Our Team

Dr. Robert Ashford, PhD, MSW

Dr. Ashford is a recovery scientist with a focus on recovery support services, as well as the executive director of Unity Recovery, a recovery community organization. With an extensive background in recovery-related research, he has developed a comprehensive understanding of opioid and other substance use disorder etiology and pathology, as well as the progression, mechanisms, and processes of recovery from these disorders. He has been particularly interested in the role of recovery support institutions (e.g., recovery community organizations, collegiate recovery programs) and recovery support services – including peer recovery support services – in the context of long-term individual recovery. His scientific research experience has exposed him to a range of theoretical backgrounds including psychology, social work, epidemiology, and ethnography.

Jennifer S. Potter, PhD, MPH

Dr. Potter is an accomplished addiction scientist with a large portfolio of NIH research and public health programs implementing evidence-based treatments statewide. Dr. Potter is a principal investigator with the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. 

She joined the UT Health San Antonio faculty in 2008 after serving at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. In 2012, she was promoted to Assistant Dean and then Vice Dean for Research for the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, where she served until June of 2021. Dr. Potter now serves as the Vice President for Research. 

With funding from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Dr. Potter oversees several statewide, public health initiatives collectively known as Be Well Texas that expand access to compassionate, evidence-based treatment and care for substance use disorders (SUD) throughout Texas.  

Adrienne Lindsey, MA, DBH

Dr. Lindsey presently serves as Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, within the Long School of Medicine, as well as Director of the Center for Substance Use Training & Telementoring. She has previously served as Principal or Co-Principal Investigator on federal and state substance use disorder-related workforce development and training grants including a SAMHSA-funded SBIRT student training grant, a SAMHSA-funded buprenorphine waiver training grant (PCSS-Universities), and the State Opioid Response (SOR) and State Targeted Response (STR) initiatives, in partnership with a state Medicaid purveyor. Her areas of subject matter expertise include patient-centered communication techniques for SUD interventions, screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT), integrated behavioral healthcare, and medications for SUDs. Much of Dr. Lindsey’s professional work could be characterized as workforce development and dissemination in the interprofessional addiction space. 

Richard Hamner, LMSW

Richard has spent the last 15 years working or serving the recovery community as it relates to Recovery Support Services (RSS), which includes Recovery Housing and serving as the vice-chair for the state of Texas Oxford House – Board of Directors (providers of recovery housing), Recovery Support Specialist in medically supervised sobering and detox centers, developed an In-House Recovery Program at Haven for Hope that housed 104 men and women, RSS and recovery housing program in San Antonio and across the State. Worked with the state of Texas Health and Human Services – Peer Services Unit in Austin. Currently, Richard is working with the Be Well Texas Program at UT Health San Antonio overseeing the development and delivery of recovery support services throughout Texas, with a focus on serving individuals and their families with criminal justice involvement and challenged with opioid and/or stimulant use disorders, development of recovery housing for emerging adults (18 – 25 yrs. of age), and expanding the capacity of peer services coupled with the addition of virtual behavioral health technology resources. 

Ducel Jean-Berluche, PhD, MS

Dr. Jean-Berluche is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the Peer Recovery Innovation Network (PRIN) at UT Health San Antonio in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, within the Long School of Medicine. He specializes in the field of trauma, coping mechanisms, and post-traumatic growth.

With a profound commitment to advancing the understanding of recovery processes, Dr. Jean-Berluche combines his academic expertise with a unique perspective as an individual in long-term recovery. His firsthand experience and scholarly expertise converge to drive innovation in the field of recovery science, shaping the infrastructure and insights essential for effective support and healing. His work exemplifies the powerful synergy between personal experience and rigorous research, illuminating pathways toward enhanced well-being and resilience.