Board of Directors

President
Elizabeth "Libby" Stuyt MD
Pueblo, CO

Elizabeth 'Libby' Stuyt, MD is the Medical Director for the Circle Program at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, Colorado, a 90-day inpatient treatment program, funded by the state of Colorado, for persons with severe co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse who have failed all other levels of treatment.

A board certified Addiction Psychiatrist, she is also a Senior Instructor for the University of Colorado HSC, Department of Psychiatry and enjoys teaching medical students and residents. Dr. Stuyt has authored and co-authored several abstracts and articles including "Addressing Tobacco Through Program and System Change in Mental Health and Addiction Settings," "Recovery Rates After Treatment for Alcohol/Drug Dependence: Tobacco Users versus Non-Tobacco Users", and "Benefits of auricular acupuncture in tobacco-free inpatient dual-diagnosis treatment."

She has presented internationally on numerous topics and has been working in the field of addiction psychiatry since 1990. She helped the Circle Program become tobacco free beginning in January 2000 and subsequently the entire CMHIP campus in June 2008. She is extremely interested in tobacco and its effects on the brain, behavior and recovery. She is a staunch advocate for tobacco cessation and prevention. The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association certified her as an Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist in December 2000 and a Registered Trainer in 2008. She has utilized the NADA protocol since 2000 in her program, initially to help patients withdraw from nicotine, but has found it to also be helpful for many symptoms experienced by those with mental illness.

Dr. Ken Carter is the president of NADA-US and a strong supporter of International NADA initiatives and organizations.  He is a psychiatrist and acupuncturist who has been active in NADA for more than 27 years, he is educated in public health, and has always been involved in public service.  Dr. Carter set up NADA acupuncture in churches, factories, and criminal justice systems, as well as in pain management, inpatient/outpatient psychiatry, addiction and other conventional settings.  He has worked with the National Institutes of Health in identifying and disseminating best practice recommendations.

Currently employed as an Emergency Psychiatrist, Dr. Carter also personally supervises over 30 ADSes (acupuncture detoxification specialists).  His supervisees include nurses, social workers, psychologists, community organizers, and individual "self-help" laypersons.

Dr. Carter's passion for NADA ear acupuncture is fueled by the reality that the addictive use of harmful drugs and the burdens of emotional distress are global public health problems of immense proportions for which treatment need far exceeds available resources. NADA treatment costs are low, outcomes are impressive, and it is simple and easy to train most providers. Dr. Carter holds a vision of hope that all stakeholders in this issue will come to appreciate the unparalleled opportunities NADA ear acupuncture treatments and training can offer.

Cally Haber received her Masters in Social Ecology from Goddard College, which includes the study of Holistic Nutrition and Holistic Medicines and a second Masters in Oriental Medicine from Five Branches Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  She is a California state licensed acupuncturist and is nationally certified by the NCCAOM.  Cally has been in private practice in Santa Cruz County since 1988 and has worked in the public health field of addiction and recovery since 1990 when she completed a 2-year certification program in Drug and Alcohol Studies. She has set up and run acupuncture programs in numerous treatment settings, both residential and outpatient, ranging from Juvenile Hall and Drug Court, to perinatal programs and Methadone clinics.  She is a NADA Registered Trainer and has given many talks and presentations at NADA conferences as well as to varied professional groups.

Dr. Susana E. Méndez, L.Ac, LCDC, is a bi-lingual licensed psychiatrist in Argentina and licensed physician in Spain. She obtained her License in Auricular acupuncture in 1992 and obtained a Masters in Oriental Medicine and her license to practice (Acupuncture, Moxabustion and Chinese Herbology) in USA in 2005. She has over 25 years of experience working in the medical field working with eastern and western modalities, overall in the area of Psychiatry and chemical dependence fields. Dr. Méndez has extensive experience in providing care nationally and internationally.

Katurah A.Bryant is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, and Southern Connecticut State University, with a graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.  She is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and a Certified Clinical Supervisor. Katurah is the Associate Clinical Director at the Connecticut Mental Health Center-Substance Abuse Treatment Unit in New Haven, CT. Ms. Bryant is a Certified NADA Trainer. Katurah, under the guidance of Dr. Michael O. Smith, has developed a specialized NADA training for Physicians, and has conducted this training annually at the Yale University School of Medicine since 2009.

Katurah is a founding partner of MPACT (Multicultural Perspectives in Assessment, Consultation and Training), specializing in Cultural Competence training in health care delivery; Culturally competent supervision; and staff development retreats since 1993.  MPACT has conducted Cultural Competence and staff development training in Toronto, Canada, New York, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and New Jersey to name but a few.  You can contact Katurah at MPACT at: www.MPACTservices.net; or email her at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Virginia June a graduate of Wayne State University with a Master of Social Work degree.  She is also a Certified Advanced Addiction Counselor.  Virginia June has been employed at Brighton Hospital for the last nine years in various roles.  Currently she is the Director of Integrative Therapies. Prior to this current role, she was the Director of Business Development and a clinical therapist on the rehabilation unit of Brighton Hospital and introduced the NADA protocol to the hospital at that time. Since 1992, she has also worked for Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital as lead social worker and The Salvation Army Evangeline Center (Detroit) as a case manager.

Virginia is committed to finding holistic therapies for the treatment of chemical dependency. Currently, she is a registered trainer with the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association and the RT representative on the NADA board.  You can contact Virginia at 810-877-0905 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  For information regarding Brighton Hospital, please take a look at their website at www.brightonhospital.org

Don has over 19 years experience working with addictions as a Therapist with Addiction Prevention Treatment Services (APTS), Dartmouth Nova Scotia, Canada and as a Natural Health Practitioner in private practice. With APTS, Don has presented a wide range of educational classes from the neurobiology of addictions to mindfulness practices such as yoga, chi gung and meditation. A Registered NADA Trainer since 1999, Don has facilitated numerous trainings in Canada and in the U.S. Don helped introduce acudetox acupuncture into the Addiction and Mental Health Treatment Services of four Canadian provinces: Nova Scotia, P.E.I, Manitoba and New Brunswick. He is the recipient of two NADA awards: Vision and Leadership, 2004, Most Valuable Trainer, 2005.  Don has been a presenter at two NADA annual conferences.
Don is chair of the APTS Acupuncture Committee, which oversees the implementation of Nada acupuncture within the Capital Health region. In this capacity, he sits on the APTS research team, co-hosted with Dalhousie University, which recently completed a paper studying anxiety and acudetox acupuncture. Co-author of the Abstract "Experiencing NADA - The Role of Acupuncture in Addictions Treatment" presented to the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine at the 2007 Annual Conference.
Contact Don at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 902.478.7059 / www.donhimmelman.com / www.nhpcanada.org

Michael O. Smith, MD, DAc
Bronx, NY

Dr. Michael O. Smith is a psychiatrist, acupuncturist, addiction specialist and public health planner who was the Director of Lincoln Hospital Recovery Center from 1974 to 2011 when he retired. He graduated from Wesleyan University and the University of California Medical School in San Francisco.

He is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Cornell Medical School and is certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He is internationally known for developing the use of acupuncture in the field of chemical dependency. More than 2,000 treatment programs worldwide use the Lincoln Hospital model.

As Chairperson of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA), Dr. Smith provided consultation to city, county, state, federal, and United Nations agencies in more than one hundred settings. He was the first person selected for the national drug court Hall of fame.