History and profile

Director Nancy Pommerening started her teaching career at the age of seven, when her sister and she would take turns playing school teacher. At the age of twelve, she was an after-school Arts and Crafts instructor. Upon graduating from the Wickliffe City Schools, she attended Kent State University, majoring in Elementary Education. Graduating summa cum laude and Valedictorian, Nancy was then hired for a teaching position in the Lakewood City School system. During her teaching career, she was honored to receive the Lakewood Teacher of the Year, and Ohio PTSA District 11 Teacher of the Year awards.

Retiring in 2008, after 32 years in the classroom, she was able to become much more actively involved in the community. She served on the St. Clair Superior Development Corporation Board of Directors, as Secretary for the East Cleveland Bridges of HOPE Coalition, as a member of Westshore Drug Task Force committee, the Cuyahoga County Opiate Task Force, the Ohio Drug Free Action Alliance, and the Cleveland Community Relations Citizen Board.

Nancy’s teaching career led to her interest in substance abuse prevention. In 2005, she recognized the need for prevention education, after seeing how social issues interfered with student achievement. As a community board member, she witnessed the devastation that addiction created in families and neighborhoods.

In the summer of 2008, Nancy founded the nonprofit, Drug Awareness and Prevention Inc. (DAP), with a mission to lessen the demand for illicit drugs. DAP received its 501(c) (3) nonprofit status in June of 2009. In 2012, DAP became an Ohio-certified Prevention Agency.

Working with Senator Tom Patton and the Ohio General Assembly, Nancy was the driving force behind Senate Bill 101, designating May as “Ohio Substance Abuse Awareness and Education Month.”

Nancy also is a licensed Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist. As the Executive Director of the agency, she directs prevention initiatives in businesses, school systems, and communities. Currently, DAP programs include Drug-Free Workplace Safety training, community presentations, Drug Take-Back initiatives, and classroom-based prevention programs for school children. She was recognized by the DEA for outstanding contributions in the field of Drug Law Enforcement and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention.

Mrs. Pommerening has become involved in many local prevention initiatives. One such program is Operation: Medicine Cabinet, a drug take back program that is helping to remove Rx drugs from family medicine cabinets.

Today’s programs include:

  • Prevention Education

  • Collaborative work with the Cuyahoga County Opiate Task Force

  • Collaborative work with the Westshore Young Leaders

  • Drug-Free Workplace Training

  • Community Outreach Programs

CONTACT INFO

ADDRESS

Drug Awareness & Prevention, Inc.
PO Box  39239
North Ridgeville, OH  44039


TELEPHONE


(216) 432-6620




EMAIL


info@drugawarenessandprevention.org


BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS


Nancy Pommerening, OCPS, Executive Director, Drug Awareness and Prevention Inc.


President


Rose M. Allen, RPh, Past President of the Northern Ohio Academy of Pharmacy


Vice President


Derek Siegle, Director, Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, ONDCP


Treasurer


Noreen Kyle, Westshore Young Leaders – Program Director


Secretary




Directors


Jeff Capretto, Special Agent in Charge, Westshore Enforcement Bureau


Thomas Gilson, MD, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner


Allison L.E. Wallace, Executive Director, Greater Cleveland Neighborhood Centers Association


Elizabeth Petrequin, RN, Enterprise Project Manager at Mediquant Inc.


Terry Batdorf, Clinical Tech, Firefighter/EMT, Instructor and Project Manager


Hon. Kenny Yuko, Ex-Officio member, Senator Ohio General Assembly








Generation Rx believes using medications prescribed by a doctor to another family member are a safe way to get high. They are wrong. Rx drug addiction to opiate-based pain pills has been linked to heroin addiction.


Nancy Pommerening • Executive Director


Since 2007, unintentional drug poisoning has become and continues to be the leading cause of injury death in Ohio, surpassing motor vehicle crashes and suicide.


Nancy Pommerening • Executive Director, Your Content Goes Here
Drug Take Back Day
Resources to help you dispose of unneeded medications in your home, seek treatment for a substance use disorder.


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Expert Advice on Life
Often folks make poor choices to use drugs to deal with stress. Explore this life advice column to discover healthy ways to cope.


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WORKPLACE SAFETY
Drug Awareness and Prevention is an official partner of Ohio BWC Drug-Free Safety Programs for the Workplace!


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Education
The HOPE Curriculum is a K-12 opioid prevention curriculum designed to support local health education.


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national drug take back Day
Always Do Your Part
HELPING OTHERS
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FIND YOUR DROP OFF SITE
August 31 is recognized as International Overdose Awareness Day the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember those we have lost to an overdose, acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind, and renew our commitment to end overdose and related harms.


The campaign raises awareness of overdose, which is one of the world’s worst public health crises and stimulates action and discussion about evidence-based overdose prevention and drug policy


GET INVOLVED | GET EDUCATED
As long as ignorance persists, none of us can truly protect youth and our families from exposure to the present day drug culture. It doesn’t take much to change the outcomes, Get in touch today and start making the difference.