Meet the New Co-Chairs of SOS Berks Opioid Coalition

By Co-Chairs Commissioner Michael Rivera and Kathleen Noll, Executive Director of the Council on Chemical Abuse

As the new Co-chairs of SOS Berks Opioid Coalition, we wanted to take this opportunity in this issue of The Response to introduce ourselves and express our commitment to the work of SOS Berks. First, we would like to express our thanks to the previous Co-chairs of SOS Berks, Kevin Barnhardt and Stanley Papademetriou. In December 2022, it was announced that Kevin Barnhardt would take over as Berks County’s Chief Operations Officer and Stan announced his retirement as the Executive Director of the Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA).

As Kevin and Stan were starting new chapters in their lives, they both had to step down as the Berks SOS Co-chairs. Kevin served as the Co-chair of SOS Berks since it began in 2016 and Stan became the co-chair in 2017 when the initial Co-chair, George Vogel, retired from COCA. Kevin and Stan remained committed to the mission of SOS Berks during their tenures as Co-chairs. They provided guidance and direction to the Coalition and kept the members of SOS Berks focused and committed to our work. We think we can speak for the SOS Berks membership when we say their leadership and input will be missed. We would also like to thank Kevin’s Executive Assistant, Jessica Blauser, for the work she did for SOS Berks. We wish Kevin, Stan and Jessica well in their new endeavors.

Introducing new Berks SOS Co-Chair Commissioner Michael Rivera:

When I was approached about serving as the Co-chair of SOS Berks, I immediately said yes. As a Berks County Commissioner for the past three years, I am well aware of the work the SOS Berks Opioid Coalition is doing to prevent overdose deaths and eliminate the stigma that surrounds addiction. I am also well aware of the devastation that substance use and addiction can cause. Individual lives are devasted and in many cases lost, families are torn apart and the entire community suffers.

In an effort to remediate and prevent this devastation, in my tenure as County Commissioner, I have supported and will continue to support prevention, intervention and treatment efforts as well as recovery initiatives. I also have a personal connection to issues surrounding substance use and addiction through my father’s recovery and I participate in events like the annual Recovery Walk to promote the message that Treatment Works and Recovery is Possible! I appreciate the opportunity to work with the SOS Berks Coalition and to be part of our community’s response to the opioid epidemic. As Co-chair of the Coalition, I look forward to growing and diversifying its membership and to furthering our reach into the Black and Latino communities. We will continue to use data to inform our efforts and evaluate our work. I also invite all those who are interested to join us in the work of the Coalition. Go to Contact Us - SOS Berks - Opioid Coalition to let us know of your willingness to help save lives and improve our community.