Public Policy Committee Meeting - 12/01/2015

Save the date!    Public Policy Meeting on December 1st at 8am.
 
We will be welcoming State Senator Jennifer Flanagan, Chair of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee, and Elizabeth Mahoney, Policy Director for Governor Baker, for a discussion on opioid legislation in Massachusetts. As opioid addiction has become a major problem in our communities, it is important that we learn more about the steps being taken at the state level to combat it.
 
State Senator Jennifer Flanagan is currently leading the fight against opioids and substance abuse in the Massachusetts Senate.  In addition to other committees, she is the Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Opioid Addiction Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Options. She has filed Substance Abuse Recovery legislation which increases opportunities for long-term substance abuse recovery in the Commonwealth by supporting a continuum of care and removing barriers that stand in the way of effective treatment.
Senator Flanagan received a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a Master's of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Fitchburg State College. After serving in the House of Representatives, she was elected to the State Senate in September of 2008 and represents the Worcester and Middlesex District. Senator Flanagan is on the Board of Directors for Women in Government Caucus. She is also a member of the Regional Transportation Authority Caucus, the Gateway Cities Caucus, the Non-Profit Caucus and the Foster Care Caucus.
 
Elizabeth Mahoney is the Policy Director for the Baker administration. She is Governor Baker's point person on opioid policy and played a vital role in preparing the governor's recent opioid legislation. His bill would provide medical personnel with the power to intervene with patients suffering from addiction, control the spread of addictive prescription opioids and increase education about substance use disorder for providers and in the community.
Prior to joining the Baker Administration, she was the Policy Director for Baker's 2014 campaign, Research Director for his 2010 campaign, Manager of Finance Operations for Romney's presidential campaign in 2008, and a Research Analyst for Healey's campaign for governor in 2006.  Between those election years, she was the Executive Director of the Friends of the Public Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan as well as the Chief Finance Officer for the Free and Strong America PAC. She graduated from Harvard University in 2005.

We hope you will join us for this timely and important discussion on the opioid epidemic and what our state leaders are doing to combat it.