Our Team

Shoshana Aronowitz is a prepared nurse researcher and a certified Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in substance use and reproductive/sexual health. She received her bachelor’s degree from McGill University, her master’s degree from University of Vermont, and her PhD from University of Pennsylvania. She is currently completing a postdoctoral fellowship program from the National Clinician Scholars Program and will complete training for a master’s in health policy research in June 2021. Her research focuses on harm reduction modalities, racial disparities in pain treatment, and reproductive and sexual healthcare in the context of the opioid overdose crisis.

Hung Le is a certified Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. He received his nursing degree from the Yale School of Nursing. His background is in primary care and management of substance use disorders, and his clinical interests include opioid use disorder, harm reduction, and using telehealth to increase access to addiction care. In addition to working at Ophelia, Hung also works as an addiction medicine consultant in a hospital. Originally from California, he now calls the east coast home. In his free time, he enjoys cooking with his partner and taking naps with his dog.

Julie Edwards is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She completed her master’s degree and fellowship on addiction medicine at Yale University, where she focused on the integration of substance use disorder treatment in primary care. She also completed her Addiction Studies Graduate certificate in public health at the University of Connecticut, focusing on utilizing research, policy, and systems approaches to improve the treatment of substance use disorders. Her areas of clinical interest include harm reduction, increasing access to treatment, reducing stigma, and primary care and behavioral health. Her philosophy is to be attentive, open minded, and employ trauma-informed, patient-centered care in order to assist patients in achieving their goals for recovery.

Nellie Nutt is a Family Nurse Practitioner with a degree from the Yale School of Nursing. Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, she worked as an herbalist and Ayurvedic Practitioner, and as a field biologist. Her interests in healthcare include health justice, LGBTQ and mental health, and HIV treatment. Nellie specifically recognizes the importance of treating substance use disorder through medication assisted-treatment (MAT) because of the dramatically positive impact Suboxone therapy has provided people. In the interim she likes to spend time in nature with her baby and chihuahua mutt, garden, and knit socks.

Edin Memisevich is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. He was raised in Yugoslavia and came to the United States after serving in the civil war for six years. He graduated as a Registered Nurse from SUNYIT Utica/Rome and received his graduate degree from Kaplan University. When he is not working at Ophelia, he treats acute and chronic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity at a Community Health Center in Connecticut. His military career has given him insight to the origins of depression, anxiety, and PTSD and has prepared him to treat patients with these conditions in tandem with patients with substance use disorders. He has two German Shepherds, Sasha and Bella, one cat Oree, and one green cheek conure parrot called Gustav.

Rommel received his Masters in Nursing Education from Western Governors University. Prior to joining Ophelia, he worked as a nurse manager for Mount Sinai West’s Psychiatry Department & Addiction Institute. He has 10 years of nursing experience in Psychiatry and Substance Use/Addiction. Rommel joined Ophelia to be part of the change that makes treatment more accessible and convenient to patients who’ve been denied it for so long. In his free time, Rommel enjoys reading, spending time outdoors, hiking with his dog, camping and cycling.

Christine Tucker is a family nurse practitioner, earning both her BSN and MSN at Misericordia University in Dallas, PA  Prior to coming to Ophelia, she worked in diabetes and endocrine medicine and most recently, addiction medicine.

Her interests include mental health, homelessness, and stigma associated with MAT.

Christine is a third generation nurse.  In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, granddaughter Nora and two pups Scott & Freddie.

Alexandra McClellan is a Nurse Care Manager. She received her Bachelor of Nursing Science from West Chester University and she is enrolled in a Family Nurse Practitioner program at Wilkes University. Before her time at Ophelia, she worked as a substance abuse and mental health registered nurse. Her passion is to help those suffering from the disease of addiction and co-occurring mental illnesses. She joined Ophelia to help standardize the MAT model which she believes is going to change many lives and help fight the opioid epidemic. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family as well as her Siberian husky, Ghost and her crazy pitbull, Luna.

Sandra earned her masters of nursing at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She is board certified in family health. She has provided primary care services to patients across the age spectrum in both the clinic and acute care settings for over a decade. Her passion is addiction medicine and helping her peers overcome personal bias to end the stigma against medically assisted treatment. In addition to working for Ophelia she also heads an outpatient MAT program in rural PA. In her free time she enjoys outdoor activities with her family.

Matthew McLain began his nursing career in 2005 as a Registered Nurse in a level-one trauma center emergency department in Birmingham, AL. He received his undergraduate nursing degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He entered practice as a NP in 2013 in the Medical ICU caring for patients suffering from end-stages of substance use disorder and became keenly aware of the gaps in care for patients with substance use disorder. He moved to Upstate NY in 2019 and currently works as a Hospitalist. His clinical interests include increasing access to care through telehealth, healthcare policy, reducing stigma associated with substance use disorder, and LGBTQ+ care. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his husband and their two dachshunds, gardening, and enjoying the beauty of the 1000 Islands.

Dr. Richard Paczynski is a graduate of Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science, and trained in neurology at Washington University in St. Louis. He has extensive experience with the management of substance use disorders in the hospital and residential settings, and is a strong advocate for increasing access to MAT and counseling services through telemedicine. He is interested in the many ways that powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl have forced the medical community to change addiction treatment. Dr. P’s daughters are also pursuing careers in fields related to medicine and mental health.  In his spare time he kayaks and hikes.

Allison Berneking is a certified Physician Assistant. She holds an undergraduate degree from Hollins University in Clinical Psychology and received her Master of Science as a Physician Assistant in 2011 from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has since continued her training in Functional Medicine and Nutrition Health Coaching, and has spent the past several years in the Philadelphia area focusing her practice on using a whole-person approach to treating mental health and substance use disorders. Her clinical interests include caring for people within the LGBTQ+ community, reducing stigmatization surrounding mental health and substance use disorder, and expanding access to quality care through telehealth. In her free time she enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking, and cooking with her daughter. 

Arielle Bivas is an Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from UCLA, Master of Fine Arts from UC Irvine, and a Master of Science in Nursing from University of California, San Francisco. She recently completed the UC Irvine/UC Davis Train New Trainers Primary Care Psychiatry interprofessional fellowship certificate program for improved access to mental health care. She has worked in chronic pain management, integrative primary care, and urologic oncology. Her interests include health disparities, harm reduction, and mental health. Before becoming a nurse practitioner, she was an artist and still enjoys making things in her free time. She also enjoys playing with her two rescue pups, kettlebells, hiking and baking.

Carla Paredes is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed her training at the Family NP Residency Program of Community Health Center, Inc. Her work experience has ranged from the ICU bedside to the primary care frontline caring for the most underserved communities in Philadelphia. She is deeply committed to advocating for health equity, reducing harm, restoring dignity, and helping patients balance life with care. She enjoys coffee, books, being a boy mom, and getting outdoors.

Erica Lyons is a family nurse practitioner. She received her undergraduate BA in Anthropology from Smith College, her RN, and MS in Nursing from the University of Vermont, and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA. Her clinical focus is in primary care, health care access for all persons, Telehealth services, gender-affirming care, infectious disease, and care for patients with substance use disorders. Her academic interest is in treatment for substance use disorders, infectious disease, and provider education. Her work honors her beautiful twin brother Tom who died from opiate use disorder. Outside of work she loves to ski, garden, paint, and spend time with her family.

Kris Campbell is a Nurse Care Manager. She received her nursing degree via Northampton Community College and is enrolled with Messiah University to receive her Master’s in Nursing degree. Before her time at Ophelia, she worked as a substance abuse/mental health provider out in the community for the last 14 yrs. Her passion to help fight the opiate crisis is forefront in her life and care for patients. She believes the stigmatism present in the healthcare field today needs to change and strives to be a part of that mission. In her free time she enjoys watching her kids play sports and spending time with family making memories.

Dr. Beverly Shin is an addiction psychiatry fellow at the University of Washington. She completed her general psychiatry residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell and is a graduate of Sidney Kimmel Medical School at Thomas Jefferson University. Her clinical interests include addiction psychiatry, community psychiatry, and psychotherapy. She joined Ophelia because she is passionate about improving access to person-centered, recovery-oriented care for substance use. She also holds a doctorate in violin performance from New England Conservatory and worked as a concert violinist prior to her medical training.

Zakary Walizadeh is a certified Physician Assistant. He received his Master of Science degree as a Physician Assistant from Touro College School of Health Sciences and has a background in addiction medicine, harm reduction, and community outreach. He is focused on ending the stigma associated with people who use drugs and increasing access to treatment for substance use disorders through telehealth. He practices with an emphasis on trauma-informed, patient-centered care, focusing on each individual's personal needs and working with them to achieve their goals. In his free time he enjoys working out, hiking, and spending time with his family and his two poodles.

Devonaire Rodriguez is a Nurse Care Manager at Ophelia. Prior to joining Ophelia, she worked for nine years as a Head Nurse for Jacobi Medical Center’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, a licensed Psychiatric ER. While serving her patients, she realized she had a special clinical interest in substance use disorders. In the midst of the opioid crisis and the launching of new programs in NYC to tackle the crisis, Devonaire wanted to be a part of the fight. She joined Montefiore as a Nurse Care Manager for Buprenorphine Treatment in Primary care. She is currently enrolled at SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Post Master’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. When Devonaire is not working, she enjoys family time with her husband, three children, and Cockapoo Lala Lucki.