Meet the Team

Sean is a certified peer recovery support specialist, and peer supervisor. He graduated with a MS in technical communication from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul Minnesota and has 10 years of experience working with various nonprofit and advocacy organizations. Currently he serves as the Executive Director of Foundation for Recovery, Nevada’s statewide Recovery Community Organization (RCO) supporting and advocating for people and families living with substance use disorder and impacted by overdose.

Mark Funkhouser has over 30 years working in the field in various capacities: nationally providing technical assistance and training to courts and communities in child welfare and juvenile justice; over two decades in juvenile and adult criminal justice and community corrections in Indiana that included major grant projects and programs as well as working with individuals and families in the community. Mark’s most recent experience is working in behavioral health coordination in rural and frontier communities in mental health, addiction, and substance use-misuse including opioids. Mark has worked with several local, state, and national entities including training, non-profits, and serving on boards. Mark has degrees in education and business and is certified as a yoga instructor, community health worker, and peer recovery specialist and trainer. He also has previous executive experience working in a mental health peer recovery center working with participants and staff doing case management, supervision, and training with peers and staff. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, practicing yoga, reading, men’s work, and just doing nothing. Mark and his wife, Lauren, have been in Reno since 2018.

Ayla Babakitis is the Coalition Manager at PACT Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Communities where she is a Certified Prevention Specialist and has worked within the behavioral health field for 5 years. Part of her grant work is facilitating the growth and reach of Certified Prevention Specialists in the state and ensuring evidenced based programs and practices take place in communities. Ayla currently works within the prevention sector with a focus on reducing substance misuse in Clark County. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and as a trainer includes certification in Mental Health First Aid and Adverse Childhood Experiences/Trauma Informed Care. She is passionate about increasing the accessibility of resources and knowledge surrounding wellness.

A proud Las Vegas native, Alisa is a seasoned Public Health professional with over 12 years of experience dedicated to advancing health equity and addressing disparities in underserved communities. In 2018, she founded Minority Health Consultants, a boutique public health, social impact and wellness firm. Alisa is a certified Community Health Worker (CHW) and Instructor for eight years, teaching at both the College of Southern Nevada and the Nevada CHW Association (NVCHWA). Her passion for community-driven public health is reflected in her active leadership and commitment on the numerous local & national boards, coalitions, and committees she’s apart of. She has served on the Governing Board of the Nevada Certification Board for four years, where she has been a vocal advocate for the recognition and advancement of CHWs. Still active on the board, she is now part of the Executive Committee as the Treasurer. Alisa is also a dedicated member of the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW) Policy Committee for 4 years where she assists with national policy efforts for CHWs Her career has consistently emphasized the importance of education, advocacy, access, and policy in achieving lasting public health outcomes. This dedication earned her the opportunity to host and co-host two public health radio shows sponsored by the Southern Nevada Health District. Believing firmly that public health must be shaped by the people it serves, Alisa is driven by the principle that true progress begins by involving the “community” in every aspect of this work.

Anas is a passionate medical professional with experience in overseeing clinical trials, ensuring compliance with study protocols, and safeguarding patient safety. He possesses strong knowledge in medical surveillance, data interpretation and therapeutic areas and has demonstrated ability to impact patient outcomes by identifying trends, addressing issues promptly and providing expert advice to clinical teams. Anas has a variety medical experience and expanded medical knowledge and has worked in different medical fields including patient care setting, healthcare management, and medical research.

Jenn has spent 12 years as a birth assistant, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Currently, she’s a Certified Birth Doula for all birth, a Bereavement Doula helping families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula, a Childbirth Educator, and a Certified Lactation Educator. Jenn is a Mom Of 18 (yes – 18 kids!) parenting since 1992 and has written the blog Mom’s Running It since 2011, am a published author of a self-help memoir in 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is a speaker and have 15+ years of experience in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer.

As a doula for over 13 years, Aisha strives to instill confidence in birthing families, allowing them to reduce their fears surrounding their circumstances and step into their inner strengths. When not supporting families, Aisha is an avid community volunteer, from Girl Scouts to Southern Nevada to PTA President. Aisha enjoys crafting and creating. A good laugh, a tasty meal, and excellent company are critical to Aisha’s heart. Serving on the BOD is Aisha’s passion for elevating the roles of the doula profession in Nevada.

Lisa Lee, DrPH, CPRSS, PRSS-S, is a person in long-term recovery from chaotic heroin use and mental health conditions. She has worked in the health and wellness field since 2004 with experience in bodywork, medical billing, syringe services, HIV/HCV testing and counseling, case management, housing programs, intensive case management for people experiencing homelessness, and drug and alcohol counseling. Lisa also has extensive policy and continuous quality improvement experience. She has a decade of ethnographic, qualitative, and quantitative research experience. Additionally, Lisa is an experienced program director and has worked in a variety of settings implementing evidence-based and emerging practices, including an Integrated Opioid Treatment and Recovery Center (IOTRC), and a Recovery Community Organization (RCO). Lisa successfully implemented post-overdose response PRSS teams in Nevada hospitals and was part of a research team evaluating the implementation of these teams. Lisa has created curricula on developing policies, led program evaluations, conducted community-based participatory research, wrote the County’s opioid needs assessment and launched the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team initiative within child welfare. Additionally, Lisa has worked on multiple legislative projects, including co-authoring Nevada’s peer recovery support specialist certification bill, an overdose prevention center bill, and a bill legalizing drug checking. She is on the board of directors for several nonprofits, assisting with policy development, grant writing, and harm reduction outreach and education. Professionally, Lisa is a science writer, but her passion is harm reduction outreach. Her favorite job is being a mom to two great kids and two Boston Terriers.

David’s greatest joy comes from spending time with his family, his partner of nine years, and the people who matter most to him. He also enjoys golfing, exploring the outdoors, and gaming. David’s journey began with personal experience, long-term recovery, and a deep commitment to creating real pathways to care. Over the past six years, I’ve worked as a CHW, PRSS supervisor, crisis counselor, and a substance use counselor at a behavioral health center. These roles reinforced his belief in the importance of certification, training, and professional development to ensure high-quality, culturally competent care. As a member of the board, he hopes to contribute to the development of policies and standards to ensure certified professionals are well-equipped to serve Nevadans. He believes his work with the NCB is an opportunity to help shape a workforce that is not only well-trained but also compassionate, adaptable, and committed to meeting people where they are.

Hannah McDonald has worked in the prevention field for 15 years and since 2017 she has served as the Executive Director of Partnership Carson City, a prevention coalition serving Carson City. In this role she coalesces key stakeholders and community partners to implement strategies to combat and delay the onset of substance use and strengthen mental wellness. Hannah, one of the first in Nevada to become a CPS through the NCB, is a board member on the Nevada certification board, and is a member of the Nevada Statewide Coalition Partnership serving as the Secretary. She has provided an abundance of professional trainings, presented at local, state and national conferences, and is most often a guest speaker for college students at Western Nevada College, the University of Nevada Reno social work and nursing programs and serves as a leader for those job shadowing in their doctoral programs. Hannah is dedicated to creating a community that is healthy, educated and resilient. She recognizes that it all starts with prevention. Hannah and her husband Travis own a local business that was established by her father in 1982. She is raising her three boys in Carson where her roots run deep and while she is partial to the capital city she believes that Nevada has what it takes to be a strong state.

Alyssa O’Hair, MPH, MA, CPS is a Senior Manager of Workforce Development at CASAT in the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). With over 15 years of experience providing training and technical assistance, she currently serves as the Principal Investigator and Project Director for the Pacific Southwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center and Regional Director for the Strategic Prevention Technical Assistance Center for HHS Regions IX and X. Alyssa has extensive subject matter knowledge in training design and facilitation; technical assistance and consultation; the Strategic Prevention Framework; public health approaches to prevention; community needs assessments; data-informed decision making; logic models; risk and protective factors; evidence- and practice-based interventions; and evaluation design and methodology. Before joining CASAT, she worked at UNR’s Center for Program Evaluation for almost 10 years, conducting evaluations for school districts, non-profit organizations, community coalitions, statewide education and public health initiatives, and regional public health initiatives. Alyssa has a Master of Arts degree in social psychology and a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from UNR. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Nebraska Wesleyan University.