Board of Directors

Linda Surks, Chairman

Linda Surks began working in the substance abuse prevention field when Jason was six years old. Over the years, educating her kids as she got educated about the many risks of substance abuse, she never dreamed that in thirteen years, her precious son would die of an overdose of prescription medications.

With the full support or her employer, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) of Middlesex County, Inc., she works to prevent other families from suffering the pain of a devastating loss. Through her work as founder and coordinator of the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Coalition, Linda works to strengthen the community through education, collaboration, and advocacy.

One of the original sponsors of the Vigil for Lost Promise, Linda has worked with other families who share the pain of loss to build Families Changing America, Inc. They are committed to sparing others from experiencing that pain.

Read Jason's Story

 

Frank Marrero, First Vice Chair

Frank lost his oldest son to steroid abuse on September 26, 2004. At age 19, Efrain Anthony Marrero was like so many teenagers in our community. He was active in sports, popular with classmates and was adored by his parents, Frank and Brenda Marrero of Vacaville, CA. Often called the “gentle giant” by those that loved him, Efrain was known for his kindness and commitment to being a successful adult.

That tragic event has forever changed their family in ways they are still struggling to understand. But one thing is certain; they have dedicated the rest of their lives to preventing this devastating loss from happening to other families. To that end they have established The Efrain Anthony Marrero Foundation, Fighting Against Steroids Together.

Today the Marrero’s honor Efrain’s memory by educating teens, parents, coaches and the medical community about the dangers of steroid abuse. Frank Marrero, Efrain’s father, has spoken throughout the United States to high schools, Air Force units, congress, and athletic organizations about Efrain’s story, suicide prevention and steroid awareness. Together they know we can realize our shared dream of saving our children from substance abuse.

Frank Marrero is a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve and a pilot with United Airlines for 15 years. He is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a 25-year decorated veteran most recently serving his nation in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Read Efrain's Story

 

Ronni McLaughlin, Second Vice Chair

Ronni McLaughlin grew up in Queens, New York. She married her teenage sweetheart and bought their first house in Merrick, Long Island. After working as an executive secretary, Bruce and Ronni had 4 children. After 7 years their house in Merrick became too small for them. They moved to Wilton, CT. Ronni was so thankful to be able to raise her children in such a pretty environment with a reputable school system. She immediately became involved with the Wilton Youth Council and the PTA. Ronni joined the Wilton Teen Center Board of Directors and watched the teen center become an important place for teens to go in the town. She never dreamed her oldest son Dan would abuse drugs. Her family was devastated when he died on May 5, 2004 of an accidental heroin overdose in his room.

Currently, Ronni is still involved with the Wilton Youth Council. She volunteers also for the Wilton Underage Drinking Task Force and PTSA. Ronni is the librarian for the Stamford Chapter of Compassionate Friends. Since Dan’s death, she has told his story to some health classes at Staples High School for The Courage to Speak. Ronni got to know Ginger Katz as she also lost her son 10 years ago to a heroin overdose and also lives nearby. Ronni went to the candlelight vigil and joined Families Changing America. She doesn’t want this to happen to any family. The disease of addiction affects the whole family and is very traumatic. Ronni has recently become part of “Parent Connection” and is helping to start up a “Just Talk” program for high school parents to join together and discuss important issues of teenagers.

 

Don Hooton, Secretary

Don is the president of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, a non–profit organization founded in 2004 to attack the Performance Enhancing Drug (PEDs) problem among the nation’s high school students. The organization is named after Mr. Hooton’s youngest son, Taylor, a young athlete who died in 2003 at the age of 17 as a result of his secret use of anabolic steroids. The foundation is focused on raising awareness and educating the public about the widespread use and dangers of PEDs. The foundation is currently pushing to have all 49 states adopt “Taylor’s Law”, the name of a bill that passed this year in Texas – the bill calls for a comprehensive education program combined with a meaningful random drug testing program – over 20,000 high school athletes will be tested for steroids in Texas each year under this program.

Don has traveled the country speaking about Performance Enhancing Drug abuse to anyone who will listen. He has spoken to over 15,000 high school students and parents, testified before Congress on three occasions, appeared on multiple national television and radio programs including 60 Minutes, 48 Hours Investigates, the Jane Pauley Show, and many more. Taylor’s story has appeared in many national print media including The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Reader’s Digest, People, and others. Don was recently named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Educators in America” by the International Institute for Sport. In 2005, he was named “Texas Sports Personality of the Year” by the Dallas Morning News.

In his professional life, Don is a Business Development Specialist for Dialogic Corporation.

Read Taylor's Story

 

Francine Haight

Francine Hahn Haight received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Arizona State University. She is a Registered Nurse with work experience in Medical Intensive Care (ICU) Surgical ICU, CCU, Emergency Room, Operating Room and Public Health, and is the Founder of Ryan's Cause (Reaching Youths Abusing Narcotics) She is mother of three children and after she found her son, Ryan, had died from an overdose of prescription drugs purchased from the Internet, she made it her goal to reach out and work to prevent this from happening to others. Francine has told her story to numerous local and national news stations, television programs including Dateline NBC, The Today Show, Good Morning America and Montel Williams, magazines including Reader’s Digest and Family Circle, and local and national news papers including the Washington Post and USA Today to help educate and bring more awareness to the public the dangers of sales of drugs on the Internet. Her most recent participation was with E Entertainment where she told her story on a documentary called “Online Nightmares”. Ryan’s story was also mentioned in the HBO 14–part series called Addiction.

Francine’s Activities and Publications:

Read Ryan's Story

 

Paul Joseph

Paul Joseph, 51, is the father of five children. His oldest, Joshua, lost his battle with addiction on October 10th, 2003 at the age of 22 from a mixture of valium and cocaine. He is the President of The Josh Joseph Foundation, a foundation dedicated to raising funds for halfway houses and giving educational scholarships for children who have overcome adversity in their lives. He gives speeches to local schools and halfway houses in the attempt that no family should have to go through what his did. It is his sincere hope that no one should ever be turned away from treatment due to a lack of funds. Mr. Joseph is also the President of Precision Plus Home Improvements Inc., a remodeling firm. located in Port Washington, NY where he calls home, as well as on the Board of Directors of EZTO Corporation, a public company.

Read Joshua's Story

 

Virginia “Ginger” Katz

When Ginger Katz lost her son, Ian, to a drug overdose in 1996, she realized that being a parent doesn’t end, even when your child is no longer with you. She made a vow to Ian that she would do everything in her power to prevent a similar tragedy from happening to other families by sharing his story and educating young people and parents about prevention. Ginger and her husband, Larry, founded The Courage to Speak Foundation whose mission is to save lives by empowering youth to be drug free, and by giving children and their parents the tools needed to do so. Over the last 11 years, Ginger initiated the development of the Courage to Speak health class drug prevention curriculum for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Ginger Katz has made over 900 riveting and thought-provoking Courage to Speak presentations reaching more than a half a million people across the country. She added a new twist this Spring with her recently published book, Sunny’s Story, which tells Ian’s story through the eyes and heart of their family dog and was featured in The New York Times, June 2007. Coming this Fall is a new Courage to Speak Courageous Parenting 101 curriculum. Ms. Katz’s work has received national recognition and she is a recognized figure in the world of substance abuse prevention and treatment. She served as Honorary Chair of the 2006 National Parent Vigil in Washington, D.C. and was a recipient of a Prevention Works Award from the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and named a Presidential Points of Light honoree in 2003. For more info, please visit www.couragetospeak.org.

Read Ian's Story

 

Kate Patton

Kate Patton, Kelley McEnery Baker’s mother, has been instrumental in the passage of “Kelley’s Law” which toughens the penalties of Ecstasy and other “Club Drugs” in Illinois, and is the toughest law of its kind in the country. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Partnership for a Drug Free America and serves as a member of Congressman Mark S. Kirk’s Drug Task Force.

Kate has reached out to many hundreds of parents and students to share “Kelley’s Story” with them with the hope that they will learn from Kelley’s deadly mistakes. In 2004, she was invited to speak to representatives of twenty-eight nations at the first International Synthetic Drug Conference held in the Hague, Netherlands.

 

Therese Pelicano

Therese’s son Dominic passed away on May 11, 2004 from a drug overdose. Heroin and methadone were found in his system which resulted in respiratory failure. Dominic was a bright talented student and artist attending the Maryland Institute College and Art in Baltimore Maryland.

Dominic struggled with anxiety which ultimately led to his substance abuse and addiction. Like many children, Dominic died of a disease, the disease of addiction. I often wonder had he suffered from a physical disease such as cancer, would he still be here? Many physical diseases are readily treated with a much different outcome.

My focus as a board member of Families Changing America is two fold. One is the disparity in treatment for those who suffer from any mental health issue or disease. I will be participating in a grass roots effort to change perceptions and legislation to allow all who suffer from a debilitating condition to access medical treatment. The second issue that I will be focusing on is to reach parents and children at the college level. How many parents go to College orientations and learn about college activities, security/safety issues, and a host of other topics. I believe we could reach many parents and students at this critical time in their lives when many are venturing out for the first time. Parents and children need to know the dangers of substance abuse, especially while away from home many for the first time.

Therese works for a local school system as an Assistant Transportation Manager specializing in the transportation of students with special needs. She is also a National Child Passenger Safety Instructor/ Technician. She is a member of the HOPE committee at her church, which is a bereavement ministry that reaches out to all in the community. She is also active is the Frederick chapter of Compassionate Friends, a support group for parents whose children have died. She is the mother of two, Dominic and Erin and two beautiful grandchildren, Liam Dominic and Bennett Pelicano.

 

Sandy Prisak

Sandy Prisak’s son Ryan was 27 when he died by suicide while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. Sandy joined the Board of Directors of Families Changing America to reach out to other families whose lives are impacted by substance abuse and addiction. She hopes to raise awareness that addiction is a disease which greatly impairs the sufferer’s ability to engage in reasoned thinking, thereby diminishing the likelihood of seeking or receiving treatment. She is interested in bridging the gap between the knowledge that a loved one is suffering from an addiction to getting that person into effective treatment.

She is currently the President and CEO of Exterior Surface-Brite, Inc. Previously, Sandy served as the Director of Training and Membership for the American Jail Association, a national nonprofit organization that provides professional training and resources for sheriffs, jail administrators, and others working in a local correctional setting. During her career with AJA, Sandy participated with the coordination of on-site technical assistance to jurisdictions implementing or expanding in-jail drug treatment programs through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice entitled “Drug Treatment in a Jail Setting: National Demonstration Project.”

Read Ryan's Story

Families Changing America / PO Box 182 / Franklin Park, NJ 08823 / mail@FamiliesChangingAmerica.org