Roberto Hess, MSW, LCWSA
Roberto is a Adult Copestone Psychiatric Social Worker at Mission Health Systems. He received an Associates in Human Services from Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College with a Substance Abuse Studies concentration and has a Social Work degree from Western Carolina University. Roberto comes from an Air Force family in Eastern NC and currently resides in Asheville, NC. Roberto Hess has worked professionally with criminal offenders, survivors of sexual assault, veterans and the active duty members of the U.S. military, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, people who use drugs and the elderly. Roberto enjoys playing drums, writing poetry, reading, relaxing on the beach, hiking, flying in airplanes, going out to eat and drinking coffee (soy vanilla lattes).
Diannee Carden Glenn
Diannee Carden Glenn, with a background in law enforcement and the medical field, advocates for harm reduction and Hepatitis C treatment. Founder of ekiM For Change LLC, she serves on multiple advisory councils, including Mental Health America of Eastern Carolina. She’s actively involved in various groups addressing issues such as domestic violence, mental health diversion, and naloxone deployment. Diannee is a frequent speaker on addiction and child overdose at seminars and conferences, contributing extensively to public health initiatives.
William (Bill) Zule, DrPH
Since 1989 William (Bill) Zule has been involved in research to reduce the spread and progression of HIV and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) among people who use drugs. He obtained his doctor of public health (Dr.P.H.) degree from the University of Texas School of Public Health in 1996. He was an Instructor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio prior to joining RTI International in 1999. His current research focuses on how different types of syringes influence HIV transmission among people who inject drugs and on the development of low intensity computer tailored HIV/HCV prevention interventions. His activities also involve initiating campaigns to translate research findings into wide- spread practice in order to broaden the impact of his research. He has been a member of the Board of NCHRC since 2006.
Catherine Paquette, PhD
Catherine Paquette is a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University with over a decade of research and clinical experience in the fields of harm reduction and substance use disorder treatment. She completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and previously managed harm reduction programs at a nonprofit organization called HIPS in Washington, D.C. She has volunteered with NCHRC’s direct service programs, including the Durham syringe services program, since moving back to North Carolina in 2017. Her research focuses on harm reduction interventions for physical and mental health among people who use criminalized drugs, including people affected by the criminal legal system. Her recent work includes developing and empirically evaluating a harm reduction-focused behavioral intervention for substance use among people who inject drugs.