PARCKA Advisory Board

Dennis Cecchini

Mr. Cecchini, as an Architect in the State of Utah for 45 years, has devoted much of his professional career to the planning, design, and construction of K-12 and Higher Education facilities throughout the State. He is the retired Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of MHTN Architects Inc., a firm that has been in continuous operation in Utah since 1923. Mr. Cecchini held the position of CEO with MHTN from 2007 until his retirement in August of 2015, after 36 years with the firm. During this time, Mr. Cecchini was the lead Architect, Project Manager, or Principal Architect on new and remodel K-12 facility projects for (14) School Districts in Utah with project budgets from $1 mil to $98 mil.

Mr. Cecchini was also the Architect on multiple Higher Education facility projects; including the DFCM Four Academic Classroom Room Buildings, design build project, completed for Weber State University, Utah Valley University, Utah State University and Utah State University Eastern. He has also completed multiple projects for the Salt Lake City International Airport during his career.

Mr. Cecchini retired from Architecture following the death of his son, Tennyson, from a heroin overdose, to devote his time and energy as an advocate for the prevention, treatment and post treatment of substance use disorders in Utah. Since July 2015, he is a sitting member of the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Youth Initiative Council; and Chaired the Council’s Ad-Hoc Committee on the Substance Use Disorder Consumer Guide to Adolescent Treatment for Utah.

He is also a member of the Utah Substance Use and Mental Health Advisory Council, (USAAV +), a member of the Department of Health, Utah Coalition for Opioid Overdose Prevention, (UCOOP), and a member of the Utah Opioid Task Force, (UOTF).

As a citizen advocate for policy change in the Utah State legislature, Mr. Cecchini is working on legislation that will assist in providing outstanding outcomes in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. He has testified at multiple legislative hearings advocating for SUD treatment insurance, practice reforms, educational funding for treatment professionals, the availability of opioid antagonists in emergency overdose treatment, and the consistent use of the Utah Controlled Substance Data Base by prescribers and distributors of opioid pain medications.

Kristina Groves, LCSW

Kristina Groves (Ute/Hopi/Chinese) graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. in Sociology and a Master of Social Work. She is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked at the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake (UICSL) since 2008 as an intern, contractor and staff in both the Cedar Point Wellness and the Red Mesa Behavioral Health programs. Since fall 2019, she has been the director of the UICSL's behavioral health program.

"My family always taught us to give back to our community and working with native people was always my goal. Working with Native clients has helped me see the need for meaningful treatment in our community, as well as the ways that mainstream substance absue treatment and mental health therapy do not always work for our population. In my work I have been able to understand the significance of culture and spirituality to Native clients and the importance of a holistic approach to health and wellness."

 2LT Jesse Hudson

Jesse Hudson is currently the program manager for the Utah National Guard's Drug Demand Reduction Outreach(DDRO). He is a Second Lieutenant in the Utah Army National Guard, and helped establish the DDRO Program in Utah.

The UT DDRO Program's mission is to reduce drug demand and prevent drug misuse through training and support to local community coalitions and state agencies in efforts to detect and deter the demand for drugs in Utah's communities.  The UT DDRO Program focuses on coalition building and force multiplication to advance community-led efforts to develop, implement, and evaluate prevention strategies.

Jesse leads these efforts through directly supporting state, local, and community agencies and organizations focused on prevention. He and his team currently support the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH), Utah Coalition for Opioid Overdose Prevention (UCOOP), and many local community coalitions throughout Utah.

Greg Jones, PharmD, MBA

Greg was raised in Hunter (now West Valley City, Utah) near the original Harmons West grocery store, where his uncle was one of the first pharmacy managers, and his mother and other family members worked as pharmacy technicians.  Greg graduated from the University of Utah College of Pharmacy in 1995, and earned an MBA from the Univestiy of Phoenix in 1997. Greg has been employed at Harmons since 1992, starting as a pharmacy intern, then staff pharmacist, pharmacy manager, and as the Director of Pharmacy since 2001. In his current role, Greg oversees pharmacy operations and is involved with the associate wellness program and dietitian services offered by Harmons. 

Greg served on the Utah Medical Care Advisory Committee from 1998-2004, the Utah Board of Pharmacy from 2010-2018, the Salt Lake Community College Pharmacy Technician Program Steering Committee, the Roseman College of Health Sciences Experiential Advisory Committee, and is a preceptor for pharmacy students from several colleges of pharmacy.

Kellie Morrow, RN BSN

Kellie has been a Registered Nurse since 2008.  She is the Director of Operations at Mountainlands Community Health Center, where their mission is to offer affordable care to everyone in the community. She has helped create a successful MAT program for Opioid use and is passionate about helping members of the community live healthy, successful lives.

She worked on Labor and Delivery at Utah Valley Hospital for nine years and also was part of OB Life Flight. Kellie received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Dixie State University and will graduate with her Masters of Business Administration, December 2020, focusing on Healthcare Administration.

Chad Moses, PharmD

Chad Moses is the Pharmacy Director for Utah Navajo Health System (UNHS) in Southeastern Utah. He earned his undergraduate degree from Snow College in 2003 and his Doctor of Pharmacy from Roseman University of Health Sciences in 2006.  He is currently in an MBA program at Boise State University.  In 2006, he started as a stafff pharmacist at UNHS and became the Pharmacy Director in 2008. He was asked to help start a small critical access hospital in 2009 and spent ten years as the Pharmacy Director at that institution as well as UNHS. He currently directs 4 clinical based retail dispensing pharmacies, one clinical pharmacy program with twenty-four staff that includes ten pharmacists. Chad is passionate about pharmacy and the advances they have been able to make in their rural area. His current pharmacy passion is sterile compounding, it has been an amazing challenge and very good for their patients that have to travel great distances for services.

Chad feels very fortunate that he was able to move back to his small home town of Blanding. His family moved there in 1987 when he was in elementary school and he's been there most of his life except for his education and church service. He loves to be active by particiapting in golf, RZR riding, hiking, lifting weights, fishing, playing at the lake, and kayaking, etc.

Eric Schmidt, LCSW, MSSW, MBA

Eric Schmidt is the CEO of New Roads Behavioral Health, a successful behavioral health care organization. He has worked in the behavioral health and substance abuse field for the past 31 years, performing in key executive level positions since in mid-1990’s. He has been a CEO since 2006.

Eric received his Bachelors in Science in Psychology from Colorado State University. He boasts both a Masters of Science in Social Work, which he received from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Phoenix Santa Fe.

In addition to his business and administrative acumen, Eric is a Licensed Mental Health Therapist, personally providing a variety of clinical services utilizing a range of techniques and theoretical designs. In particular, he has extensive clinical experience working with addiction, borderline personality disorder, trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eric loves to train and teach.  He teaches workshops around the country for organizations and conferences.  The workshops focus upon Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, culture-building, etc. Further, Eric is adjunct faculty for the University of Utah School of Social Work, where he teaches a variety of clinical and professional development courses.

Eric enjoys spending time with his family.  He likes exercising, reading, and learning.  He is an ardent SCUBA diver, traveling to relatively exciting places to dive.

Eric founded New Roads Behavioral Health, which primarily and uniquely serves clients with severe persistent mental illness, addiction, and personality disorders.  He is the founder and past President of the Utah Association of Addiction Treatment Provides. He also assists as a member of several national organizations for behavioral health, tirelessly advocating for clients on both the national and state levels.

Alexis Taylor, RN

Alexis has been a nurse for almost 3 years. She graduated from Snow College with her Associate’s in Nursing and completed her Bachelor’s Degree through Weber State University. She currently is working on her Master’s Degree in Nursing Education through Western Governors University.  She started her career at Dixie Regional Medical Center in the Emergency Department and worked there for almost 18 months.

After marrying the love of her life, they returned to their hometown to be closer to family. She then started her job at the Wayne Community Health Center as a behavioral health nurse case manager. She works closely with the patients who take medication for opioid use disorder and with other patients who have mental health concerns. She works closely with providers in oud and the psychologist who meets with patients once a month via telehealth. In a small, rural healthcare facility the staff takes on many different roles. The knowledge and skills she learned in the emergency department have proven beneficial in this clinic setting. They are the only facility for many miles and often times they care for critically ill and injured patients to prepare them for transport to a higher level of care. She has recently taken on a new role to help with their quality measures. She also works on an as needed basis at Sevier Valley Hospital on their medical surgical floor and in their emergency department.

In her spare time she loves spending time with her family-- camping, boating, riding UTVs, reading, and watching movies. She and her husband are currently building their dream home and anxiously awaiting the arrival of their baby boy in April! She says, "Life is very busy, but it is good!"