National alumni group hires veteran of nonprofits as first director

The organization Treatment Professionals in Alumni Services (TPAS) has taken a meaningful step in its ongoing mission to support addiction treatment centers' alumni-serving professionals by hiring its first executive director.

Christina Carosella has two decades of experience in nonprofit strategic planning, event planning, marketing and fundraising, and also has professional and personal experience in working to improve best practices to support recovery. She will be based in her home area of Colorado.

TPAS founder Lorie Obernauer said of Carosella, “Her leadership and proven track record with nonprofit start-ups will help TPAS provide a forum for collaboration, education, innovation, and the exchange of best practices for those professionals and organizations who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for those recovering from addiction.”

Carosella will focus in her new position on strategic planning, fundraising and membership growth. TPAS has a dozen treatment center charter members that have financed operations to this point, and a total of about 60 to 70 participants have been involved in its initial collaborative meetings.

The organization is seeking to advance its influence at a time when more treatment facilities are embracing a recovery-oriented systems of care (ROSC) approach and extending more ongoing support to patients after they leave the facility.