Research Committee
Meets Monthly on the second Wednesday of each month at 2pm EST

Maureen Farrell, MSN, RN
New York State Nurses Association

Maureen received her license as a Registered Professional Nurse & BSN in 1974. Since then, she has worked in a variety of specialty areas, including Med/Surgical, Critical Care, Oncology, Hospice and Psychiatric Nursing. In 1996, while completing her MSN in Psychiatic Nursing, she worked for 4yrs on the Bellevue Hospital Center Inpatient alcohol detox/rehabilitation Unit. Two years prior to starting with SPAN, she was the nurse on the Assertive Community Treatment Team at Saint Vincent’s Hospital Westchester. Since 2005, Maureen has been the SPAN Metropolitan Regional Coordinator. SPAN’s mission is to be the resource for nurses affected by substance abuse disorders, while fostering public safety through outreach and education.

John R. Harden, LCSW, ICDAC, MPH
Director BoardPrep Recovery Center

John Harden has been the Director of BoardPrep Recovery Center in Tampa Florida since May 2014.  Prior he held the positions of Executive Director of the Florida Society of Addiction Medicine, and Executive Director Florida Recovery Center. He has been actively involved in providing clinical services to both the Florida Intervention Project for Nurses, and the Florida Professionals Resource Network. 

Mike Harkreader, MS, RN, CARN
Tennessee Professional Assistance Program (TNPAP)

Mike has been a Registered Nurse since 1976 and has over 40 years experience in coordinating and directing treatment and monitoring programs for children, adolescents and adults in the fields of mental health and addictions. He has practiced at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute, Centennial Medical Center’s Parthenon Pavilion, the former Donelson Hospital, which is now Summit Medical Center and Vanderbilt Medical Center’s Psychiatric Hospital. Mike has been the Executive Director at the Tennessee Professional Assistance Program from September of 2004 until her retired from that position on 1/1/2021 and stayed on with TNPAP as the Associate Director and case manager. He holds degrees in Nursing, Psychology and Guidance and Counseling and is certified as an Addiction Registered Nurse through the Addictions Nursing Certification Board and is past President of the National Organization of Alternative Programs.

Abby Migliore, MSN, MBA, RN
Alabama Board of Nursing

Abby Migliore is a graduate the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  Following graduation, she decided to pursue her passion – professional nursing - ultimately earning Associate of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing, and a Master of Business Administration degrees. Abby has over a decade in nursing in both critical care and primary health settings.  Her present role is as the Administrative Director for Discipline/Compliance Monitoring with the Alabama Board of Nursing (ABN), where she has served since 2015.  Abby oversees the ABN’s Voluntary Discipline Alternative Program (VDAP), which monitors nurses with admitted substance abuse, mental health or physical health concerns that may impede professional performance, and the Probation Department, which monitors nurses who have received probation as a condition of discipline against their licenses. She also supervises three Compliance Nurses, who apply professional nursing judgement to alleged violations of the Alabama Nurse Practice Act.

Dr. Melissa A. Monroe, DNP, MPH, RN, CHES
Oklahoma Peer Assistance Program Coordinator

I am a registered nurse with a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP), a master's degree in public health, and a bachelor's degree in nursing. I have 16 years of experience, with the last ten years focused on public health programming and coordination. In addition, I have recently finished my DNP. My research focused on screening, education, and treatment for pregnant individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). Through translating evidence into practice, my DNP research project influenced a practice change in a state public health program that provides health and education to vulnerable populations with high rates of substance misuse. This research, which focused on addressing healthcare gaps among individuals with SUD, aligns with my passion for education, treatment, and recovery for individuals with problematic substance use to meet them where they are on the addiction and recovery spectrum.

Dr. Shannon Opie, DNP, APRN, ANP-BC, CARN-AP
Intervention Project for Nurses

Shannon is the Chief Executive Officer of Intervention Project for Nurses, has expertise in the areas of alcohol and substance use related conditions, forensic drug testing, adult and gerontological primary care, and the assessment and treatment of impaired professionals. In her role as CEO, Dr. Opie assures that IPN services are consistent with the goal of protecting the healthcare consumer from nurses with impairing conditions, while simultaneously aiding nurse in Florida. Dr. Opie serves to coordinate ongoing program needs based on State requirements and national best practices. Dr. Opie received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in 2013 from University of Florida and is an American Nurses Credential Center, Board Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner, and is also a Certified Addictions Registered Nurse in Advanced Practice. Dr. Opie is a member of the International Nurses Society on Addictions and served as a Director at Large on the Board of Directors from 2018 to 2020. She was the recipient of IntNSA’s Peer Assistance Award in 2019. She is a member of the Florida Nurses Association (FNA), American Nurses Association (ANA), Florida Nurse Practitioner Network (FNPN), Organizational Member Federation of State Physician Health Programs, Inc. (FSPHP), Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Lambda Rho Chapter, and is active in the Florida Quality and Unity in Nursing (QUIN) organization. She is also a member of the National Organization of Alternative Programs (NOAP). Her research interests include forensic drug testing (hair, nail, breath, urine and phosphatidylethanol/ biomarkers), trends in healthcare professionals monitoring, chronic pain management, opioid blockade usage, best practices for dual diagnosis management in multispecialty addiction care settings, and general pharmacology.