West Orange, NJ, July 1 2025 – Connie Greene, Senior Vice President for the RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR), was honored by the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies with the Lifetime Achievement in Transformational Leadership Award. This recognition honors individuals who have made phenomenal contributions to the mission of preventing substance use and engaging individuals in treatment.
Ms. Greene has been a trailblazer for the IFPR since joining the system in 1993. Under her leadership, IFPR has become the largest provider of hospital-based recovery support services in the United States and the largest provider of free tobacco and nicotine treatment services in New Jersey. Widely recognized for its training and educational programs for schools, agencies, businesses, and healthcare organizations, IFPR has a significant impact for many on their journey to wellness.
Through Ms. Greene’s guidance, IFPR’s Prevention team has become well-regarded for its innovative programs—such as the DART Prevention Coalition of Ocean County, the PROUD Youth Prevention Network, the Mental Health Awareness Training Program, and the Communities That Care Program—which are recognized for their outstanding work in prevention awareness, education, and training.
Dedicated to destigmatizing addiction, reducing barriers to care, and creating a whole-person continuum of care, Ms. Greene has spearheaded support services for IFPR, most significantly the Peer Recovery Program, which provides 24/7 peer recovery support to individuals across the state.
Ms. Greene serves as co-chair of the RWJBarnabas Health’s Tackling Addiction Task Force (TATF), a system-wide task force for addressing substance use disorder. With her support, the TATF has launched initiatives for providing best-in-class services to patients with substance use disorder—such as the Emergency Department Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Quality Metric, the Emergency Department Naloxone initiative, the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in Primary Care program and the Vivitrol for Alcohol Use Disorder pilot—and has improved system workflows by enhancing screening tools and order sets.
Beyond RWJBarnabas Health, Ms. Greene serves as Chairperson of the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) Professional Advisory Committee for Addictions and Vice Chair of the New Jersey Behavioral Health Planning Council. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the City University of New York and her Master’s in Management and Administration from Central Michigan University. Ms. Greene is a Certified Addiction Specialist, Certified Prevention Specialist, and Certified Social Worker.
Contact:
Carrie Cristello
Carrie.Cristello@rwjbh.org