About Us
The Coalition on Physician Education in Substance Use Disorders (COPE) is a voluntary organization devoted to improving patient care and the public health by assuring that all physicians are trained to prevent, identify, and provide specialty-appropriate interventions for patients with substance use problems
Board Members
Chair
Sandeep Kapoor, MD, MS-HPPL
Sandeep Kapoor, MD, MS-HPPL is faculty for medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and science education at the Zucker School of Medicine… Read More
Vice Chair
Michael M. Miller, MD, DLFAPA, DFASAM
Michael M Miller, MD, DLFAPA, DFASAM, is a board-certified general and addiction psychiatrist… Read More
Frank Bailey, Ed.D.
Frank Bailey, EdD, is the Medical Educator at Northern Light Health Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine… Read More
Hilary Connery, MD, PhD
Hilary S. Connery, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School… Read More
Anthony Dekker, DO, FAOAAM, FASAM
Tony is currently the Chief Medical Officer of the Division of Developmental Disabilities for the State of Arizona… Read More
John A. Renner, Jr., MD
Dr. Renner is Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine and Associate Chief of Psychiatry, VA Boston Healthcare System… Read More
Joseph Skrajewski, MA
Joseph Skrajewski, MA, is the national director of healthcare solutions at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation… Read More
Norman W. Wetterau, MD, FAAFP, FASAM
Norman W. Wetterau, MD, FAAFP, FASAM, served as a specialist in addiction medicine, in a wide variety of settings… Read More
Stephen Wyatt, DO, FAOAAM
Stephen Wyatt is the Director of the MAHEC Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, a CoPI/Clinical Expert for the SAMHSA Provider Clinical Support System (PCSS)… Read More
Founding Member
David C. Lewis, MD
David Lewis: Dr. David Lewis was Professor Emeritus of Community Health and Medicine and the Donald G. Millar Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University. A graduate of Brown and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Lewis trained in internal medicine and was a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He led the Department of Community Health at Brown for five years as chair. In 1982, Dr. Lewis founded the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, which he led until 2000. He was also a founder of the Coalition on Physician Education in Substance Use Disorders (COPE).
The author of over 400 publications, Dr. Lewis advised Presidents, members of Congress, Governors, and philanthropists in all aspects of the field of addiction, from recovery to the legalization of drugs. A lifelong lover of photography, he traveled the world extensively with his late wife Eleanor for adventure and photo opportunities. Dr. Lewis leaves behind his children and grandchildren, an internationally regarded center of scholarly excellence at Brown, as well as a legacy of compassionate, scientifically appropriate treatment for substance use disorders.
Founding Member
Bonnie Baird Wilford, M.S.
Bonnie passed away peacefully on April 4, 2019. Bonnie’s career in the healthcare field is her major legacy. She worked for many years at the American Hospital Association, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the American Medical Association, where her interest and expertise in the addiction medicine field grew.
Bonnie’s work at the AMA drew interest from Washington, DC, and in 1991 she accepted an appointment in the Executive Office of the President at the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H.W. Bush. From there she went to work at the school of Public Health at the George Washington University. She was recruited from the university to join a healthcare consulting firm where she worked until her passion led her to others passionate about addiction medicine. They created COPE, the Coalition on Physician Education in Substance Use Disorders, the mission of which is to ensure that every graduating physician has the knowledge, skills and attitudes to prevent and treat substance use disorders. Bonnie was the Executive Director of COPE at the time of her passing.
Bonnie’s expertise, encouragement, vision and connection mentored many who are now leaders in the field. It amazes those who knew her how she could reach so many medical schools through COPE and enlist so many people into the addiction medicine field.
