Career Achievement Awards at East Coast Symposium
2022 Career Achievement Awards
Every year at the East Coast Symposium, Ashley is pleased to honor two professionals, nominated by their colleagues, who have impacted the addiction treatment field with their efforts in helping patients and their families heal. To nominate a fellow colleague, please submit below. Nominations close June 15, 2022.
The Ashley Addiction Treatment
Innovator Award
This award recognizes a professional with ten years or less of service who has made an impact in the field of recovery through innovation, commitment and dynamic thinking.
The Father Joseph C. Martin Professional Excellence Award
This award is given to a professional with 20 or more years of experience who embodies Father Martin’s legacy of treatment with dignity and respect — with continuous efforts in helping individuals and their families achieve long-term recovery. Previous winners include Ray Tamasi, Claudia Black and Jerry Moe.
Career Achievement Award recipients
2022 winners
Ashley Addiction Treatment Innovator Award: Natasha Guynes
Natasha Guynes is the Founder and President of HER Resiliency Center (HER), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support and guidance to vulnerable young women as they work to become self-sufficient, independent adults. Natasha is a change-maker who has changed the trajectory of hundreds of women’s lives simply by telling her story of triumph over poverty, addiction and sexual exploitation, using the power of authenticity and human connection to help young women across the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.
Prior to founding HER, Natasha served on Capitol Hill in the offices of Senator Harry Reid, Sen. Ben Nelson, Sen. Brian Schatz and the Senate Commission on Long-Term Care. Natasha leveraged her extensive background in managing the day-to-day operations of several United States Senators, as well as her operational skills within several advocacy organizations, to eventually found HER in 2015 and make it a household name within five short years.
In 2020, Natasha ran for a City Council seat in Baltimore City’s 10th District. Having run an incredible grassroots campaign focused on the needs of the underserved, amidst a global pandemic, Natasha was able to highlight the need for more trauma-focused support for the city, both its institutions as well as its residents.
Natasha is incredibly dedicated to the recovery community and women in need and volunteers her time and support in a variety of ways.
Father Joseph C. Martin Professional Excellence Award: Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM
Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM, is a family practitioner and the senior medical consultant for the Pain Recovery Program at The Pointe Malibu Recovery Center. Following another of his passions, Dr. Pohl also serves as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Next to his certification by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM), he is also a distinguished fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).
Greatly valued by his peers, Dr. Pohl was elected to be included in the Best Doctors in America® from 2009 to the present. Sharing his knowledge with other experts in the field, Dr. Pohl is the author of multiple books, including bestsellers: The Pain Antidote: The Proven Program to Help You Stop Suffering from Chronic Pain, Avoid Addiction to Painkillers, Reclaim Your Life, A Day Without Pain, Pain Recovery for Families, and others.
2021 winners
Ashley Addiction Treatment Innovator Award: Michael Hinkley, PhD, MSW, LADC
The Ashley Addiction Treatment Innovator Award recipient this year is Michael Hinkley, PhD, MSW, LADC, founder, chief clinical officer and healthcare ethicist of Wildwood Behavioral Health and Recovery at Wildwood Farm. Dr. Michael Hinkley’s vision for an evidence-based clinical program designed to create a transformative experience for clients in early recovery is the combination of the two organizations he founded. There, he focuses on treating substance use disorders and any co-occurring disorders with a special focus on the LGBTQIA+ community. Driven by the desire to share his knowledge of the LGBTQIA+ community in connection with substance use disorder, Dr. Hinkley lectures widely on these topics.
Previously, Dr. Hinkley served as a parish priest for 20 years and worked with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, addressing the needs of men with HIV/AIDS.
Father Joseph C. Martin Professional Excellence Award: George Kolodner, MD
This year, the Father Joseph C. Martin Professional Excellence Award recipient is George Kolodner, MD, chief innovation officer from Kolmac. Dr. George Kolodner is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist and founder of Kolmac Outpatient Recovery Centers. He implemented the country’s first intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment program for substance use disorders and has worked tirelessly to increase awareness of IOP care while keeping Kolmac on the cusp of leading-edge treatment for women and men.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Kolodner successfully transitioned withdrawal management to a virtual, safe format. This has made treatment even more accessible to the general population in a meaningful and cost-effective manner.
One of Dr. Kolodner’s passions is also to work on changing the policies and practices of insurance companies and medical organizations surrounding substance use disorder treatment. As an editor of the ASAM Criteria, he expanded the severity of withdrawal management treatable through outpatient services.
Past winners
Ashley Addiction Treatment Innovator Award
The 2019 award winner is: Ian Koch, CAS, LCADC
The 2018 award winner is: Marvin Ventrell, JD & Executive Director of NAATP
The Father Joseph C. Martin Professional Excellence Award
The 2019 award winner is: Barbara Woods, LCSW
The 2018 award winner is: Faith Strong