Rikki Barton
Rikki Barton has a passion for communicating essential messages to move individuals and communities onward in their goals. She is the CEO/Lead Consultant of Onward Consulting and holds the Missouri Advanced Prevention Specialist certification as well as international IC&RC certification. Rikki has nearly 15 years of prevention field experience and currently serves as a consultant to assist organizations, coalitions, and state/federal agencies in the areas of substance use prevention, suicide prevention, and mental health promotion. She has extensive experience working with community coalitions, providing training, grant writing, managing funding sources, and leading a team of preventionists. Rikki trains for CADCA in their youth and adult training programs as well as for National Council for Mental Wellbeing as an Adult, Youth, and Teen Mental Health First Aid Instructor. She holds a Bachelors degree from Pennsylvania State University and a Masters degree from Liberty University.
Program Description: Building Effective Coalitions – Transforming Community Response to Impaired Driving
In this session, we explore the vital role of community coalitions in driving meaningful change against impaired driving. Uncover the power of strategic collaboration and data-informed planning in boosting the impact of community initiatives. This presentation will walk you through the essentials of building impactful coalitions, from setting realistic goals to using data for crafting effective strategies. You’ll gain insights into the best practices for involving various community members and learn how to translate group efforts into tangible improvements in public safety. Additionally, the session includes interactive exercises to put these concepts into practice, fostering a collaborative learning experience. Join us to discover how coalitions can be crucial in reducing impaired driving and enhancing safety in Texas communities.
Sergeant Daryn Briggs
Sgt. Briggs is a 30-year veteran of the Denton, TX Police Department. He has a bachelor’s degree from Lamar University and holds a Masters Peace Officers certification from TCOLE. He is a TCOLE licensed instructor primarily focusing on Traffic law, Firearms, and EVOC courses, both at the academy level and in-service. Sgt. Briggs has worked in Patrol, Narcotics, Criminal Investigations, and Traffic sections over the course of his career. Additionally, he has served as a FTO and served on our SWAT team for 13 years in several capacities. Currently, Sgt. Briggs is the supervisor of the DWI Unit within the Traffic Enforcement Section. He has been assigned to Traffic since 2012 and has overseen the DWI unit since 2019.
Program Description: Texas Law Enforcement Phlebotomy Program
The Denton Police Department has successfully started a phlebotomy program in the city jail for DWI blood draws. The program is funded by TxDOT and utilizes a 3rd party medical staffing vendor to staff the phlebotomist position. This workshop would inform other jurisdictions how to replicate the program.
Jayme Derbyshire
Officer Derbyshire has been with Montgomery County Department of Police for twenty years. She currently serves as the coordinator for their Chemical Test for Alcohol Unit. In this capacity, she is responsible for various training initiatives, to include an initiative known as Cannabis Impairment Detection Labs. Jayme is a certified Drug Recognition Expert and has spoken locally and nationally on impaired driving. For a number of years, Jayme has also had the privilege of offering testimony in front of Maryland’s General Assembly in an effort to increase traffic safety through legislative efforts.
Jayme is a recipient of the Maryland Highway Safety Office’s Innovative Program Award, the Montgomery County Department of Police Chief’s Award, the Kevin E. Quinlan Advocacy Award, and was Maryland’s 2022 Drug Recognition Expert of the Year.
Program Description: Up in Smoke – Cannabis Legalization’s Impact on Traffic Safety
This presentation will provide a brief overview of Green Labs and lessons learned as a result of this unique law enforcement and prosecutor-based training. The presentation will cover what years of Green Labs have revealed about cannabis impaired drivers, effectiveness of field tests as they relate to cannabis, ways to adapt this training dependent on a state’s legalization status, and enforcement tactics that may best help to determine the cannabis impaired driver.
Denise Geleitsmann
Denise Geleitsmann is the Injury Prevention Program Coordinator for Austin Public Health whose program focuses on providing education to prevent injury and death in Travis County. Her program covers motor vehicle safety, safe sleep for babies, falls prevention for the elderly, drowning prevention, and opioid overdose prevention. She has been with the City of Austin for sixteen years and previously worked with the Austin Fire and Police Departments. Denise chairs the Impaired Driving Action Team.
Nicole Holt
Nicole Holt serves as CEO of Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth (TxSDY)—a statewide non-profit dedicated to creating healthier and safer communities where alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use have no place in the lives of youth. During Nicole’s more than 15 years in this role, TxSDY has greatly expanded its capacity to train and support coalitions across Texas and honed its ability to advocate for policy change at the state and local levels. Nicole began her career working for National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program. At 24, she built a national program for faith-based college students to address environmental issues, including an annual “Rescue God’s Creation” lobby day in D.C. – the first of its kind. She has also worked on presidential campaigns. She is former Chair, and a founding member, of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance, a graduate of Leadership Women Texas and Leadership Women America. She has served on numerous national research projects on preventing youth alcohol use, presented at national and international conferences on the topic, and has served on statewide and national committees addressing youth substance misuse. She currently serves on the State Impaired Driving Taskforce and is a member of the Legislative and Prevention committees as well as coordinates the Community Advisory Board of the CDC funded state excessive alcohol use epidemiology project led by RTI International.
The first in her family to graduate from college and a 6th generation Texan, Nicole was a Presidential Scholar at Grayson County Community College, graduating with an Associates of Science. Nicole went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis on poverty and environmental policy from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.
Program Description: Austin Impaired Driving Action Team
Representatives from the Austin Impaired Driving Action Team (IDAT) will discuss how to work across stakeholder groups to coordinate efforts and reduce the impact of impaired driving within the community. There are several organizations that participate in the community meetings coordinated by Austin Public Health. Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth and Austin Public Health are partnering to bring public health and prevention strategies to reduce the city’s impaired driving rate and achieve its Vision Zero goals. This presentation will highlight successful efforts to bring people together to implement these important strategies.
Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange is a project director for Impaired Driving Solutions, a division of All Rise. While serving as a treatment court coordinator in Minnesota, Ms. Lange led her team to an Academy Court designation. In addition, she facilitated training events for all of Minnesota’s DWI court teams that included top speakers in the treatment court training and research arena, directed a substantial federal grant that allowed for many groundbreaking advancements for people suffering from addiction in her community, partnered with other local agencies to focus on community alcohol education, and assisted in creating a sober ride program. Ms. Lange also served as operations analyst for the Sixth Judicial District in Minnesota, where she worked to enhance eight treatment courts, focusing on extensive grant work, training, data and research, and community harm reduction practices. She received her bachelor’s degree from Hamline University, where she studied law and criminal justice, and an MBA with a focus on leadership and change from the College of St. Scholastica. Ms. Lange has dedicated her career to being an advocate of change for those suffering from addiction in the criminal justice system.
Program Description: Behavioral Interventions for Impaired Driving Offense in the United States
Impaired Driving Solutions offers a wide variety of free resources to educate public health and public safety professionals on evidence-based best practices for working with repeat impaired drivers and identifying, assessing, and treating their substance use and mental health disorders. Ms. Lange will identify effective pretrial services, early intervention services, and treatment court guiding principles that can be implemented in jurisdictions.
Jim Markham
Jim Markham joined the TxDOT Traffic Safety Division as the Crash Data and Analysis Section Director in September 2022, after retiring from the U.S. military, having served more than 20 years in the Army and Air Force as a Military Intelligence officer and Operations Research Systems Analyst. He holds a BS in Mathematics from the University of Kentucky and a MS in Operations Research from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Jim served at the Pentagon in both the USAF A-1 and US Army G-1 personnel offices. His assignments also include Wargame Analyst, Foreign Military Trainer, Operations Officer, Warrior Transition Unit Commander, Doctrine Editor, 25th Infantry Division Assessments Officer, Training with Industry Fellow, and Medical Analytics Director, completing his career as the 1st Cavalry Division Assessments Officer at Ft. Hood, TX. Jim has been assigned all over the continental U.S. and Hawaii and has deployed to Iraq and Poland in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Atlantic Resolve, respectively.
Jim has been married to his wife Kelly for 11 years, and they have two children, ages 9 and 7. The Markham household also is home to three dogs. He is an unrepentant motorcyclist, having previously held multiple racing licenses, and an avid photographer with interests in portraits, landscapes, and astrophotography.
Program Description: A Sober Discussion About DUI Crash Data
We know there are discrepancies between what is reported at the scene of a crash, what is currently captured on our crash report, what we have in our live (read: updated) data in CRIS, and what outside agencies like NHTSA (FARS) and other local groups are tracking. How do we get the complete answer?
Amy Miles
Amy Miles is the State Toxicologist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and has over 20 years of experience in forensic toxicology. Amy provides expert court testimony and interpretation of laboratory reports for coroners, medical examiners, attorneys, and law enforcement officers. Amy also provides expert consultation for drug impaired driving cases both locally and nationally. In addition to her work at the WSLH, Amy is also the National Resource Toxicologist and Project Manager for the NHTSA/SOFT Regional Toxicology Liaison program.
Amy has given hundreds of presentations on the topic of drugs, alcohol and human performance, and public health at state and national conferences and in-service trainings and has contributed several articles to national publications. She is a member of several professional organizations and committees that pertain to alcohol, drugs and human performance and public health. Amy is the Past President of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and is a National Judicial College faculty member. In 2020, Amy received the IACP DRE Ambassador Award, and in 2023 the Association of Public Health Laboratories’ Gold Standard Award and the Governor’s Highway Safety Association’s Kathryn JR Swanson Public Service Award.
Program Description: Current Drug Trends
Drug use is an ever-changing landscape. Novel opioids and stimulants, such as methamphetamine, continue to be the top trending drugs in the United States. This session will give an overview of the common opioids detected in the forensic casework and provide insight into other drugs found in combination.
Thomas E. Page
Thomas E. Page, the former Officer-in-Charge of the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Unit, began his law enforcement career with the Detroit Police Department. Before undertaking a law enforcement career, Mr. Page served the Wayne County, Michigan Health Department as a public health worker. His public health worker duties included assessing patients for alcohol and drug abuse.
Mr. Page provides expert testimony in court on the effects of alcohol and drugs, driving under the influence enforcement, the development of the DRE program and procedure, drugs in the workplace, the standardized field sobriety test, and DRE Reconstruction. He has been accepted as an expert in courts in twenty-one states.
Mr. Page has authored numerous articles on drug user detection techniques. He co-authored the Drug Information Handbook for Criminal Justice Professionals. He is also the co-author/editor of The Medical-Legal Aspects of Abused Substances, published by Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company. He is the co-author of The Usefulness of SFSTs in Detecting Drugs Other than Alcohol.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police has awarded Mr. Page the title “Drug Recognition Expert Emeritus.” He also provides training to Law Enforcement Officers on bicycle-related laws and traffic enforcement on behalf of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and his Master of Arts degree in Urban Studies from the University of Detroit. Mr. Page was the College of Liberal Arts and Education’s Alumni Spirit Award recipient for 2018. In 2018, Mr. Page also was presented the Spirit of the Baroudeur Award by Wayne State University President Dr. Roy Wilson. Mr. Page is also the recipient of the 2021 Robert F. Borkenstein award by the National Safety Council’s Alcohol, Drugs, and Impairment Division.
Program Description: Do SFSTs work for drugs? Yes, says one Michigan Study.
The Standardized Field Sobriety Test battery was developed to enable the administering officer to identify the presence of alcohol at intoxicating levels. They were validated initially for a .10% BAC, and were later validated for a .08% BAC, and arguably for a .05% level. But do they work for non-alcohol drugs? Or should revised SFSTs be developed for specific drugs as some have suggested? The issues of SFSTs for drugs, and related concerns such as meaningful blood levels, are frequent topics in court proceedings, particularly when drug-impairment is at issue. This presentation will provide an overview – and commentary on the above issues – of an officer-initiated and funded study on the usefulness and accuracy of SFSTs for non-alcohol drugs.
Ron Replogle
Colonel Ron Replogle, (ret), is the National Law Enforcement Initiatives Manager for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Prior to joining MADD as a full-time employee, Ron served on the MADD National Board of Directors. In 2015, he retired from the Missouri State Highway Patrol after 31-years of service, serving the last five years as the Patrol’s superintendent. He and his wife Cindy reside in Southwest Missouri where they enjoy spending time with family and their six grandchildren.
Program Description: MADD Programs in Support of Law Enforcement
Since 1980, MADD has partnered with law enforcement to achieve its mission to end all impaired driving. Through a NHTSA Cooperative Agreement Project, MADD recently developed and produced an Impaired driving toolkit called, “Impaired Driving Toolkit: A Law Enforcement Leaders’s Guide top Saving Lives”. In this workshop, we will do an overview of the toolkit and learn about other MADD programs that support law enforcement.
Jackie Rhone, Greystar Real Estate Services
Jackie Rhone is an Executive Director at Greystar, the global leader in rental housing, operating in 17 countries and managing 850,000 rental units in 247 markets globally.
During her 22+ years at Greystar, Jackie has held many operational leadership positions within the Property Management business and is now an Executive Director overseeing multiple businesses within the organization.
Tragically, Jackie’s son, Blake, was killed in August of 2021 by an impaired driver. She and her family have created the BeABlake Foundation in honor of him. The mission of the Be A Blake Foundation is to educate all on the dangers of drug impaired driving and to support further training for law enforcement officials to better identify drug impaired driving, with a goal to save lives by making our roads, streets, and highways safer. The Foundation’s primary focus is providing scholarships for law enforcement officers to attend training to become Drug Recognition Experts (DRE’s) as well as focusing on legislative changes needed to hold offenders more accountable.
Program Description: Pause for Purpose – Opening Plenary Session
Robyn Robertson, Traffic Injury Research Foundation
Robyn Robertson is the President & CEO of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) and holds a Master of Criminology Applied degree. During her 23 years in the research field, Ms. Robertson has published more than 250 reports and articles on a broad range of road safety issues with a focus on education, policy and program development and evaluation. She has delivered technical assistance for road safety programs in several countries and is the author of TIRF’s knowledge translation model which is the basis for TIRF’s many educational programs. Robyn is well-versed in implementation strategies and operational practices across transportation, criminal justice and health systems, and industry. She is a member of, or has served on several academic and professionals Boards and committees.
Program Description: Lowering the BAC limit: Lessons learned from research and practice in Canada
Impaired driving remains a leading contributing factor in road crashes in many jurisdictions and some US jurisdictions are exploring reducing their illegal BAC limit to .05, as was adopted by Utah. Canada has used a lower .05 BAC as the basis for administrative roadside sanctions for more than 4 decades and has considerable experience with the application of a lower BAC limit. This presentation will summarize Canada’s experiences and lessons learned with implementing a lower limit, and findings from research evaluating this approach. Important caveats and considerations to guide an implementation strategy will also be shared.
Ryan Smith, PhD
Dr. Ryan C. Smith is a Transportation Specialist in the Office of Research and Engineering at the National Transportation Safety Board. In this capacity, he serves as a technical expert in the domains of drug impairment, human performance, and transportation data analysis. Most recently, he was a study manager for NTSB’s safety research report on Alcohol, Other Drug, and Multiple Drug Use Among Drivers. Prior to joining the NTSB, Dr. Smith worked as a Research Scientist at Virginia Tech where he led over $5M of research on the topics of impaired driving and advanced vehicle technologies. He currently serves as the Review Coordinator for the Impairment in Transportation Standing Committee of the Transportation Research Board, member of the editorial board of the Journal of Safety Research, and member of the Lifesavers Planning Committee.
Program Description: Working Together to End Impaired Driving: NTSB’s Investigations, Research, and Recommendations
Highway fatalities represent more than 94% of all transportation deaths, and driver impairment is a leading factor in these fatalities. Since its inception, the NTSB has issued over 168 recommendations on the topic of impaired driving. In just the last decade, we have investigated nearly 50 highway crashes involving an impaired driver. The NTSB also recently released a Safety Research Report entitled, “Alcohol, Other Drug, and Multiple Drug Use Among Drivers.” This report examined polydrug usage among drivers and developed strategies to both improve drug data and better intervene to stop impaired driving from all impairing substances. This presentation will provide an overview of NTSB’s recent investigations, recommendations, and strategies for reducing impaired driving. This will include a focus on improving upon and analyzing toxicology data to better understand drug prevalence among drivers. It will also highlight strategies states can use to address impaired driving within their communities.
Mark Stodola
As National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Probation Fellow, Mark Stodola brings over 30 years of experience working in the field of court management and adult probation in Arizona. Mark worked at the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department for 18 years serving in a number of capacities including division director overseeing drug and alcohol treatment programs, problem solving courts and services for the mentally ill. Mark later became the Court Administrator of the Tempe Municipal Court where he served for eight years managing the day to day activities of the court. Most recently Mark served as Program Services Manager in the Adult Probation Services Division of the Arizona Supreme Court where he had oversight of treatment programs for Arizona’s Adult Probation Departments. Mark has presented training on topics surrounding high risk drunk drivers at national, regional and state conferences throughout the country. Mark also is an adjunct instructor at Arizona State University.
Program Description: The Changing Landscape of Impaired Driving
Over the past five years we have seen troubling trends in highway safety, and with impaired driving. The impact of the COVID pandemic, the increase in states legalizing recreational marijuana and the prevalence of polysubstance use have forced practitioners to reevaluate our current practices in addressing this serious issue. This interactive presentation will provide research that helps explain the changes we are seeing with the DWI population as well as approaches to address this growing crisis.
