedlove serves as Chief of Communications and Policy for the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. Jeff is an Assistant Scout Master for the Boy Scouts of America, and serves on the Board of Directors of MARR Addiction Treatment Center and the Georgia School of Addiction Studies. In 2018, Jeff was awarded the “God Send Award” from the Boy Scouts of America for dedication and service to the Boy Scouts. In the recent past, Jeff Breedlove served as Chief of Staff for DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester. Jeff served as a senior staff member to Congressman Bob Barr in the historic 104th Congress and again in the 105th Congress.

Jeff Breedlove served as the Deputy Director for the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development for Governor Nathan Deal and as a policy analyst for the Georgia State Senate.

In 2004, Jeff was selected to serve as a volunteer for the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, Georgia. He has served as a staff vice-chair for The National Conference of State Legislatures on the Transportation Committee and as a member of The Council of State Governments Southern Legislative Conference Committee on Economic Development, Transportation and Cultural Affairs.

Jeff also served as the Georgia state director for The American Council of Young Political Leaders and was the former Georgia state director Sister Cities International and a member of the City of Atlanta Sister City Commission.

Jeff is married to Kathryn Ballou; they reside in the Grant Park neighborhood in Atlanta. They have a son, Lawrence Foster “Jack” Breedlove, who was born in Gansu, The People’s Republic of China. He is a person in long-term recovery with a passion to share his story so others know Recovery is real.

Audition for the OTPG Talent Show & Join the Fun.

Win prizes and have a "Good Time": Whether you sing, dance, deliver spoken words, act, etc., We Want To See!!

Email a brief audition video to joalfred@bellsouth.net.