Sarasota Coalition on
Substance Abuse [SCoSA]

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SCoSA Staff and Support

CURTIS LAVARELLO

Executive Director

Curtis “Curt” Lavarello came to the Coalition with over 25 years in law enforcement. Curt has served as a patrol officer, patrol supervisor, child abuse detective and both supervisor and detective of the school resource officer program. Curt was recognized in 1987 as South Florida’s Law Enforcement “Officer of the Year”, for his work with the youth of Broward County, Florida.  In 1994, Curt started the first Youth Court Program for Palm Beach County (FL), which now serves as a national model. Curt was the founder, board member, president, life member and for 5-years prior to joining SCoSA, Executive Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO). While heading the association, Curt was responsible for increasing membership to over 16,000 members, and developing partnerships with both national companies and federal agencies. Curt has traveled extensively speaking on school safety, school based policing and school terrorism issues, and has been featured on CNN, Fox News, CBS News and ABC, as well as heard numerous times on National Public Radio. Curt continues to have an active role in school safety on the national level, while serving as the Executive Director of SCoSA.

AMY SAMSAL

Outreach Prevention Coordinator

North County

Amy Samsal, a graduate of University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (Psychology and Social Work), has been a Sarasota resident for 35 years.  She served as Executive Director for the International Center for the Search & Recovery of Missing Children and then to serve as Director of Community Relations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County.  Amy went on to own and operate her own business, with two partners, SunCoast Mortgage Partners.  She earned the Lending Integrity Seal of Approval from the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and has also earned the designation as Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist. 

HILARY WOODCUM

Outreach Prevention Coordinator

South County

Hilary Woodcum, originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, relocated to Sarasota to attend New College of Florida, the "honors college" of the state of Florida.  In the summer of 2006, Hilary attended American College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland, where she studied the psychology of personality as well as Irish cinema and society.  She also had the opportunity to visit Belfast, Northern Ireland and Paris, France while there.  Before graduating in May 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Hilary wrote and defended a senior thesis entitled "Relationships between Fashion Conformity, Self-Esteem, and Body Image in Adolescents and Adults", which can be found in the thesis room of the Jane Bancroft Cook Library at New College. Hilary is very excited that she has been given the opportunity to work with a wide variety of community members in Sarasota County.

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