Nominations Open for the Richard Lane/Robert Holden Patient Advocacy Award

National Alliance for Medication Assisted Recovery

Contact Persons:

Zachary Talbott, President
president@methadone.org 
Joycelyn Woods, Executive Director
edirector@methadone.org 
Phone/Fax: 1 (212) 595-NAMA (1-212-595-6262)

For Release:

 Richard Lane was a long-term heroin user who, upon release from prison in 1967, was instrumental in establishing one of the Nation’s first opioid treatment programs. In 1974, he became the Executive Director of Man Alive and later served as Vice President of the American Methadone Treatment Association (now AATOD) and as Vice Chairman of the Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Maryland.  Mr. Lane was a passionate advocate for methadone treatment (the only medication for opioid use disorder available at the time) and, by disclosing his own treatment experiences, provided inspiration to patients and colleagues alike.

Robert Holden was also a recovering heroin user, who later became the Director of PIDARC, an outpatient opioid treatment program in the District of Columbia.  He was a friend of Richard Lane and succeeded Richard Lane’s term of office as the Vice President of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence.  This award was established in 1995 and recognizes extraordinary achievements in medication assisted treatment (MAT) patient advocacy.   

The following criteria should be applied in making your selection:

Only one (1) nominee can be submitted by NAMA Recovery to the Conference Awards Committee. There may be a number of nominees however only one (1) “consensus” nominee may receive this honor.

The nominee must have been involved in the field of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) advocacy for a period of five (5) years.

The nominee must have made meaningful and consistent contributions, which have had a significant impact on opioid treatment within a state or region of the United States.

For each nominee a Nomination Form must be completed and submitted with two (2) Letters of Support. The Nomination Form and this announcement and can also be downloaded from the NAMA Recovery website http://www.methadone.org and the President’s Blog http://nama-president.blogspot.com/.

NAMA Recovery will be responsible for collecting all the submissions for nomination and selecting a committee of advocates that will decide on the final candidate. The Candidate’s Name, Nomination Form and at least two (2) Letters of Support describing the nominee’s achievements will be submitted to the AATOD Conference Awards Committee for the final approval.

The deadline for Submissions is October 9, 2020. The completed Nomination Form along with at least two (2) Letters of Support should be sent to Joycelyn Woods at edirector@methadone.org.

Previous Winners of the Award

Richard Lane, 1995, Arizona
Joycelyn Woods, 2001, St. Louis
Anthony Scro, 2007, San Diego
Walter Ginter, 2009, New York
Lisa Mojer Torres, 2010, Chicago
Roxanne Baker, 2012, Las Vegas
Ira Marion, 2013, Philadelphia
Claude Hopkins, 2015, Atlanta
Brenda Davis, 2016, Baltimore
Paul Bowman, 2017 New York
Zachary Talbott, 2019 Orlando

This Award will be bestowed upon the recipient during the Awards Banquet Ceremony on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 during AATOD’s next National Conference which will convene at The Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada

The recipient will be provided with a roundtrip Coach Class airfare, up to two (2) nights in the hotel and Conference Registration.

Deadline:    Friday, October 9, 2020

Email Nominations To:        
Joycelyn Woods
edirector@methadone.org

If you have any questions about the award contact Joycelyn Woods at edirector@methadone.org or by telephone at 917-846-9983

Download Press Release

Download NOMINTION FORMS (word)

Download NOMINTION FORMS (pdf)