Board of Directors

Linda Surks, Chairman

Linda Surks began working in the substance abuse prevention field when Jason was six years old. Over the years, educating her kids as she got educated about the many risks of substance abuse, she never dreamed that in thirteen years, her precious son would die of an overdose of prescription medications.

With the full support or her employer, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) of Middlesex County, Inc., she works to prevent other families from suffering the pain of a devastating loss. Through her work as founder and coordinator of the Coalition for Healthy Communities, Linda works to strengthen the community through education, collaboration, and advocacy.

One of the original sponsors of the Vigil for Lost Promise, Linda has worked with other families who share the pain of loss to build Families Changing America, Inc. They are committed to sparing others from experiencing that pain.

Read Jason's Story

 

Frank Marrero, First Vice Chair

Frank lost his oldest son to steroid abuse on September 26, 2004. At age 19, Efrain Anthony Marrero was like so many teenagers in our community. He was active in sports, popular with classmates and was adored by his parents, Frank and Brenda Marrero of Vacaville, CA. Often called the “gentle giant” by those that loved him, Efrain was known for his kindness and commitment to being a successful adult.

That tragic event has forever changed their family in ways they are still struggling to understand. But one thing is certain; they have dedicated the rest of their lives to preventing this devastating loss from happening to other families. To that end they have established The Efrain Anthony Marrero Foundation, Fighting Against Steroids Together.

Today the Marrero’s honor Efrain’s memory by educating teens, parents, coaches and the medical community about the dangers of steroid abuse. Frank Marrero, Efrain’s father, has spoken throughout the United States to high schools, Air Force units, congress, and athletic organizations about Efrain’s story, suicide prevention and steroid awareness. Together they know we can realize our shared dream of saving our children from substance abuse.

Frank Marrero is a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve and a pilot with United Airlines for 15 years. He is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and a 25-year decorated veteran most recently serving his nation in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Read Efrain's Story

 

Ronni McLaughlin, Second Vice Chair

Ronni McLaughlin grew up in Queens, New York. She married her teenage sweetheart and bought their first house in Merrick, Long Island. After working as an executive secretary, Bruce and Ronni had 4 children. After 7 years their house in Merrick became too small for them. They moved to Wilton, CT. Ronni was so thankful to be able to raise her children in such a pretty environment with a reputable school system. She immediately became involved with the Wilton Youth Council and the PTA. Ronni joined the Wilton Teen Center Board of Directors and watched the teen center become an important place for teens to go in the town. She never dreamed her oldest son Dan would abuse drugs. Her family was devastated when he died on May 5, 2004 of an accidental heroin overdose in his room.

Currently, Ronni is still involved with the Wilton Youth Council. She volunteers also for the Wilton Underage Drinking Task Force and PTSA. Ronni is the librarian for the Stamford Chapter of Compassionate Friends. Since Dan’s death, she has told his story to some health classes at Staples High School for The Courage to Speak. Ronni got to know Ginger Katz as she also lost her son 10 years ago to a heroin overdose and also lives nearby. Ronni went to the candlelight vigil and joined Families Changing America. She doesn’t want this to happen to any family. The disease of addiction affects the whole family and is very traumatic. Ronni has recently become part of “Parent Connection” and is helping to start up a “Just Talk” program for high school parents to join together and discuss important issues of teenagers.

 

Don Hooton, Secretary

Don serves as President of the Taylor Hooton Foundation. He and his family founded the Taylor Hooton Foundation in 2004, the year following the loss of their son Taylor.

Since founding this organization, Don has become the leading national spokesman on the issue of appearance and performance enhancing drug use by our nation's youth. He has spoken directly to well over 100,000 people across the country, appeared as an expert witness before Congress on three occasions, regularly meets with Federal Government officials, has met with several governors, and spoken to multiple state legislatures. In addition, he has appeared on a number of national and international TV and radio programs to discuss this important topic.

For his work in this field, Don was named Texas Sports Personality of the Year in 2005 by the Dallas Morning News and was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America by the Institute for International Sports in 2007. Most recently, he was selected to receive the Distinguished Service Award by the United States Sports Academy.

Prior to forming the foundation, Don had a successful 33-year career in the telecommunications software business.

Don and his wife, Gwen, live in McKinney, TX, have been married for 34 years, and are the proud parents of two children, Mackenzie and Donald, and have one grandson, Aidan.

Read Taylor's Story

 

Francine Haight

Francine Hahn Haight received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Arizona State University. She is a Registered Nurse with work experience in Medical Intensive Care (ICU) Surgical ICU, CCU, Emergency Room, Operating Room and Public Health, and is the Founder of Ryan's Cause (Reaching Youths Abusing Narcotics) She is mother of three children and after she found her son, Ryan, had died from an overdose of prescription drugs purchased from the Internet, she made it her goal to reach out and work to prevent this from happening to others. Francine has told her story to numerous local and national news stations, television programs including Dateline NBC, The Today Show, Good Morning America and Montel Williams, magazines including Reader’s Digest and Family Circle, and local and national news papers including the Washington Post and USA Today to help educate and bring more awareness to the public the dangers of sales of drugs on the Internet. Her most recent participation was with E Entertainment where she told her story on a documentary called “Online Nightmares”. Ryan’s story was also mentioned in the HBO 14–part series called Addiction.

Francine’s Activities and Publications:

Read Ryan's Story

 

Paul Joseph

Paul Joseph, 51, is the father of five children. His oldest, Joshua, lost his battle with addiction on October 10th, 2003 at the age of 22 from a mixture of valium and cocaine. He is the President of The Josh Joseph Foundation, a foundation dedicated to raising funds for halfway houses and giving educational scholarships for children who have overcome adversity in their lives. He gives speeches to local schools and halfway houses in the attempt that no family should have to go through what his did. It is his sincere hope that no one should ever be turned away from treatment due to a lack of funds. Mr. Joseph is also the President of Precision Plus Home Improvements Inc., a remodeling firm. located in Port Washington, NY where he calls home, as well as on the Board of Directors of EZTO Corporation, a public company.

Read Joshua's Story

 

Virginia “Ginger” Katz

Ginger Katz is CEO and Founder of The Courage to Speak Foundation, Inc., a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization with a national reach whose mission is to educate parents and students about the dangers of drugs. The organization was founded in 1996 shortly after the death of her son, Ian from a drug overdose. Ms. Katz is a nationally recognized figure in the world of substance abuse prevention and treatment and was Honorary Chair of the 2006 National Parent Vigil in Washington DC, recipient of a Prevention Works Award from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the US Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and a Presidential Points of Light honoree. In 2007 her published book, Sunny’s Story, which tells Ian’s story through the eyes and heart of their family dog was featured in The New York Times and other media. She was honored in 2009 by the State of Connecticut General Assembly with an Official Citation for the “meaningful and lasting impact she has had on the lives of our youth and service to the community”.

Ms. Katz has given over 1000 presentations to over a million people nationally including students, parents, educators, law enforcement professionals, clergy, business and civic leaders, including the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Keynote at National Narcotic Officers Association, Keynote at Connecticut PTA 105th Convention, CADCA, DEA, UCONN Providers Conference and other state and national conferences. To sustain and grow her impassioned message, Ms. Katz worked with a team of experts and spearheaded the development of the Courage to Speak Elementary and Middle School Drug Prevention Curricula and Courage to Speak — Courageous Parenting 101. In 2008, the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services recommended the Courage to Speak Foundation programs for a Service to Science Award for evaluation technical support from the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Yale University School of Medicine has chosen the Courage to Speak Foundation’s drug prevention curricula and will evaluate the use of these programs in schools in the 2009–2010 school term. Visit www.couragetospeak.org.

Read Ian's Story

 

Kate Patton

Kate Patton, Kelley McEnery Baker’s mother, has been instrumental in the passage of “Kelley’s Law” which toughens the penalties of Ecstasy and other “Club Drugs” in Illinois, and is the toughest law of its kind in the country. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Partnership for a Drug Free America and serves as a member of Congressman Mark S. Kirk’s Drug Task Force.

Kate has reached out to many hundreds of parents and students to share “Kelley’s Story” with them with the hope that they will learn from Kelley’s deadly mistakes. In 2004, she was invited to speak to representatives of twenty-eight nations at the first International Synthetic Drug Conference held in the Hague, Netherlands.

Families Changing America / PO Box 182 / Franklin Park, NJ 08823 / mail@FamiliesChangingAmerica.org