National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA) Appoints Healthcare Leader Denise Bertin-Epp CEO
- Former CEO Sis Wenger retires after 34 years of advocacy and service.
- NACoA celebrates 40 years of serving children of families with substance abuse disorders.
KENSINGTON, Md. – February 15, 2023 – Denise Bertin-Epp, a healthcare executive with experience serving as the CEO of addiction treatment facilities in the U.S. and internationally, was appointed CEO of the nonprofit National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA).
Bertin-Epp follows Sis Wenger, who served as CEO for 34 years. NACoA Board Chair Christopher Yadron, Ph.D., LCPC, CADC, said, “We thank and honor Sis for nearly four decades of service. She has been a pioneer and advocate for families affected by substance abuse. Sis’s leadership has given countless children a voice to overcome the secrecy and silence of this disease.”
Wenger, a well-known advocate for supporting children growing up in families hurt by addiction, received many honors throughout her career, including two major presidential awards. In 2021 she received the prestigious Advocate of the Year Award from the Addiction Policy Forum.
Yadron served with Bertin-Epp on the board before today’s appointment. He said, “Denise has over 35 years of healthcare and administration experience. Her clinical and organizational expertise and visionary leadership will help NACoA chart a bold path to eliminate the adverse impact of substance use on children and create a world where no child who struggles because of family addiction will be left unsupported.”
Bertin-Epp said, “As we celebrate the NACoA’s 40th anniversary, I am honored and humbled to become the CEO, to carry on the sacred mission of advocating and caring for children affected by the disease of familial addiction. We have witnessed a substantial increase in substance use disorders while people were isolated at home during the pandemic. This increase, coupled with the influx of heroin and fentanyl, has exacerbated the opioid use epidemic, NACoA’s mission and life-saving work are vital for the health and prosperity of our nation’s children.”
The disease of addiction is a national health epidemic. One in four children lives in families impacted by parental addiction, with physical and emotional effects lasting a lifetime, including a predisposition to the disease. Bertin-Epp adds, “In addition to alcohol use disorders, communities across the country are struggling with ever-increasing drug overdoses from opioids, drug-laced edibles being targeted at children and teens, and the national movement for the legalization of marijuana. The demand for treatment options for those with addiction began rising during the pandemic and has not abated. The need is great, and NACoA’s work to support children and families is critical.”
Bertin-Epp holds a BS in Nursing and has an MSA in Health Care Administration. She received the Michigan Nightingale Nursing Leadership Excellence Award, was celebrated as a Behavioral Health Champion in 2010 by Healthcare Magazine, and was awarded “Woman of the Decade in Healthcare Leadership” in November 2019 by the International Women’s Economic Forum in London, England.
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About the National Association of Children of Addiction (NACoA).
NACoA was founded in 1983 with the mission to eliminate the adverse impact of alcohol and drug use on children and families. One in four children in the U.S. lives in a family with a parent addicted to drugs or alcohol. The nonprofit provides extensive training programs and produces evidence-based materials, in English and Spanish, for practitioners whose works touch the lives of children with addiction to improve their outcomes. Visit nacoa.org to learn more.
