The Shield

Dr. Tamika Holmes is the Founder and Executive Director of Community Care Development Network, a nonprofit rooted in her personal journey. Growing up with challenges that shaped her perspective, Dr. Holmes was inspired to create a space where families feel seen, supported, and empowered to thrive. In this episode, Dr. Holmes shares how her experiences led to building a strong community resource. S...

Shaheed Tawheed is a hip-hop artist, advocate, and co-founder of Knowledge, Rhythm, and Understanding (K.R.U.), a foundation that teaches children and teens the core elements of Hip Hop, including deejaying, emceeing, breakdancing, and graffiti art. Shaheed’s love for music and hip-hop, combined with his life experiences and strong family foundation, have shaped him into the man he is today—and he...

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Shane Herring, our Champion for the Cause, and Tim Cross, the CEO of Expedited Transport Agency (ETA), the presenting sponsor for the 2025 End Addiction Walk. In this episode, we discuss why they’re passionate about supporting this walk, their personal journeys through battling substance use disorder, and the impact of recovery. Tune in to hear how their...

Lindsay Gray is the Executive Director of Bundles of Hope, a nonprofit focused on providing essential resources to mothers and babies in need. What began as a mission to supply diapers has blossomed into a community-driven effort, with Lindsay’s passion and background in nursing at its core. Under her leadership, Bundles of Hope has grown to provide over 10,000,000 diapers, expanding its reach to...

Kelly Greene is the Founder and Executive Director of Food for Our Journey, a nonprofit dedicated to providing food and essential services to the unhoused community. What started as a passion project quickly grew into a vital resource, thanks to Kelly’s faith, dedication, and background in youth ministry. Tune in as Kelly shares her journey and talks about the importance of taking the time to list...

Dr. Angela Sullivan is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Admissions and Enrollment Management for UAB’s School of Public Health. She is also the Board President of the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resources Coalition (ASPARC), an organization that provides suicide prevention trainings statewide. Angela is a strong advocate for suicide prevention, and through her research, she works t...

Join us for a conversation with Homewood’s Fire Chief, Brandon Broadhead, who has been vital to the implementation of APC's ONEbox initiative in Central Alabama!  Chief Broadhead discusses how he became interested in becoming a first responder and his passion for helping others.  In addition to being an advocate for the accessibility of Naloxone, Chief Broadhead is a strong advocate for menta...

Join us as Dr. Sherri Huff with Birmingham City Schools (BCS) discusses her role in launching wellness initiatives in BCS and helping promote the mental health and wellbeing of all BCS students.  In addition to being an APC Board Member, Dr. Huff also serves as the Program Specialist for Birmingham City Schools’ Physical, Health, and Driver’s Education programs. Dr Huff is a staunch advocate for m...

Join us as APC’s new Executive Director, Nichole Dawsey, interviews APC’s former Executive Director, Carie Wimberly, ahead of her formal retirement from APC.  Since November 2020, Carie Wimberly has served as the Executive Director of APC. Since then, APC has rapidly expanded its staff, programs, and community impact. Carie walks us through her previous career, how she found her way to APC, and he...

Join us as the Founder and Executive Director of Khairi and Little Angels Memorial (KLA Memorial), Tomeka Walker, discusses the events that led to her creating KLA Memorial and how the organization supports mothers and families, who have lost an infant.  After the experience of losing her infant son, Khairi, in May 2014, Tomeka began Khairi and Little Angels Memorial as an organization to support...

Lige’ is the Director of Community Engagement with Girls, Inc. of Central Alabama. Throughout her career, she has worked in various areas of prevention and mental health wellness. With her prior experience, she was led to Girls, Inc. where she fosters community collaboration, while also providing prevention services through mentoring programs, teaching girls life skills, and promoting health and w...

Anthony is a local business owner and is well known within Birmingham’s service industry.  Anthony joins Nichole to discuss how he has been sober from alcohol for 2.5 years while still actively working in the service industry, which historically, has had high rates of substance use.  Anthony also tells us about an initiative he started to support those working in the service industry, who are in r...

Join us for the first episode of The Shield featuring Cheryl Dodson, the Executive Director of the Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resource Coalition (ASPARC)!    Cheryl was featured on the popular 2017 podcast, S-Town , which followed her friend, John, who died by suicide. The podcast served as a catalyst, and Cheryl found her way into the field of suicide prevention. Since then, Cheryl has been p...

Join us as we get to know APC’s new Deputy Director, Nichole Dawsey, and learn more about how she found her way into the field of prevention and how she came to APC! Also, stay tuned for a special announcement from APC’s Executive Director, Carie Wimberly.   In July 2024, Nichole Dawsey moved to Birmingham from St. Louis, Missouri. Before coming to APC, she worked in various roles at PreventEd, a...

Join us as Judge Maria Fortune tells us about presiding over Jefferson County Drug Court and her role in helping Drug Court participants be successful!  Judge Maria Fortune serves as a Criminal District Court Judge, presiding over Drug Court in Jefferson County. Judge Fortune grew up in Denver, Colorado, and from an early age, she knew that she wanted a career in law. As a child, she observed disp...

Join us as Tyler Harris discusses his recovery journey and the work he does at Unbound Grace to support those in or seeking recovery.    In this episode, Tyler Harris tells us about growing up in Birmingham and attending Auburn University. Tyler’s substance use escalated while he was in college, which led to concerning health and legal consequences. Today, Tyler is thriving in his recovery, and he...

In this episode, Lauren Sisler joins APC’s Executive Director, Carie Wimberly, and APC’s podcast producer, Ronnie Gatrey, to review End Addiction Bham 2024.    End Addiction Bham is an annual event that APC hosts each spring to promote awareness of substance misuse, provide hope, and provide connection. Each year this event draws several thousand people. Many participants are in recovery, some hav...

Join us as Shane Herring discusses his experience with losing his sister to a substance use disorder, the impact it had on his life, and how he is using his own experiences and recovery journey to positively impact lives.  Shane Herring is the Manger of Clinical Operations for UAB Medicine’s Center for Psychiatric Medicine and the Program Director for UAB Medicine’s Addiction Scholars Program.  In...

oin us as Jasmine Gilbert tells us about the work she does with local students and the implementation of prevention efforts in Birmingham.  Jasmine, a  Birmingham native and an alumna of Birmingham City Schools, discusses her love for the City of Birmingham and her determination of to enrich the lives of Birmingham residents. Jasmine is currently the Program Director for APC’s SAMHSA grant, Strate...

Join us as Candace Rachel, the Rapid Response Coordinator for the Jefferson County Department of Health’s Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) initiative, tells us about the work that is being done to combat opioid overdoses in Alabama.  Candace, who is jokingly known as “Narcan Nancy” by many people she has trained on how to administer Naloxone, discusses how she became interested in working with peopl...

Join us as Adam Schniper and Janae Pinson from Compact tell us about Compact's substance use prevention initiatives in Shelby County, Alabama, and how Compact has become a trusted, vital community resource.  In 2016, Compact was established by the Shelby County District Attorney with the goal of reducing the rate of substance use in Shelby County. Since its inception, Compact has served as a...

Join us as Bronwyn McInturff, an APC board member and a social worker with nearly 25 years of experience working in the substance use field, discusses stigma, the evolution of substance use treatment, and treatment limitations due to funding.  Bronwyn also tells us about how she was introduced to the mental health field by her mother, who is also a helping professional. She discusses what it was l...

Join us for a conversation with Emily Herring, LICSW, as she discusses the work of Fairfield High School’s INFOCUS chapter and the positive impact she is having on the lives of her students!    Since 2020, Emily Herring, or Ms. Emily as she is commonly known by her students and APC staff, has worked with Fairfield City Schools to improve the mental health and wellbeing of her students. Ms. Emily i...

Join us as Dave Urech tells us about what it is like being a parent of a child with a substance use disorder and his passion for working with families with a similar experience.  Dave Urech, a Michigan native, moved to Alabama about a decade ago, and he and his wife, Laura, became engaged in a local support group for parents of a child with a substance use disorder. Both Dave and his wife had been...

Join us as Dr. John Dantzler discusses how he started his career in educational research and program evaluation, but found his way into the field of substance use. Dr. Dantzler discusses the importance of affordable and effective substance use treatment options for everyone .  Dr. John Dantzler is a professor within UAB’s Department of Psychiatry, the Vice Chair of Substance Abuse Programs at UAB,...