Kathleen is committed to education, evidence-based practices, and advocacy in the field of substance use with decades of leadership experience. As the founder of Moms for All Paths to Recovery, she is a fierce advocate for expanding access to diverse and effective treatment. She is deeply committed to advancing the foundation’s mission to create equitable access to ibogaine.

Kathleen’s professional background includes an illustrious career in hospitality, having managed high-end luxury hotels and resorts across the nation, including 24 years with Loews Hotels and serving as the Managing Director of The Plaza Hotel in New York City. She is currently the Alisal Guest Ranch Resort & Spa General Manager in California’s Santa Ynez Valley, where her focus on community and connection underscores her leadership style.

A peer coach with the Partnership to End Addiction and fully trained in the Invitation to Change Approach (ITC) through the Center for Motivation and Change, Kathleen blends her lived experience with her daughter’s decades of substance use with a commitment to evidence-based practices. Her story and advocacy were recently featured in the documentary Untreated & Unheard, highlighting her dedication to amplifying the voices of families affected by substance use.

As President, Kathleen leads with compassion and vision, working to ensure Vilomah’s efforts honor those lost to preventable deaths of despair while fostering healing and building a more just and equitable society.

Susan is a fearless advocate and visionary thinker committed to transforming mental health and substance use treatment while addressing the systemic failures that perpetuate preventable deaths of despair. For six years, she navigated stigma, misinformation, and a deeply flawed healthcare system in her relentless effort to help her son Tyler access effective treatment for his opioid addiction. After losing Tyler in October 2020, Susan embraced the belief that such losses are a universal call to action—channeling the powerful forces of grief and love to demand systemic change and foster a more compassionate, connected society. Grounded in a deep commitment to integrity and transparency, Susan approaches her work with humility, a willingness to learn, and an unrelenting determination to improve the system. She believes that meaningful solutions emerge through listening, collaboration, and the courage to challenge entrenched norms. Her efforts are driven by a dedication to dismantling stigma, advancing innovative therapies, empowering others, and ensuring equitable access to care. Through extensive research into ibogaine and other plant medicines, Susan has developed a deep conviction in their potential to address the root causes of problematic substance use. She is committed to ensuring these groundbreaking therapies remain in the public domain—accessible to all who need them—and integrating them into patient-focused, individualized care models that promote healing, dignity, and empowerment. With a professional background in publishing and communication, Susan uses her skills and lived experience to advocate for meaningful policy reforms. Her ultimate goal is to transform the substance use and mental health treatment landscape into one that addresses underlying causes, and promotes self-actualization for individuals and communities alike.

Nicole is a dedicated advocate for creating compassionate, evidence-based solutions for substance use disorder and improving outcomes for all vulnerable populations. As a mother, Nicole is deeply committed to building a gentler path for future generations, inspired by her vision of a more equitable and supportive system of care. Professionally, Nicole brings extensive expertise in healthcare finance and regulatory navigation. Her career includes serving as a comptroller for a specialty healthcare finance group and as the president of a company specializing in medical fraud, waste, and abuse prevention and remediation. Nicole is also an expert in navigating federal regulatory frameworks, particularly those governing DEA Schedule I research, a critical area for advancing studies on innovative treatments for substance use disorder and mental health. Nicole’s unique blend of professional financial experience and personal passion drives her efforts to contribute meaningfully to the movement for systemic change, ensuring better access to care, equity, and dignity for those in need.

Sharon White serves as Secretary of the Vilomah Foundation and is a passionate advocate for individuals and families impacted by substance use disorder. Her advocacy is deeply rooted in lived experience and shaped by years of navigating the challenges, stigma, and systemic barriers faced by people seeking support and recovery. Following the loss of her son, Andrew “Lloyd” White, to substance use disorder in 2019, Sharon transformed grief into purpose by founding Lloyd’s Light Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by addiction through compassion, education, advocacy, harm reduction, and recovery support. Through her work, Sharon has become a respected voice in the movement to reduce stigma and expand access to lifesaving resources and person-centered care. Sharon has been actively involved in public policy and legislative advocacy, including efforts surrounding “Lloyd’s Law” in Pennsylvania, which addresses discrimination against individuals who carry naloxone. She is committed to advancing approaches that recognize the dignity and humanity of all people affected by substance use disorder and mental health challenges. Known for her empathy, resilience, and unwavering dedication to helping others, Sharon brings both personal insight and community leadership to the Vilomah Foundation’s mission of supporting bereaved families, promoting healing, and advocating for compassionate, evidence-based solutions to the overdose crisis.

Sandra is a passionate advocate for drug policy reform, driven by her personal experience navigating the healthcare system on behalf of her late son, Jeffrey. During her career in sub-acute healthcare, Sandra honed her skills as an effective patient advocate. However, she was unprepared for the barriers created by stigma when advocating for Jeffrey’s medical and mental health treatment. Prescribed opioids for an injury at just 15 years old, Jeffrey’s journey highlighted numerous systemic failures—from inadequate support in methadone clinics to cardiologists who denied him the surgery that could have saved his life. Tragically, Jeffrey passed away at the age of 24 in 2012. Since Jeffrey’s death, Sandra has become a dedicated voice in the fight for change. She has organized local events for International Overdose Awareness Day, participated in national rallies, and shared Jeffrey’s heartbreaking story to raise awareness and push for drug policy reform. Her advocacy spans her home state of California and Washington, D.C., with a long-term goal of establishing a Ryan White-type program for intravenous drug use (IVDU)-related endocarditis—a critical yet overlooked issue within the broader addiction crisis. Sandra’s work is rooted in honoring Jeffrey’s memory and ensuring that others facing similar struggles receive the compassionate care and systemic support they deserve.

Science was Cara's first love so freshly armed with a degree in Biology and Chemistry, Cara left the Midwest for the Golden State of California to work in the biotech industry. Twenty years later It was her personal health crisis that prompted her to dive into the worlds of neuroscience, psychology and all things under the “brain wellness” umbrella. Truly a Wounded Healer, Cara's gift is to simplify complex theory into practical and digestible strategies that set the foundation for audacious and authentic living. She shares her knowledge and strategies as My Girlfriend Voice. Launched in 2011, the name, "My Girlfriend Voice" is the opposite of your harsh critical voice in your head. She’s the supportive, solutions focused voice, strengthening and empowering us, and most importantly, minimizing the power of the Inner Critic. The day before Thanksgiving in 2022, Cara lost her oldest son Eric to an accidental overdose. There is nothing that prepares you for the death of your child. We live in a grief illiterate world and the grief from a substance related death is further dimenished by the stigma. Seeing the gap in support for other mothers like her, Cara trained with international grief expert and author, David Kessler, becoming a Certified Grief Educator in June of 2024. In September of 2024, Cara was named GRief Support Programs Manager for the Vilomah Foundation and a Chapter Leader for GRASP, Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing. Both organizations offer online and in-person support services. You can find more information at www.mygirlfriendvoice.com.