Denise Crosson, Ph.D.

Director of Research – Having completed a primary program of nursing education and an associate degree in nursing in 1983, Dr. Crosson worked in hospital and home based settings as a nurse and a nursing administrator for seventeen years before returning to school to complete a baccalaureate, masters (nursing, family nurse practitioner), and doctoral degree (research, risk and resilience). Her doctoral work was funded via an individual NRSA from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research (F31 NR007929, 9/01-9-04). Dr. Crosson taught and participated as a research team member at Virginia Commonwealth University for five years before accepting the position as Director of Research Programs with the Foundation for Recovery.

Jessica Hirshon

Event Planner – Jessica moved to Las Vegas in January of 2005 bringing with her years of event, marketing and public relations experience. As a former Promotions Manager at VOGUE Magazine, and then as the Marketing & Events Director for two local companies, she has put together hundreds of events ranging from small sampling programs to fully-staged concerts, poker runs and golf tournaments. She has been active in our community since she arrived volunteering with numerous charities and community organizations, and sits on several event committees. She is a graduate of Boston University and did her post-graduate work at NYU.

Kelly Dennehy

Research Assistant – For the past several years, Kelly Dennehy has conducted research in the field of behavioral science and is currently a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas completing her Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Psychology. She has been a resident of Las Vegas for five years.

Logan Smith

Research Assistant – A native resident of Las Vegas, Logan is currently a student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and plans on graduating with his Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. He actively participates in research with the Foundation for Recovery and on-campus at UNLV.

Jaime Weller-Lafavor, MSW

Direct Services Grant Coordinator – Jaime earned a Dual Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice at Northern Arizona University in 2000. Jaime has worked in several social service environments including child welfare and human services (to include homelessness, housing, youth prevention and emergency assistance) in both direct service and administrative positions including Executive Director and Chief Development Officer. In August 2007, Jaime earned a Master’s degree from the UNLV School of Social Work with an emphasis in Administrative Practice and Planning. Jaime has made it a point of both her personal and professional life to give back to the community in which she grew up and to help make our community a better place to live and work. She volunteers her time with various nonprofit organizations and serves as a Board Member with a local nonprofit.

Karyn Edwards

Corporate Controller – Karyn moved to Las Vegas in 1999 and focused her career direction in the not-for-profit sector. She has more than 25 years experience in accounting and fiscal management, of which almost 5 years were in executive fiscal management for residential and/or outpatient substance abuse programs.

Robin Williams

Research Assistant - Robin worked as a medical assistant for more than 20 years in Nebraska, specializing in Dermatology and Ophthalmology. She is now part of the research team at the Foundation for Recovery in which she aids in clinical outcomes research and the development of continuing medical education course work. Robin has been a resident of Las Vegas for a little over a year.