Georgia Addiction Counselors Association

About Us

Our Board of Directors consists of members who volunteer their time and expertise with the sole purpose of carrying out the mission of the Association. We highly encourage you to participate in setting the direction of GACA’s future by attending meetings, submitting recommendations, and voicing the needs of addiction counselors in your region of the state.
Board of Directors

President (24-26)

Star Bridges

CACII, CCS, LPC

Clarkesville, GA (R2 Habersham)

Pres-Elect 

David Burris

BA, NCACII, CACII, CCS

Trion, GA (R1-Chattooga)

Treasurer (23-25)

Diane Diver

LCSW, CACII

Savannah, GA (R7-Chatham)

Secretary (23-25)

Janis Ellington

CACII

Richmond Hill, GA (R7-Bryan)

Past-Pres (22-24)

Robin Leccese

LPN, CACI

Mableton, GA (R3-Cobb)

Regional Directors

Region 1 – Northwest GA – 2024

Russell Proctor
CACII, CCS, LCSW
Elected 2024-2027
Lafayette, GA (R1-Walker)

Region 2 –Northeast GA- 2024

Daniel Irons
CACII
Elected 2024-2027
Helen, GA (R2-White)

Region 3- Metro Atlanta – 2025

Taylor Hagin
BS, NCACII, CACII
Smyrna, GA (R3 – Cobb)

Region 4 – East GA- 2025

Ernest “Buddy” Prow
MA, LPC, CMAC, CAAC
Athens, GA (R4-Clarke)

Region 5 – Middle GA – 2025

Jarrod Windham
MBA, CACII
Dublin, GA (R5- Laurens)

Region 6 – West GA – 2026

Mike LaTella
CACII, CMAC
Peachtree City, GA (R6 – Fayette)

Region 7 – Coastal GA – 2026

Hunter Bickers
CACII, APC, CMAC
Savannah, GA (R7-Chatham)

Region 8 – South GA- 2026

Nicole W. Gatlin
LPC, CPCS, RPT-S, CRC, CEAP, MAC, CAAC, CACII, SAP, CCS
Thomasville, GA (R8 – Thomas)

Georgia-at-Large- 2024

Ashley “Nicki” Harrison
MAC, CACII, CCS, SAP
Dudley, GA (R5 – Laurens)
Committee Chairs

Chair – Certification Committee

Starling Bridges
MS, LAPC, CACII, CCS
Thomasville (R8 – Thomas)

Chair–Ethics Committee

Patricia Brown
PhD, MBA, NCACI, CACII, CCS
Decatur (R2 – Dekalb)

Chair-Training & Education Committee

Chuck Smith
CACII, CCS