OUR TEAM
Matt Whitman
Executive Director
Matt Whitman has served as the Director of CACTC since 2013. Under Matt’s leadership, CACTC has expanded from a drug prevention coalition to a broad public health coalition with focus areas including drug prevention, literacy and youth development. Prior to joining CACTC, Matt served two terms in the AmeriCorps at the Broome County Office for the Aging and SUNY Cortland’s Institute for Civic Engagement. He graduated from Binghamton University in 2010 with a B.A. in History. Matt is a member of the Cortland Rotary Club where he has served on the Board, as Vice President, and Club President from 2021-2022.
Sara Watrous
Project Director
Sara Watrous works as the Project Director overseeing the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) initiative. She previously worked at Tompkins Cortland Community College as the Alcohol & Drug Prevention Coordinator and prior to that worked at CACTC as the Program Coordinator, focusing on substance use prevention and youth development. She is excited to be back working in the community and enjoys collaborating with partners on innovative and ambitious projects. She is working with partners to enhance existing services and fill gaps, while striving to ensure that those who struggle with substance use can access the services they need.
Summer Barrows
Epidemiologist
Summer Barrows is an Epidemiologist at CACTC, with the primary assignment being the Youth Survey Data. Before joining CACTC, they worked as an Infection Preventionist at Groton Community Health Care Center. There, they provided disease surveillance and Infection control programming to an 80-bed facility. Summer earned their MPH in 2019 from SUNY Upstate Medical University as well as Syracuse University. They currently live in the Auburn area with their partner and too many cats.
Nicole Carter, MPH
Epidemiologist
Nicole Carter works at CACTC as the Data Coordinator. She will be focusing on the Healing Cortland Project. Prior to working at CACTC she worked for a year and a half on the Contact Tracing Initiative in coordination with the New York State Department of Health as a Contact Tracer and Case Investigator. Here she worked to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and educate people on how to effectively quarantine and isolate. She graduated with her B.S. in Public Health, followed by her Master's degree in Public Health in May 2022, from Syracuse University. She lives in Binghamton, NY and is a dog mom to her Aussie, Luka and Colli, Lola.
Ethan Gormley
Literacy Coalition Coordinator
Ethan Gormley works at CACTC as a coalition coordinator for the literacy coalitions of both Cortland and Onondaga counties. Previously, he worked as an organizer for issues like environmental protection, non-partisan voter engagement, and higher education affordability. Gormley attended SUNY Adirondack and SUNY Oswego for his B.A. before heading to Binghamton for his M.A. in English. He currently lives in Liverpool, NY.
Claudia Kolts
Graphic Designer
Claudia Kolts works at CACTC as the Graphic Designer. She started with minimalist icons that has now expanded into full illustrations, animations and videos. She loves developing and learning new design skills to meet the ever growing needs and challenges of CACTC. Claudia graduated from Tompkins Cortland Community College with an A.S. degree in New Media which emphasized design with emerging technology. In her free time she also enjoys character design and dreams of writing graphic novels. She lives in Cortland NY with her 4 precious bunnies and turtle.
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Aster Parrott
Community Engagement Coordinator
Aster Parrott is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Healing Cortland Project. Prior to working at CACTC, they worked at Tompkins County Prevention Point--Ithaca's Syringe Service Program--doing direct-service harm reduction work. In 2019, Aster earned their M.A. from Cornell University where they studied how different kinds of evidence get used in drug policy debates. They also regularly taught undergraduate writing courses about science, technology, and inequality. They previously earned an M.S. from Drexel University and a B.A. from Vassar College. Since 2016, Aster has lived between Ithaca and Cortland, but recently bought a home in the City of Cortland with their partners and lab-pit bull mix, Shadow.
OUR BOARD
Joe Cortese, Chair
Mark Webster, Vice Chair
Diane Wheaton, Treasurer
Marie Walsh, Secretary
JoAnn Wickman
Cathy Bischoff
Kathy Fitzgerald