September 18, 2025
Contact: InstituteInfo@danyainstitute.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
SILVER SPRING, MD — The Danya Institute, Inc. (The Institute) announces the selection of Ms. Jeanne Tuono to serve as its Project Director, coordinating training activities for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funded Central East Prevention Technology Transfer Center (Central East PTTC).
Jeanne Tuono takes on this role at the end of our first year of a 5-year cooperative agreement to build the capacity/competency of the substance use prevention field to provide services based in prevention science and employ Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs).
According to The Institute’s Executive Director, Mr. Oscar Morgan, “We are excited to welcome Ms. Tuono to the Institute team. She brings valuable experience in public policy and grant management and will oversee regional initiatives and activities that strengthen prevention efforts.” This appointment comes as we celebrate the remarkable contributions of Deborah Nixon Hughes, who led the implementation of the activities and initiatives of the Central East PTTC. Her leadership strengthened the prevention workforce in our region, leaving an enduring legacy that continues to guide our work. Ms. Tuono will build upon this strong foundation, advancing initiatives that Ms. Nixon Hughes helped shape while continuing to advance the prevention of substance misuse, abuse, and addiction.
Ms. Tuono brings extensive leadership experience from her previous role as Assistant Regional Director for the SAMHSA (2017-2025), where she helped advance efforts to reduce the impact of substance abuse across Region III, including the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and seven Federally Recognized Tribes. Prior to that, she brings over 30 years of management expertise. Her passion for behavioral health emerged when she earned her peer recovery specialist certification while working with the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania on a SAMHSA-funded homelessness grant. She expanded her expertise through care coordinator and peer recovery specialist roles at Steps to Recovery Treatment Center and CORA Family Services. As a founding partner and volunteer for the Angels in Motion outreach program in Philadelphia, she demonstrates her commitment to community-based prevention and recovery support. Her unique combination of seasoned management experience, lived experience as a person in recovery, and deep knowledge of behavioral health systems enables her to effectively mentor emerging prevention professionals and support stakeholder collaboration.
###
About The Danya Institute
The Danya Institute is a non-profit organization that promotes the health, education, and well-being of individuals and communities. Its mission is to provide training, leadership development, and technical assistance to health and human services providers and consumers to enhance prevention, health promotion, and treatment services through the use of EBPs. The Danya Institute, Inc. also manages the SAMHSA-funded Central East ATTC, and supports the Opioid Response Network, and other Federal and contract grants.
About The PTTC Network
The purpose of the Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Network is to improve implementation and delivery of effective substance use prevention interventions, and provide training and technical assistance services to the substance misuse prevention field. It does this by developing and disseminating tools and strategies needed to improve the quality of substance misuse prevention efforts; providing intensive technical assistance and learning resources to prevention professionals in order to improve their understanding of prevention science, epidemiological data, and implementation of evidence-based and promising practices; and, developing tools and resources to engage the next generation of prevention professionals.