Mental Health and Impaired Driving Working Group

Annie Kitch is the Principal of AEK Public Strategies, based in Colorado, where she specializes in advocacy strategy, public policy research, and government relations consulting. Her topic areas of expertise include traffic safety issues such as impaired and distracted driving, as well as emergency medical services and 911 systems.

With over a decade of experience in transportation and state government, Annie has a proven track record of supporting policymakers through research, publications, and legislative testimony. At the National Conference of State Legislatures, she supported state lawmakers on state traffic safety and 911 policy. Previously, as a researcher and constituent services staff member for the Colorado Legislative Council Staff, she staffed the Colorado Senate Transportation and Energy Committee and connected hundreds of Coloradans with essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as safe transportation and food assistance. As a process improvement expert with the Colorado Governor’s Office, she collaborated with agencies like the Colorado Department of Transportation to enhance operational efficiency and employee engagement. Annie is currently on contract with Responsibility.org.

Annie has also designed and delivered professional development programs to over 1,000 state legislators, legislative staff, and state agency leaders, focusing on legislative approaches to address traffic safety challenges as well as strategies for improving state agency operations.

Annie holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Northern Arizona University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado-Denver. She serves on the Board of Urban Peak, a Denver-based non-profit that provides services to youth experiencing homelessness.

Sabra Jones, PhD, is a Forensic Toxicologist and board-certified as a Diplomate by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology. Sabra is the Regional Toxicology Liaison (RTL) for the United States (US) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Region 5, serving the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Sabra has worked in transportation safety at the US Federal Aviation Administration, driving impairment, in addition to other areas of forensic toxicology at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office. Prior to becoming one of the first US RTLs, she served as an Assistant Professor and graduate student mentor at Boston University School of Medicine’s Biomedical Forensic Sciences program. She conducts research in the areas of forensic toxicology, analytical chemistry, and impairment.

Sabra obtained her PhD at Oklahoma State University, Center for Health Science in Forensic Science. Her Master of Science degrees in Drug Chemistry (M.S.) and Forensic Toxicology (M.S.) from the University of Florida as well as undergraduate (B.A.) and graduate (M.A.) degrees in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Oklahoma.

She serves as the Immediate Past Chair and on the Executive Board of the National Safety Council’s Alcohol, Drugs, and Impairment Division. She serves as Vice-Chair of the US Academy Standards Board’s Toxicology Consensus Body. Sabra is active in several professional organizations such as the Society of Forensic Toxicologists, Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists, and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences where she is a past chair of the Toxicology Section. Sabra was appointed by the US Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s Governor Charles Baker to serve on the Forensic Oversight Board and the Special Commission on Operating Under the Influence and Impaired Driving.

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.

Mark received his undergraduate degree in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University.   Mark became a Graduate Fellow through the National Council of State Courts Institute of Court Management.

Erin Inman has dedicated her career to public service, with a focus on educating criminal justice professionals about the dangers of impaired driving and their critical role in reducing injuries and fatalities on America’s roadways. She currently serves as the Director of the National Traffic Law Center (NTLC) at the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), where she leads a team in developing training programs and resources to support Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors (TSRPs) and prosecutors nationwide.

Earlier in her career, Erin was elected as the County Attorney for Prairie County, Montana. She prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases—from traffic violations to homicide while under the influence—and played a key role in child and adult protection teams. Her leadership extended to collaboration as a member of the Eastern Montana Drug Task Force.  Following her time as Prairie County Attorney, she served as an Assistant Attorney General at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy, where she developed and delivered training to public safety professionals, including prosecutors, law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and public safety communicators. She then became Montana’s first TSRP, where she built and implemented the state’s TSRP program from the ground up. In this pioneering role, she significantly enhanced the capacity of prosecutors to effectively handle traffic safety cases involving serious injury, death, and impaired driving. Her work was instrumental in shaping Montana’s response to emerging issues such as cannabis-impaired driving and Bakken boomtown related commercial motor vehicle crashes in rural communities.

Erin began her career in the health sector and military service, including work as a pharmacy technician in the U.S. Army Reserves. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Soil and Crops Science from Colorado State University and graduated cum laude from Pepperdine Law School.

Dr. Darrin T. Grondel is the Senior Vice President of Traffic Safety at both Responsibility.org and the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving (NASID). With extensive experience as the former Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and a commander with the Washington State Patrol, Dr. Grondel brings a deep understanding of traffic safety issues and leadership in traffic safety initiatives, especially drunk and impaired driving.

In his current role, he spearheads national efforts to eliminate drunk and drugged driving through advocacy, legislative support, programming, and technical assistance at the federal, state, local and tribal levels. A key initiative under his leadership is the development of NASID, a national coalition of subject matter experts dedicated to combating multi-substance impaired driving. This coalition aims to improve the DUI system across all stages including prevention, training, enforcement, toxicology, adjudication, screening and assessments, probation, and treatment.

Dr. Grondel actively contributes to the traffic safety community as a member of several prominent committees, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Roadway Safety Committee, the National Sheriffs Association’s Traffic Safety Committee, Lifesavers Impaired Driving Committee, the National Safety Council’s Alcohol, Drugs and Impaired Driving Division, Impaired Driving Behavioral Interventions Working Group with the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, and the Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals’ Impaired Driving Data Working Group and Tribal data working group.

He holds an Educational Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from the University of Massachusetts Global, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from The Evergreen State College, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brigham Young University. Additionally, he is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.

Chief Scott Silverii, Ph.D., serves as National Law Enforcement Initiative Manager at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), where he leads the organization’s law enforcement engagement strategy in support of the HALT Drunk Driving Law — federal legislation mandating passive alcohol detection technology in all new passenger vehicles. A retired Chief of Police with 25 years of experience spanning special operations, undercover narcotics, SWAT command, and DEA task force work, Scott brings operational credibility to prevention advocacy that bridges the gap between the patrol car and the policy table. A recipient of the NHTSA Public Service Award, Medal of Valor, and Purple Heart, Scott holds a Master of Public Administration and Ph.D. in Urban Studies with a concentration in Organizational Administration from the University of New Orleans. He is a published author of nearly 50 books and a frequent voice on public safety technology, impaired driving prevention, and officer wellness.

Dr. Nelson’s work covers many facets of addiction, including the relationship between psychiatric comorbidity and DUI offense, how best to develop community recovery environments for youth with substance use problems, and the distribution and determinants of gambling and gambling problems. Dr. Nelson’s DUI work began with her collaboration on an NIH R01 grant to study substance abuse and mental health in repeat DUI offenders. Analyses of this sample demonstrated considerable psychiatric comorbidity and a relationship between that comorbidity and DUI re-offense. Based on this work, Dr. Nelson has been the PI on a multi-year set of projects focused on applying that research to clinical practice. Through these projects, she has led the development and implementation of a mental health assessment system (the Computerized Assessment and Referral System: CARS) at DUI programs across the state of Massachusetts, a randomized clinical trial of CARS at two of those agencies, and a six-month follow-up with more than 300 DUI offenders enrolled in the study. In 2017, she led the expansion of CARS activities to include six national pilot sites who used the program with their DUI clients. CARS was released publicly in June 2017 at www.carstrainingcenter.org. Since then, Dr. Nelson has led the creation of adaptations of CARS that have included diagnostic updates, a Spanish version of the CARS screener, and a version of CARS that can be used in more general behavioral health settings.   

Julie Seitz LGSW, MSW, LADC is a Project Director with Impaired Driving Solutions (IDS), All Rise (formerly NADCP) division, providing training and technical assistance to the treatment court field. Julie joined IDS in 2018, bringing over 20 years of experience in the clinical sector and community program development.  Before joining IDS, Julie was the clinical director of an internationally recognized treatment center offering the entire continuum of clinical care, including a first-of-its-kind direct access opioid withdrawal unit, where she was the project lead. Identifying the barriers to accessing treatment, Julie worked collaboratively as an advocate for systems change while ensuring clients’ voices and choices were honored. Recognizing the many pathways to recovery and the need for additional recovery services, she worked with a small team to develop and launch a recovery community organization serving rural communities in northern Minnesota. Julie spent ten years as the treatment provider with the Minnesota Sixth Judicial District DWI and Mental Health courts, which are recognized for their excellence at state and national levels.  As a published author and clinician, she has spent the last 25 years of her career giving clients a voice. Her work with clients has focused on feedback-informed, research, and outcome-driven practice. As a fierce advocate for education and growing the field, she is also an adjunct professor at the College of St. Scholastica in the Master of Social Work program. Julie has trained at the local, national, and international levels. Julie lives in northern Minnesota with her family and is an avid knitter. 

Officer Thomas has been a Police Officer for the past 28 years, focusing on impaired driving, serious injury, and fatal collision investigations. A Washington State Drug Recognition Expert for 25 years, Officer Thomas has worked with individuals who have struggled with Substance Use Disorder, and in the Spokane Municipal DUI Therapeutic and Accountability Court. He is currently a DUI Officer, Drug Recognition Expert and Motor Officer assigned to the Spokane Police Department Traffic Unit. In addition, he is a D.R.E. Region-4 coordinator, D.R.E. instructor, and currently holds a position on the Washington State Traffic Safety Commissions D.R.E. Advisory Board. 

James (Jim) Eberspacher is the director of Impaired Driving Solutions, a division of All Rise providing training and technical assistance to treatment courts that serve individuals with impaired driving offenses. He has more than two decades of cumulative experience in treatment courts, corrections, policy development, and training/technical assistance. In his current role, he is responsible for the overall daily operations, training, curriculum development, outreach, promoting the expansion of impaired driving treatment courts, and providing solutions to communities to eliminate impaired driving. Prior to joining Impaired Driving Solutions, for seven years, he served as the Minnesota state treatment court coordinator and provided oversight in forming treatment court policy and strategic planning, state standards, funding, research, and delivery of training and technical assistance to treatment court teams. Prior to his role at the state level, he served as the coordinator for three treatment court teams in rural Minnesota and worked as a probation officer. Overall, Jim has over two decades of experience in treatment courts, policy development, and training/technical assistance.

Judge Robert S. Anchondo Presides over County Criminal Court at Law No.2, The DWI Intervention and Treatment Program/MERIT. The program serves participants who are screened and assessed as high-risk high-need participants who are also repeat offenders and are afflicted with the disease of alcoholism, drugs, trauma, and mental health issues. Judge Anchondo also serves as faculty for the National Judicial College and is also a local, state, and national lecturer on various topics dealing with judicial education/impaired driving. He also serves as the Judicial Outreach Liaison for the ABA which provides judicial education, concentrated in the topic of the impaired driver and traffic safety issues. On May 28,2025, he was awarded the Stanley Goldstein Award from All Rise. Due to the enormous time and effort that Judge Anchondo and his team have devoted to the community of El Paso, Texas, and the participants that have gone through the program, the El Paso County DWI Intervention and Treatment Program has been awarded the Academy Court Award from NHTSA and All Rise Driving Impaired Solutions for DWI Courts in recognition for their dedication to keeping our nation’s highways safe by combining treatment and with accountability, for the last 12 years.

Kate Huffman served for twenty-one years as a General Division Judge on the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court and was elected  to the Second District Court of Appeals in 2022.  During her trial court tenure she presided at various times over the Drug Court and the Women’s R.IS.E. court.   Judge Huffman received her B.A. in political science from Wright State University and her J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law, and an M.A. in Judicial Studies from the University of Nevada; she earned a Certificates in Judicial Development General Jurisdiction Trial Skills an Judicial Development Dispute Resolution Skills from the National Judicial College.  Judge Huffman is a member the Innovative Specialized Docket Committee and the Criminal Law and Procedure Committees of the Ohio Judicial Conference.  She recently served two terms on the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Judicial College.  Judge Huffman completed two terms on the Commission for the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Ohio Supreme Court, and served as Chair of that Commission from 2021-2022.  She recently chaired the Ohio Supreme Court Task Force to Examine Ohio’s Bail System. Judge Huffman teaches as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Dayton School of Law and on the faculty of the National Judicial College.  She currently serves as the American Bar Association Judicial Fellow, providing peer-to-peer training on a variety of topics associated with impaired driving.

Chris Konschak is Senior Director, Traffic Safety and Government Relations for Responsibility.org.  Chris is an impaired driving and traffic safety professional and lawyer with over 30 years of proven experience and leadership success in strategy capacity building, legislative and judicial outreach, media relations, and management of mission driven program initiatives. Chris began his career as a Congressional Aide with Senator Alan Cranston and transitioned over to the Virginia Federation of Communities for Drug-Free Youth. He also worked within the political and criminal justice system of Virginia in a variety of capacities. Chris has devoted his life and career to serving others and working to prevent drunk and drugged driving. Responsibility.org has provided opportunities for Chris to focus on working with the judiciary to develop resources aimed at reducing impaired driving. He is an advocate for the importance of screening and assessment for substance and mental health issues for all impaired drivers.  

Chris spent 17 years as the Virginia Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving where he built, maintained, and expanded relationships with Virginia legislators, law enforcement, prosecutors, and a myriad of traffic safety partners. In working with DUI victims and media, his team developed a successful “Victim Stories” campaign utilizing different platforms reaching over 96 million people. A notable accomplishment was his leadership to pass Virginia’s mandatory ignition interlock law for all DUI convictions. This policy change took approximately six years to work through the issues and challenges but speaks to his leadership, character, and perseverance to change policy that saves lives. Chris has a Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Speech Communications from the University of Richmond. He resides in Richmond, VA, with his family. 

Christiana joined Responsibility.org in 2015 and is currently Senior Manager of Traffic Safety. In this role, she supports the traffic safety team in their mission to end impaired driving. Christiana also manages the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving (NASID), a Responsibility.org coalition established to eliminate all forms of impaired driving. A graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Policy and a minor in International Security. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in International Affairs from King’s College London.  

As an undergraduate, Christiana studied abroad at the University of Oxford and interned at the Department of State. Born in Pozzuoli, Italy, to military parents she lived in Europe and Asia. Christiana now lives in Fairfax, VA, with her fiancé and cavapoo, Uno. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time with friends and family, and exploring the world.