BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, February 12, 2025) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott made several key announcements on the City’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis including, the hiring of Sara Whaley as the Executive Director of Overdose Response, the selection of members of the Restitution Advisory Board, and provided additional updates on the city’s ongoing implementation of his Executive Order on Opioid Restitution Funds.

Whaley has served as Mayor Scott’s senior advisor for public health since August 2024 while also serving as Program Director of the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and as a senior practice associate at the School. 

As senior advisor, Whaley helped craft Mayor Scott’s executive order on opioid restitution funds and has supported the city with the implementation. Whaley is the author and lead coordinator of "The Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation," considered the outline for national best practices for states and localities who receive these funds. Ms. Whaley is considered a national expert on the use of settlement funds and has advised states across the country on best practices for spending opioid settlement funds. 

Now, Whaley will leave her post at Hopkins to join the city full-time as Executive Director of Overdose Response to coordinate the citywide response to the overdose epidemic, serve as the Co-Chair of the Restitution Advisory Board, lead the Mayor’s Overdose Cabinet, and oversee the implementation of the Mayor’s Executive Order.

“Sara is a proven national expert and a leading voice in utilizing litigation funds to address the opioid epidemic,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “We have been fortunate to have her unparalleled experience as an advisor as we’ve navigated this process so far. Now, bringing her expertise as Baltimore’s full-time Executive Director of Overdose Response, Sara will help ensure our city becomes a national leader on utilizing our restitution funds and the implementation of our abatement plan. We are lucky to have her and deeply grateful for her continued service in this new role.”

Restitution Advisory Board

In addition, Mayor Scott has named 17 voting members and 3 non-voting members to the Restitution Advisory Board as outlined in his August Executive Order. The Restitution Advisory Board will guide the use of City’s restitution funds by identifying key priorities, setting funding priorities, reviewing grant applications, and making funding recommendations to the Mayor and his cabinet.

The members of the Restitution Advisory Board will be: 

• Dr. Paul Archibald is filling a lived/living experience seat. Dr. Archibald is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in programs to address substance use, mental health, and racial trauma. He has worked closely with Morgan State for many years on behavioral health community-led projects. Mr. Archibald is specifically interested in the connections between racial trauma, stress response, and opioid use disorder.
• Paris Barnes is filling a lived/living experience seat. Ms. Barnes is a Senior Training Specialist with the PATIENTS Program at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, where she creates opportunities for patient-centered and community-engaged health care research. She is a Baltimore native and has been impacted by the overdose epidemic in her family.
• Demetrie Marlon Garner is filling a lived/living experience seat. Mr. Garner grew up on the Eastern Shore and moved to Baltimore in 2018 for substance use disorder treatment. He has worked at Franklin Square Hospital as a peer recovery specialist and now supports other MedStar Health projects across the region. 
• Carlos Hardy is filling a lived/living experience seat. Mr. Hardy has over 30 years of experience delivering substance use-related programming in Baltimore, including at organizations like Dee’s Place. He founded the Maryland Recovery Organization Connecting Community (MROCC), which held the contract with the state of Maryland to develop the criteria and certifications for recovery housing across the state. 
• Ricarra Jones is filling a lived/living experience seat. Ms. Jones is the Political Director for 1199SEIU, a large healthcare union, and the Acting President of the Baltimore City NAACP. She has both personal and professional experience with the overdose epidemic. She is passionate about empowering underserved communities and building coalitions to fight for social and economic justice. 
• Charles McCleary is filling a lived/living experience seat. He is an experienced Peer Recovery Coach at Johns Hopkins Bayview Psychiatry Unit. He was born and raised in East Baltimore and is deeply committed to addressing substance use disorder in his community. 
• William Staton is filling a lived/living experience seat. He works at Lifebridge Health as a peer recovery specialist. He has both family and personal experience with the overdose epidemic and is eager to put his experience to work on the Restitution Advisory Board. 
• Fatima Wilkerson is filling a lived/living experience seat. Ms. Wilkerson was deeply impacted by addiction and overdose in her family as a child growing up in Baltimore City. She is committed to addressing the impact of the opioid epidemic on children and families. 
• Adam Trionfo is filling the peer recovery specialist seat. Mr. Trionfo created and currently oversees the peer recovery program at Catholic Charities. Mr. Trionfo has extensive experience providing harm reduction services and building community relationships in Baltimore City. 
• Dr. Danielle German is filling the public health expert seat. Dr. German is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with over 20 years of experience in substance use research and practice. Her research focuses on understanding and addressing the social context of health behavior and well-being among marginalized populations.
• Shanda Brown is filling the social worker seat. Ms. Brown is a licensed social worker who has extensive experience overseeing services across affordable housing communities. Recently, she piloted a peer recovery program and is currently working with The Community Builders to launch a wellness center to respond to the number of overdoses she and her team has witnessed.
• Dr. Meredith Kerr, DNP, CRNP, FNP-C is filling the practicing addiction medicine specialist seat. Dr. Kerr is a nurse practitioner who provides medication for opioid use disorder through the BHLI Project Connection at SPARC street medicine program. She has extensive experience delivering comprehensive low-barrier health care to people with opioid use disorder.
• Karl Green is filling the harm reduction seat. Mr. Green will bring his personal and professional experience with the overdose epidemic to the Restitution Advisory Board. He has worked at a recovery center in Harford County and now works at Baltimore Safe Haven. 
• Geri Byrd, Chief of Staff to Maryland Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, is Governor Wes Moore’s appointee to the Restitution Advisory Board. Ms. Byrd will help ensure alignment and coordination between Baltimore’s Restitution Fund and the state’s overdose efforts including the Maryland Opioid Restitution Fund. 
• Councilman Dr. John Bullock is representing the Baltimore City Council as the member nominated by the Council President and agreed upon by the Mayor representing a council district significantly impacted by the overdose crisis. 
• Councilwoman Phylicia Porter is representing the Baltimore City Council as the Chair of the Baltimore City Council Health and Environment Committee. She is a public health advocate focused on building healthy communities in Baltimore City. 
• Crista Taylor is the CEO of Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore, Baltimore’s local behavioral health authority. 
• James Wallace, Baltimore City Fire Department Chief, is serving as a non-voting member of the Board. 
• Mary Beth Haller, interim Baltimore City Health Commissioner, is serving as a non-voting Co-Chair of the Board.
• Sara Whaley is Mayor Scott’s Executive Director of Overdose Response and is serving as a non-voting Co-Chair of the Board.

All members of the Restitution Advisory Board are Baltimore City residents. 

“The Restitution Advisory Board is bringing together a remarkable group of Baltimoreans of diverse background, race, gender, and experience who are united by their commitment to tackling the overdose crisis in our city,” said Mayor Scott. “Their voices will be an instrumental part of guiding our use of restitution funds, evaluating proposals and making recommendations on funding allocations. Their perspective is imperative to ensure that these funds are utilized effectively and in a way that centers the needs of all Baltimoreans for the full duration of the fund. I’m grateful for their service, and their willingness to dedicate their time and experience on this crucial effort.”

Dr. Susan Sherman Named to Mayor’s Overdose Cabinet

Mayor Scott also announced the addition of Dr. Susan Sherman to his Overdose Cabinet. 

Dr. Sherman is a Bloomberg Professor of American Health in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and core faculty at the Bloomberg American Health Initiative based at BSPH. She is the author of the city’s abatement plan, a multi-pronged plan to address the Baltimore opioid epidemic, that is being considered as part of ongoing litigation against pharmaceutical companies. The appointment of Dr. Sherman to the Overdose Cabinet will help ensure alignment between the city’s response to the overdose crisis and the strategies outlined in the abatement plan. 

Dr. Sherman has conducted research over the past 25 years in Baltimore city that has focused on improving the health of marginalized populations, specifically that of people who use drugs. Her career has focused on studying the impact of using harm reduction strategies and using evidence to inform drug policy and programming in order to reduce overdose deaths and other harms to people who use drugs.

Community Engagement Plan 

The City extended the public comment period on the community engagement period through March 15, 2025. Residents are encouraged to review the plan here and submit their comments here.

Accountability and Transparency Plan

The City also extended the public comment period on the draft Accountability and Transparency Plan through March 15. This document outlines measures to track and publicly share how opioid restitution funds are allocated and their impact.
Residents can review the draft here and submit comments here. 

Additional updates will be posted on the Health Department’s web page here.