GCADA
Membership & Staff
The Council is comprised of fourteen public members and twelve ex officio members.
Of the public members:
- Two are directly appointed by the Senate president;
- Two are directly appointed by the Assembly Speaker; and,
- Ten are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Of the ten gubernatorial appointments:
- Two shall be recovering alcoholics; and,
- Two shall be recovering drug abusers.
The twelve ex-officio members are:
- The Commissioners of the Departments of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health, Human Services, Labor and Work Force Development; and the,
- Administrative Office of the Courts (Administrative Director)
- Adjutant General (Department of Military and Veterans Affairs)
- Attorney General (Department of Law and Public Safety)
- New Jersey Presidents' Council (Chair of the executive board)
John Hulick |
John Hulick offers a wealth of government experience and dedication to community service, and has become a leading expert on alcoholism and drug abuse both nationally and in New Jersey. He was nominated by Governor Christopher J. Christie in June 2011 as Executive Director of the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and was confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate in January 2012.
Prior to joining the Council, John served as Governor Christie's Policy Advisor for Human Services, Children and Families. In this capacity, John helped shape Christie Administration policy related to child protection and welfare, people with disabilities, behavioral health, as well as economically disadvantaged individuals and families. He worked on a number of major Administration policy initiatives including: closure of state-run developmental centers and expanding community-based residential settings for people with developmental disabilities; as well as, re-tooling of the state's drug courts which involved a significant expansion of treatment instead of incarceration efforts in New Jersey.
John was also the former Director of Public Affairs and Policy for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) - New Jersey for sixteen years, where he directed the agency's statewide public affairs and legislative initiatives to educate the public about alcohol and drug addiction and to expand treatment and recovery opportunities for those who are addicted. Throughout much of his life, John has chosen to lead in the fight for equal opportunities for people with disabilities and in efforts to improve his hometown, Hamilton Township, as well as communities throughout New Jersey.
To this end, John founded and served as the first executive director of Signs of Sobriety, Inc., a nationally recognized agency that provides addiction advocacy, education, and treatment services for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in New Jersey. He has also worked with and trained community leaders throughout the state to combat alcohol and drug addiction and to equip them with essential skills to address this devastating public health problem.
John was the architect of landmark disabilities access law that created a dedicated source of revenue to establish an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Disabled. This law established the only program in the nation specifically established to create access to addiction services for people with disabilities. He was also instrumental in enactment of the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Licensing Act, which has afforded protections to consumers of addiction treatment since 1997.
John's career began with the state's Election Law Enforcement Commission in 1983. He also worked as a legislative aide on labor issues in Gov. Thomas Kean's administration.
John was a member of the Hamilton Township Board of Education where he led efforts to improve board governance and transparency as well as increase district oversight and accountability. He also led the anti-drug initiatives in Hamilton as the first Chairman of the Municipal Alliance Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. As Chairman, John was instrumental in having the Hamilton Township Board of Education restore funding cuts to full-time substance awareness coordinator services in the township's high schools.
John earned his Masters Degree in Public Policy from Rutgers University. His undergraduate studies were at Western New England College where he earned a degree in Government. John and his wife, MaryAnn, have three children Paige, Joshua, and Noah, and one grandchild, Justin.
Celina Gray |
Celina Gray has dedicated most of her career to community health, with a commitment to quality of life for all individuals, particularly the most disenfranchised among us. Early in her career she developed, wrote, produced and directed theater and film projects based on true-events and human-interest stories, which ultimately fueled her passion for social issues.
Celina subsequently transitioned to work in the non-profit community, where she created, executed and directed a variety of public awareness, advertising, marketing and development projects for organizations that include the March of Dimes, North Hudson Community Action Corporation, and VNA of Central Jersey. During this time she served on efforts such as the New Jersey Primary Care Association State Marketing Board and Jersey City Cancer Coalition, and acted as Health Center Advocacy Coordinator for the National Association of Community Health Centers.
In her previous position as Executive Director of the Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma, Celina developed, implemented and oversaw the Council's signature statewide mental health and anti-stigma public awareness campaign, "A Community Effort," working with community partners across New Jersey and beyond, to help change the conversation about mental health.
As Director of Public Awareness and Community Relations for the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (GCADA), under the leadership of Executive Director John Hulick, she has been afforded an extraordinary opportunity to inform constituents, and change perception about addiction, by way of public awareness campaigns and collaborative community partnerships.
Celina currently serves on efforts that include New Jersey Veterans Services Enhancement Coalition, Monmouth County Suicide Prevention Task Force, Bergen Community College Wellness Planning Committee, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Suicide Prevention Committee, and the New Jersey Youth Development Council.
A graduate of Brooklyn College and the Juilliard School of Music, Ms. Gray was named one of 1995 Asbury Park Press' Five Women of the Year, and was the recipient of both the 2008 Governor Richard J. Codey Health Champion Award and the 2011 Cop2Cop Advocacy Award. She remains inspired and is honored to be part of GCADA's effort to lead the way for healthy and safe communities.
Rebecca Alfaro |
Rebecca Alfaro has spent most of her career working in the field of substance abuse prevention with the Municipal Alliance Program. She started her work in Ocean County as the County Alliance Coordinator before joining the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse as a State Alliance Coordinator. Ms. Alfaro is currently the Director of Prevention and Training and is responsible for overseeing the network of 385 Municipal Alliances in New Jersey. This includes addressing the training needs of those grass roots community coalitions as well.
Ms. Alfaro earned her Masters Degree in Social Work from Monmouth University with a concentration in International and Community Development which has given her the opportunity to take part in needs assessments, research and evaluation with communities throughout the United States and internationally. Her undergraduate studies were at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she earned a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. On a volunteer basis, Ms. Alfaro has spent over ten years providing crisis intervention with survivors of sexual assault in Ocean County. She spends much of her time advocating for social justice issues including human rights and child welfare.
George Myers
State Alliance Coordinator
Kevin Sullivan
State Alliance Coordinator
John McLaughlin
Operations Manager
Kelly Ardente
Executive Assistant
Katelyn Assenheimer
Secretarial Assistant
