New SAAS Board President announced

The State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) has announced that Constance Peters, MSPA, has been selected as its new Board President effective Oct. 19, 2012.

Peters currently serves as the Vice President for Addiction Services at the Association for

Behavioral Healthcare (ABH),Inc.  She also has over 20 years of experience working with state and federally-funded programs for people with mental health and substance use disorders

Prior to becoming the SAAS Board President, Peters served as Vice-President and then President Elect, and has also participated in the SAAS Public Policy and Practice Committees for many years.

As President, Peters represents addiction treatment providers at the state and national levels by meeting with agency staff, administration officials, and members of the legislature and Congress about policy, programmatic, regulatory and budgetary matters. She provides leadership to the field to strengthen provider capacity to deliver quality care and encourage the development of state-of-the-art policies and service programs through a collaborative planning process with stakeholders.

“We are pleased and excited to announce Connie as the new President of the State Associations of Addiction Services. With her many years of experience, Connie’s leadership will strengthen the work of the association and aid the staff in accomplishing our mission--to ensure quality addiction services nationwide,” says Becky Vaughn, CEO of SAAS.