BSN, RN, CARN, CAAP

Rachel is a registered nurse (RN) in long-term recovery from Opioid Use Disorder and currently holds certifications as a Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN) and a Certified Allied Addiction Practitioner (CAAP). After earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Waynesburg University in 2012, she began her nursing career as a critical care nurse. During this time, she also spent time as a clinical instructor for nursing students at Butler County Community College before transitioning in 2017 to her current specialty of addictions nursing. Rachel has worked in a variety of settings including as the charge nurse of an outpatient office-based addiction treatment clinic and as the site nurse of a residential treatment program for young adults. She now works as an Addiction Specialist at Highmark. She previously served as on the IntNSA Board of Directors as Secretary and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Unity Recovery and the Stakeholder Advisory Group for the Appalachian Node of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Clinical Trials Network.  Her interests include stigma/discrimination, harm reduction, drug policy, health professionals in recovery, pharmacotherapy, toxicology, and improving both equity and quality of life for people who use drugs.