Our Staff
FRAN GERBIG
Fran (she/her) joined Prevention Action Alliance as assistant executive director in 2017 after enjoying a long-standing relationship with our agency, which included serving on committees and participating in our learning collaborative. In July 2020, the Board of Directors appointed her executive director.
At Prevention Action Alliance, Fran supervises staff, assists in program and grant development, and represents our agency on various state and local committees, boards, and coalitions. She is an active member of ADAPAO, and the Ohio Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Steering Committee, as well as a member of the Coalition for Healthy Communities and the Ohio Prevention Advocacy Network. Additionally, Fran serves on RecoveryOhio’s Head Start Workgroup, the Governor’s School Safety Working Group, and the OhioMHAS Prevention and Wellness Roundtable and Youth-Led Prevention Leadership team.
Previously, Fran worked as the health and wellness manager for Stark County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery in Canton, where she coordinated Drug-Free Stark County, a Drug-Free Communities-funded substance misuse prevention coalition. Fran is an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant and earned a bachelor’s degree in child and family ecology from the University of Akron and a Master of Public Health degree in health planning and administration from the University of Tennessee.
Fran enjoys gardening, attending live concerts, spending time with family and traveling throughout the United States.
Julianna (she/her) serves as the community prevention manager overseeing the agency’s youth and young adult services which include the Ohio Youth-Led Prevention Network, the Ohio College Initiative, and all school-based services. Her professional background spans 20 years working in Ohio’s behavioral health field in a variety of capacities including working with families in the Head Start program, supporting youth leadership development and youth-led programming, serving as a mental health ombudsman, and leading youth mentoring programs. Before coming to PAA, Julianna served as a community outreach coordinator for an addiction services agency in northeast Ohio.
Working with youth and young adults has been Julianna’s greatest passion professionally. She has been involved with the Ohio Adult Ally’s network since 2014 and has collaborated with other adult allies in the development of resources that inform and elevate youth-led prevention science throughout the state of Ohio. She is a published author on topics pertaining to youth and youth-led prevention and is the founder of the Ohio Adult Ally Northeast Region Learning Collaborative.
Julianna currently serves as co-chair for The HEALing Communities sub-committee for Cuyahoga County and is a member of the northeast Ohio hub for the Mental Health and Addiction Advocacy Coalition.
Julianna is a certified prevention specialist (OCPS) and a trainer for both the Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training (SAPST) and DEA 60 Community Drug Prevention process.
Outside of her professional role, Julianna spends time with her large, blended family of eight kids and two dogs. She also enjoys traveling and volunteering with a community outreach agency serving the homeless in Cuyahoga County.
Alyce (she/her) joined Prevention Action Alliance as Resource Development Manager in 2021. With more than 10 years in prevention, Alyce has had the opportunity to develop and supervise after-school prevention programs as well as implement environmental prevention initiatives at the local and state level.
Prior to joining PAA, she worked as the Director of Development at Summit County Community Partnership and served on the SPCA Advisory Council. She is also an active member of the Portage County Substance Abuse Community Coalition’s Prevention Committee.
Alyce is an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Malone University and a Master of Nonprofit Organizations from Case Western Reserve University.
In her spare time, Alyce enjoys playing piano, reading books and spending time with her husband and four children.
Sondra (she/her) joined Prevention Action Alliance in 2019 and serves as the agency’s accountant and human resources coordinator. In her role, Sondra manages all aspects of accounting including, financials, accounts receivable and payable, internal audit, and she provides general budget oversight to all agency networks, programs, and events. Additionally, Sondra leads the agency’s human resource management efforts including new staff orientation, insurance, payroll, and information technology.
Sondra has over 20 years of administrative experience having held positions in higher education, corporate America, the service industry. Before joining PAA, Sondra was the accountant for a multi-site car dealership.
Sondra has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in accounting from the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University.
In her spare time, Sondra enjoys spending time with her family in Kentucky, listening to music, traveling, and her two cats, Solomon, and Ozzy.
James (he/him) serves Prevention Action Alliance as the community prevention manager for our Community-Based Services team. In his role, James manages the Statewide Prevention Coalition Association (SPCA), the Ohio Center for Coalition Excellence (OCCE), Know! prevention tips, problem gambling prevention initiatives, and the G.A.P. Network where impacted families learn to turn grief into advocacy for prevention.
In addition to his programmatic roles, James also serves as the lead trainer for the Matthew B. Schoonover Education Center at PAA where he trains on everything from basic prevention to the ins and outs of coalition development. He has also presented across the country on cryptocurrency and the impact it has as an emerging issue in the problem gambling field.
Prior to joining PAA, James spent several years serving as both a school-based prevention service provider and community coalition coordinator. He also held a county commissioner appointment as a member of the Brown County Mental Health and Addiction Services Board.
James is an Ohio-certified prevention specialist and certified QPR instructor and currently serves as a member of the National Council on Problem Gambling’s (NCPG) prevention committee and their emerging trends sub-committee, Additionally, he is a member of the Ohio Problem Gambling Advisory Board and serves as co-chair of their prevention committee.
COMMUNICATIONS & GRAPHIC DESIGN COORDINATOR
LEAH BLEWITT
Leah (she/hers) joined Prevention Action Alliance in 2022 and serves as the Communication and Graphic Design Coordinator. In this role, Leah manages PAA’s brand identity and helps to ensure brand standards across all platforms. She coordinates all communications, helps update the website, develops media relations, and supports the graphic design needs across the agency.
With a bachelor’s in business administration from The Ohio State University, she previously worked in marketing and communication roles at The Ohio State University Technology and Commercialization Office, Junior Achievement of Central Ohio, and BSSI, an outsourcing IT business. Along the way, Leah discovered her love for design, believing that effective design leads to better communication and increased visibility for a brand.
Beyond work, Leah is a devoted spouse and parent. She enjoys time with her family, running, and embroidery, and is actively involved in her local church.
Max Doll (He/Him) joined Prevention Action Alliance in 2022 as a Prevention Coordinator for the agency’s youth and young adult services. Max has worked with Prevention Action Alliance in the past as a member of the OYLPN youth council from 2013-2016. Being a member of the council inspired Max to continue his work with prevention into the professional field.
Max is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Kent State University in 2020. Prior to PAA, Max was the Young Adult Coordinator for Stark County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery in Canton Ohio, where he coordinated his local youth led group Stark County Youth Led Prevention.
In his free time, he loves to go to his local movie theater to watch the latest blockbuster or indie film. Max also enjoys taking trips with is dog to the park and making an ice cream stop on the way.
Ashley (she/hers) serves as Prevention Action Alliance's Education and Events Coordinator, where she manages agency events, meetings, and trainings, and supports the development of the Matthew B. Schoonover Educational Center. Ashley is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant and has worked at Prevention Action Alliance since 2021.
After entering college as a sports management major, Ashley switched gears and received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wright State University. Her event planning skills began to take shape during her years in college as a volunteer Young Life leader. She furthered her professional development through her time in the promotional events department with the Cincinnati Reds, as well as the Cincinnati-based mental health non-profit, 1N5.
Thanks to her dad, Ashley is an avid baseball fan and has the dream of visiting every major league stadium. She enjoys reading, being outside in the sun, and visiting her family in New Carlisle. Coming from the Springfield/Dayton area, Ashley is excited to be in Columbus and play a role in the work of Prevention Action Alliance.
Sophie (she/hers) joined Prevention Action Alliance as a Communications Assistant in 2023. In her role, Sophie manages the social media accounts of Prevention Action Alliance, the Ohio Youth-Led Prevention Network, and the Ohio College Initiative. She works to ensure brand consistency across all communications and supports the efforts of the staff and programs of Prevention Action Alliance.
Prior to joining PAA, she attended Ohio University, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. Throughout her college career and for a short time afterward, she worked as a Marketing Coordinator and as a Graphic Designer for multiple treasured Columbus, Ohio brands. She has been working as a commission artist and designer since she was 17 years old and continues to accept commission work in her free time.
Outside of her professional role, Sophie enjoys traveling, creating art, and spending as much time as possible with her family, friends, and many pets.
PUBLIC POLICY & ADVOCACY COORDINATOR
MARGARET “MAGGIE” LUTTERUS
Maggie Lutterus (she/hers) joined Prevention Action Alliance (PAA) in 2023 as the Advocacy and Public Policy Coordinator. Maggie received her bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University with a psychology major and political science minor.
Her passion for mental health and addiction initiatives started during an internship with the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Clark-Greene-Madison County. She then went on to be a case manager at a community psychiatric facility in Columbus, Ohio. With this role, she found a passion for advocacy and policy change. This led her to spend four years in the Ohio General Assembly as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives and a senior legislative aide in the Ohio Senate.
She formerly was the Program Director of the Pickaway Addiction Action Coalition (PAAC), a role she began at the start of 2022 and was tasked with the implementation of the Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant.
Fran Varga (she/her) joined Prevention Action Alliance in 2022 as a Prevention Coordinator for the Community Based Services team. Fran is primarily responsible for the Know! Prevention Tips as well as coordinating the Statewide Prevention Coalition Association (SPCA.)
Fran is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the Ohio State University in 2022. Prior to graduation, Fran enjoyed interning at PreventionFIRST! in Cincinnati, Ohio and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Washington, DC. Outside of prevention, she served as an undergraduate research assistant on a project analyzing the perceptions and understandings of HIV/AIDS between three generations of LGBTQ+ individuals. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Fran developed a passion for promoting mental health wellness and advocating for improved mental health legislation.
Fran currently lives in Columbus, Ohio and in her free time enjoys making art, playing guitar, and visiting local coffee shops.
PREVENTION COORDINATOR
Brittany (she/her) serves as a Prevention Coordinator, supporting youth and young adult programming and coordinating the Ohio College Initiative. Brittany is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist Assistant and has worked at Prevention Action Alliance since 2021.
From a young age, Brittany has known that she wanted to make a difference in the lives of those around her. That passion which started in high school followed her to the University of Dayton where she was involved in campus service groups supporting communities in need and volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Optimist Club, and TWLOHA (To Write Love on Her Arms) as well as Active Minds, a national organization that promotes mental health wellness on college campuses.
After graduating from Southern New Hampshire University with a bachelor’s degree in human services and a concentration in child and family studies, Brittany is ready to embark on a professional path to helping our statewide community.
Her family and friends have played a big role in supporting her journey. With a desire to create and inspire, she typically spends her time away from work browsing thrift stores, antique markets, or searching for inspiration in nature.