Administrative Team

  • Connie Greene
  • Connie Greene, MA, CAS, CSW, CPS
    Senior Vice President , RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery


    Connie Greene, MA, CAS, CSW, CPS, is the Senior Vice President of RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR) and has worked for RWJBarnabas Health since 1993. In her role as Vice President, Connie oversees the daily operations and staff of IFPR’s state-wide prevention and intervention programs. Under her leadership, IFPRhas become a leader in the state in the delivery of behavioral health, drug and alcohol, and addiction prevention and intervention services. IFPR is widely recognized for their training and educational programs for schools, agencies, businesses and health care organizations.
    Expertise and a unique training style have positioned Connie as a well-known trainer and consultant to school districts in the areas of Intervention and Referral Services, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, drug and alcohol prevention and intervention programming and conflict resolution. She is a frequent presenter at state-wide conferences including the NJ School Counselors Association, the State Association for Student Assistance Professionals, New Jersey Prevention Network Conference, Organization of Nurse Executives of New Jersey and the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is also regularly called upon to facilitate issues impacting personnel, in all sectors, by providing conflict resolution and team building programming.
    Most recently, Connie has become very active in the state in addiction services, focusing a majority of her professional and personal time on the opioid epidemic. Connie has brought together law enforcement agencies, state agencies, behavioral health, health care and addiction and recovery services to formulate programs and initiatives targeting opioid addiction, detoxification, rehabilitation and long-term recovery. Connie has been an invited guest at a State House Senate Hearing to talk about the Opioid Overdose Recovery Program, has visited with Governor Christie on the subject and has been vocal in the public and the media on the need for resources and understanding of Substance Abuse Disorder.
    Connie earned a bachelor’s degree in Education from the City University of New York and a master’s degree in Management and Administration, with a concentration in Personnel, from Central Michigan University. She is also a Certified Addiction Specialist, Certified Prevention Specialist and Certified Social Worker.
    Connie sits on the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services’ State-Appointed Professional Advisory Committee. She also sits on the New Jersey Behavioral Health Council for Mental Health and Addiction Service, and is a member of the Ocean County Professional Advisory Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and the Suicide Task Force of Monmouth County.
  • Michael LittererMichael Litterer, Vice President, Prevention and Recovery

    Michael Litterer, CHES, CPS, is the Vice President, Prevention and Recovery at RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery. Michael oversees all programs and services implemented at IFPR by a team of highly skilled and incredibly passionate staff of professionals.

    A Certified Health Education Specialist and Certified Prevention Specialist, he holds a degree in Public Health from William Patterson University and has over 18 years of experience in the field of prevention, early intervention and recovery.

    Michael is a very proud member of the multidisciplinary RWJBarnabas Health Corporate Tackling Addiction Task Force, aimed at holistically addressing the chronic disease of addiction throughout RWJBarnabas Health. The Task Force is working to change the stigma associated with substance use disorder and the way we prevent, diagnose and treat the disease throughout our system and communities.

    Previously, Michael was the Deputy Director and Chief Business Officer at Prevention Links, a community based non-profit leader focused on the prevention of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. His role included overseeing multiple evidence-based programs, the establishment of multiple Family Success Centers and the Health and Wellness Coalition of Union County. Michal was also instrumental in the opening of New Jersey’s first recovery high school, the Raymond J. Lesniak Recovery High School, in Union, New Jersey.

    Michael is also a Class of 2019 New Jersey Health Care Executive Leadership Academy Fellow. He is a Rutgers’ Certified Strategic Prevention Framework Trainer and was selected as a member of the 2009 National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD-NJ) - New Jersey Leadership in Advocacy program. He has experience at the local level advocating on issues affecting prevention, early intervention and recovery. A national presenter on the topic of substance abuse prevention, coalition building, current substance use trends, and recovery, Michael has presented to thousands of parents, professionals, and community members.

  • Elliott Liebling, MPHElliott Liebling, MPH, Director

    Elliott Liebling, MPH, is a Director at RWJBarnabas Health’s Institute for Prevention and Recovery, the largest provider of hospital-based peer recovery services in the United States and the largest provider of free tobacco and nicotine treatment services in New Jersey. In his current position, Liebling oversees a team of mixed methods researchers tasked with the design and management of IT, data, and analytics systems. Liebling’s research on peer recovery support services, substance use, pain, and access to treatment has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. He received both his bachelor’s degree and Master of Public Health from Brown University.
  • Ginz Zaccagnino, LCSWGina Zaccagnino, LCSW, Director

    Gina Zaccagnino is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Director at RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery. She has over 10 years experiencing treating individuals with substance use disorder and their families. In her current role, Gina oversees the Peer Recovery Program (PRP), the largest provider of hospital and community-based recovery support services in the country, with over 100 staff of Recovery Specialists, Case Managers and Patient Navigators. She also oversees the Deliberate Reduction of Opioid Prescribing (DROP) program, focused on the intersection between chronic and acute pain and substance use disorder. The DROP program is responsible for launching the health system’s Pain Collaborative to develop and standardized best practices.Gina earned a Master’s degree from Rutgers University and graduated in the first cohort of the Addiction Counselor in Training program. She has extensive experience in program development, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and group facilitation.
  • Monica Hanna, MPH, CHES, NCTTPMonica Hanna, MPH, CHES, NCTTP, Assistant Director, Nicotine and Tobacco Recovery Program

    Monica Hanna, MPH, CHES, NCTTP is the Assistant Director for the RWJ Barnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery Nicotine and Tobacco Recovery Program. Monica holds a Master in Public Health with a Concentration in Community Health from Montclair State University. She is credentialed as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) through the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). Monica also maintains a National Certificate in Tobacco Treatment Practice through the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC), in partnership with the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD). Monica has over 12 years of experience working with at-risk populations and over 7 years in leading and developing nicotine and tobacco cessation programs. Monica currently oversees the tobacco quit centers across 7 counties, including Middlesex, Mercer, Ocean, Somerset, Monmouth, Union and Essex counties. Her department consists of 9 dedicated staff members including 6 Tobacco Treatment Specialists, an Integration Manager, Community Educator, and Tobacco Coordinator who are collaboratively responsible for leading the system-wide strategic plan and implementation for tobacco services.
  • Jennifer LuysterJennifer Luyster, Assistant Director of Clinical Services (Southern Team - Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties)

    Jennifer Luyster is an Assistant Director of Clinical Services for Barnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the Peer Recovery Program Southern team of Patient Navigators and Support Team for Addiction Recovery Southern team of Case Managers. Patient Navigators screen individuals seeking treatment and recovery support services and help link them to services. She has over twenty years of experience in the field of substance use working for non-profit and for-profit agencies, private practice, and a statewide youth helpline. Most recently, she served as the Director of the Monmouth County Intoxicated Driver Resource Center. Prior to that, she was the Coordinator for both the Substance Use Program for Women and the 2ND FLOOR Youth Helpline at 180 Turning Lives Around, the domestic violence agency for Monmouth County. Jennifer earned a master's degree in Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She also is a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LCADC), Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS), Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) and Disaster Response Crisis Counselor for Monmouth County.
  • Eric McIntireEric McIntire, Assistant Director of Recovery Services

    Eric McIntire currently is the Assistant Director of Recovery Support Services overseeing three Peer Recovery Specialist Supervisors and five Program Coordinators. His administrative abilities are essential to the continued growth and workforce development of the Peer Recovery Program (formerly known as OORP). His department currently employs over 65 Full-Time Peer Recovery Specialists and 25 per-diem Peer Recovery Specialists. Eric began his career with RWJBarnabas Health Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR) as a Peer Recovery Specialist. He was part of the pioneer team, which developed and implemented key programmatic strategies following the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) grant award for the Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP). Eric conducted bedside interventions with patient's entering RWJBarnabas Health System emergency department following Naloxone Administration. Through dedication, passion and collaboration with the medical staff, the OORP Peer Recovery Specialist provided recovery support services to an undeserved population within the health care system. Eric brings to IFPR over 15 years of experience in the recovery field, as a founder of a nonprofit organization and developing a 24-hour help hotline to providing interventions for families with loved ones suffering from substance use disorder. Eric is a volunteer for his union's EAP with over 10,000 members. He continues his education in substance use disorder through Labor Assistance Professionals continue education training. He is also active within the RWJBarnabas Health System, helping health care professionals understand substance use disorder and the stigma associated with it. As a member of the system-wide Corporate Tackling Addiction Taskforce, Eric aims to ensure RWJBarnabas Health System has the appropriate resources to address the disease of addiction.

Patient Stories

  • “I’m not sure I could have done it without their encouragement and support,” Lara says. “Whenever I would ask if it was okay to do something like play hockey again, they would tell me to go for it.”

    Lara
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  • "I tell him he’s Superman and he can do no wrong,” Brian says. "It’s such a great gesture that it’s hard to put into words and say something that would do it justice."

    Brian
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  • “It’s a great program, and I am enjoying it. The staff is just wonderful, so helpful.”

    Pamela
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Patient Stories

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