We are so excited to bring back our quarterly “lunch & learn” webinar series on Thursday July 25th from 12pm-1pm CT. This quarter’s theme is Creating Champions. A panel of experts from across the state will discuss how to build lasting relationships with community leaders through intentional education and advocacy. Mark your calendars and fill out the RSVP form below to receive the official zoom invite/calendar link. Spread the word to anyone interested, and we look forward to seeing there!

Meet Our Panelists

Ralph Alvarado, MD, FACP, joined Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s cabinet in January 2023 as the 15th commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health. Dr. Alvarado has spent nearly a decade in public service and in 2014 was the first Hispanic member elected to the Kentucky General Assembly where he represented Kentucky’s 28th Senate district. During his service in the Kentucky Senate, Dr. Alvarado was Chairman of the Senate Health & Welfare Committee, led the Substance Abuse Recovery Task Force, and was a member of the Medicaid Oversight, Banking & Insurance, and State & Local Government committees.

Dr. Alvarado has been a practicing physician for the past 29 years, working in a variety of clinical settings, as a hospitalist, in primary care, and at skilled nursing facilities. Dr. Alvarado has served as medical director for the Medicare health plan operators Stableview Health and Signature Advantage, in Lexington, Ky.; as medical director and finance chairman for Kentucky One Health Medical Group, in Louisville, Ky.; and, as vice-chair for the board of Quality Independent Physicians, also in Louisville.

Karen Pershing serves as the Executive Director of the Metro Drug Coalition in Knoxville, Tennessee.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Tennessee.  After working for many years in public health, Karen received her Master’s Degree from UTK in Public Health.  Ms. Pershing has provided numerous trainings throughout her career on health-related topics.  Other credentials include:  Women’s Addiction Services Leadership Institute Class of 2014 (A National program through SAMHSA), Leadership Knoxville Class of 2013, Tennessee Department of Health recognition for work in prescription drug abuse prevention, member of the Tennessee Public Health Association, Executive Women’s Association, and former member of the UT Chancellor’s Associates program.  She is a Certified Prevention Specialist II and a 2014 graduate of the UT Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness.  Karen was the 2016 recipient of the Partners and Leadership Award from the Tennessee Public Health Association as well the recipient of the 2017 FBI Community Director’s Leadership Award, representing the Knoxville Field Office and a 2018 recipient of the Knox Biz (formerly Knoxville Business Journal) Healthcare Heroes Award for her work in addiction and recovery.  Other Boards she serves on are:  Harmony Family Centers, the Prevention Alliance of Tennessee, and The Sycamore Institute.

Jeff Syracuse holds a Bachelor of Music and minor in Recording Industry from Middle Tennessee State University. He has held numerous roles at Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) for over 25 years and currently leads the radio and television licensing team. He also represented BMI on the board of The Blues Foundation for 12 years, serving as Chair of the board for two. He is a Class of 2020 graduate of Leadership Music.

Jeff has served on numerous.non-profit boards in the Nashville area and was a two-term Council Member, where he led the creation of private-public partnerships that revitalized the heart of his distirct with a new $20 million library as a civic anchor around a regional transit center. Jeff helped lead efforts while on Council to support Nashville's creative economy through the creation of a Music, Film, and Entertainment Commission, a study of local, independent music venues, and historic and cultural preservation.

Master Sergeant Dave Walker is a dedicated husband and father of three with almost 25 years of service in the TN National Guard (TNNG), 14 of those full-time with the Counterdrug Task Force. Dave's experience includes direct support to communities across TN in various roles, as well as deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

As the program manager for the TNNG Drug Demand Reduction and Outreach team, he and his team provide support, training, and connections to grassroots community drug prevention coalitions beginning their journey, while continuing to learn from more established coalitions. He and his team are members of the Prevention Alliance of TN, TN Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, and CADCA. They work at the request of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the TBI.