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In Memorium

An influential leader in the field of addiction treatment in Ohio for many years, Ron was a gentle giant that fiercely supported MAT treatment in the decades before the stigma had begun to fade.  Ron grew up on the east side of Cleveland, the son of a Baptist Minister.  Like his grandfather and father before him, Ron graduated from Johnson C. Smith University. While there, he pledged Omega Psi Phi fraternity.  Ron went on to serve as a Cleveland Police Officer until he came to his true calling in Addiction Treatment. 

CompDrug founders Ron Pogue and Bob Sweet, were two giants and I do mean that literally, they were a physically imposing pair with huge hearts, very different styles, but a shared dedication to the individuals we all serve.  They both came in at the start of methadone treatment back in the early 70’s operating multiple programs in and around Franklin County Ohio before consolidating them into a separate non-profit the Comprehensive Drug Treatment Program of Franklin County.  CompDrug and opioid treatment in Ohio would not be where it is today without the imposing and driven duo of Ron and Bob.

Simply stated Ron had a beautiful spirit with a kind and generous heart, keen mind, and an incredible sense of humor and wit.  Ron understood life can be very difficult, and he led with understanding, genuineness, and warmth. He will be missed.  



Dr. Prochaska was a pioneer in the field of health psychology and revolutionized the science of behavior change.  He was a professor for 50 years at the University of Rhode Island, Director of the URI Cancer Prevention Research Center, and founder of ProChange Behavior Solutions.  His most notable achievement was developing the Transtheoretical Model, also known as the Stages of Change, which conceptualizes behavior change as a process, rather than a discrete event.  The model has found widespread implementation in medical and behavioral health settings including addictions treatment.

His work on the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change integrates stages, processes and levels of change. The model has been used to understand how people change health-related behaviors such as smoking, diet, exercise, and safe sex practices and mental health related behaviors, such as alcohol and drug abuse, stress and distress. Interventions are based on this model to accelerate changes in problem behaviors.

Dr. Prochaska dedicated his life to exploring the challenges of behavior change. Prochaska's groundbreaking research demonstrated that change is best achieved through a sustained and intentional process, rather than a discrete event. His work transformed the way professionals approach addiction treatment, smoking cessation, weight management, and many other areas of behavior change. He published more than 400 scientific research articles, authored four books, and delivered engaging lectures worldwide. With unwavering commitment to his field, Jim was a mentor to countless aspiring psychologists, nurturing their passion for understanding behavior change and instilling in them the importance of empathy and compassion. Dr. Prochaska’s ultimate accomplishments, however, were helping millions of people effectively change their behavior.

For those of us working in the field of substance use orders and in particular opioid use disorder at this conference, the loss of Dr. Prochaska is especially tragic. He was quite literally the author of “meeting people where they are at or meeting people where they are” as we have heard increasingly so over the last few decades. He created the science that allowed us to understand that true care can only be competent, can only be accomplished when it is delivered with respect, with compassion, and with kindness. 

May his legacy continue to guide us toward a better understanding of ourselves and our capacity for change.



Dr. Vera Rados was born as Verona Hellman in 1929 in Debrecen, Hungary, the younger of two children to her parents, who were established and upstanding members of that city’s Jewish community – at the time, the second-largest Jewish community in Hungary.

With the Nazi invasion of Hungary in 1944, Dr. Rados and her family were sent to the Debrecen Ghetto. In June 1944, she and her family were placed on the first transport train headed for Auschwitz and certain annihilation. However, after several days’ travel and before reaching the death camp, the transport was miraculously – and, to this day mysteriously – diverted back toward Hungary. Dr. Rados and her family, along with the others on that transport train, were herded into the Strasshof Forced Labor Camp outside Vienna, where they survived the remainder of the war under conditions of great suffering and privation.

Following the war, Dr. Rados and her family returned to Debrecen to start life anew. There, Dr. Rados completed high school and medical school, going on to specialize in internal medicine with a sub-specialization in the then-nascent fields of allergology and immunology. During this time, Dr. Rados married and gave birth to a daughter. Repeatedly, she petitioned the Communist authorities to leave Hungary – but her requests were refused time and again. Only after 14 years of trying, in 1969, were she and her daughter granted leave to take a “short vacation” to Austria; that vacation turned into an escape to Israel, under cover of complete secrecy, and without taking anything with her, save a small suitcase filled with some summer clothes and her all-important medical licenses.

In Israel Dr. Rados worked as a general practitioner in whatever capacity possible – as a school or kibbutz doctor, with the emergency medical services, at a small hospital – until finding a position at a major HMO clinic in Tel Aviv as a specialist in internal medicine and allergology, where she worked for 22 years. After officially “retiring” in 1995, Dr. Rados was recruited to join the staff of the recently-established Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse Treatment and Research, where she would work for an additional 29 years.

Dr. Rados was an outstanding physician – but an even more outstanding human being. Her knowledge of internal medicine and immunology contributed immensely to the health and well-being of the Adelson Clinic’s patients. With her keen intelligence and indefatigable curiosity and zest for learning, she quickly became an expert in opioid dependence and its treatment. Dr. Rados helped establish the protocols for the treatment of Hepatitis C and HIV among the clinic’s patients, and monitored the patients with these diseases. In short, Dr. Rados was deeply involved in all aspects of the clinic’s work – from patient care to collegial consultation to research. But above all, it was her genuine love and caring for her patients, her boundless empathy tempered by a playful wit, that made her an effective physician and a pillar of the Adelson Clinic’s work with this most vulnerable group of people.

Dr. Rados was the recipient of many honors during her lifetime, including  from her HMO and from Ichilov Hospital, of which the Adelson Clinic Tel Aviv is a part. Yet it was her patients and colleagues throughout her 65 years (!) of medical practice, who were truly honored.

May her memory be for a blessing.

Arturo Valdez, 65, long-time resident of Chicago, passed away on January 6, 2024. Arturo was born on February 16, 1958 to Lila and Jose Valdez in Mexico. He worked for many years as the substance abuse programs director at Pilsen Wellness Center and a member of the AATOD Board representing Illinois.

Arturo was always full of energy, with an unlimited passion for life. He was a risk-taker who would not hesitate to venture out to experience new places and people. He was fond of animals, nature, and anything that inspired beauty. Most of all, though, he loved his family and friends. Arturo retained his positivity and strength even after a stroke changed his life forever five years ago. More than anything, it limited his ability to communicate with others - a skill that had been one of his greatest assets and sources of pleasure. Although Arturo was a very private person who at times appeared reserved, he was warm and caring with his loved ones, all of whom he cherished until the last moments of his life.

Throughout his career he considered making treatment services available to people who were justice involved to be a primary target for treatment expansion. One MATOD board member fondly recalls accompanying Greg on a trip to Rikers Island, to learn more about how that model prison-based OTP operated, as Greg hoped it could be reproduced in Maryland. One of many impactful efforts that Greg was instrumental in was expanding OUD treatment with buprenorphine, by way of his leading the Baltimore Buprenorphine Initiative, which established centers of treatment induction and referral to office-based treatment. Greg’s energy and passion for his work will be missed by Maryland treatment providers.