2025 Conversations in Problem Gambling Conference

Keith Whyte has 30 years of national experience in promoting responsible gambling and preventing gambling addiction. Keith is a highly effective advocate, public speaker, policy analyst and program designer with extensive broadcast media experience. He is Founder & President of Safer Gambling Strategies LLC where he serves as a strategic advisor to U.S. and international organizations, NGOs and companies, including gambling operators, vendors, investors, state and tribal governments, on gambling-related issues. He provides expertise in advocacy, government relations, planning, program design, policy analysis, public speaking, fundraising, training, assessment and project management.

Anita Pindiur- Executive Director of the Way Back Inn has been with the Way Back Inn since 2002. Anita is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, and holds certifications in substance use disorders, gambling disorders, domestic violence and anger management. Anita attended Loyola University for her undergraduate degree and Benedictine University for her Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology. Anita sits on the board of the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling, the Illinois Alliance on Problem Gambling, the Addiction Recovery Team in Oak Park, and the Oak Park Opioid Task Force.

Rob Minnick, known as Rob_odaat online is a gambling addiction recovery content creator on Tiktok (tiktok.com/@rob_odaat), Youtube (youtube.com/@rob_odaat) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/rob_odaat/). He made his last bet on November 12th of 2022 and now reaches an average of 15 million people monthly across all platforms sharing the story of his addiction and subsequent recovery in an effort to help others avoid making the same mistakes that he did.

Rob graduated from Georgetown University in 2021 with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and has now become a full time content creator with intentions of continuing to help those going down the same path that he did. His target audience is made up of young men and women between the ages of 18-30 and he shares his story with them on a daily basis.

Kenneth J. Martz, Psy.D. MBA. is a licensed psychologist. He has worked in the treatment and management of addiction (including gambling) for the past 30 years across settings including outpatient, residential, and hospital settings. He was formerly the Special Assistant to the Secretary for the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Policy Director in Substance Use Disorders of the Governor’s Policy Office. Dr. Martz has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University. He has authored a dozen publications, six bestsellers, including the international bestseller Manage My Emotions, translated into multiple languages. He has over 100 local, national, and international presentations in the addictions treatment field.

John Harris is principal and co-founder of a5 Branding & Digital, a storytelling consultancy focused on creating healthy, sustainable communities. Chicago-based, a5 has teamed up with Way Back Inn to develop the Are You Really Winning? campaign to help those with gambling issues.

Kellie Gage, M.S., CAADC is the Program Manager for Statewide Gambling Disorder Treatment Services at the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (IDHS/SUPR) where she began her career in state government, as the Gambling Initiative Specialist in August 2001. 

In her current role she participates in oversight on the development and implementation of statewide treatment and outreach services, statewide gambling training, public awareness and helpline services for individuals in need of treatment and resources related to gambling disorder. Kellie has served in the substance use field for the past 32 years as a clinician, program manager and trainer. She is credentialed as a Certified Advanced AODA Counselor (CAADC) through the Illinois Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association, Inc. 

Alison Wood is the NC Problem Gambling Program Youth Prevention Coordinator with TELUS Health. She manages prevention grant programs, trains, and provides technical support on adolescent problematic behaviors in gambling, gaming, and digital media use. She has partnered with researchers to develop curriculum in emotional regulation skills and digital media literacy in gaming and gambling. In addition, she spearheaded an initiative to provide asynchronous modules on the prevention and treatment of gambling, gaming, and digital media modules utilizing cutting edge technology. She is a passionate advocate for youth prevention education and mental health promotion and believes expanded efforts in prevention research is vital.

Jim Wilkerson is the Administrator of Gambling Initiative Programs for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (IDHS/SUPR).  Jim is responsible for the development of gambling disorder awareness programming, research, provider training, and recovery services in Illinois.  Jim holds a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois.  He is an Adjunct-Professor teaching at Millikin University, a 2021 Operational Research Society Griffiths Medal winner, and an Institute on Rehabilitation Issues (IRI) Scholar.  

Emma Bowen is a Community Health Specialist in the prevention department at Chestnut Health Systems. She went to Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville where she received both her MSW and BSW degrees through the Social Work Department. Her passion has always been prevention. In her time in the field, she has worked in prevention roles related to gender-based violence in college communities, youth mental health, and now problem gambling.

In her role at Chestnut, Emma works on outreach and education around problem gambling. One of the primary focuses of Chestnut’s gambling outreach includes writing a prevention curriculum for high school students in Illinois. Over the past three years, Chestnut has been creating, implementing, and improving a curriculum called Not A Chance. 

Brianne Doura-Schawohl is founder and CEO of Doura-Schawohl Consulting LLC, a boutique global government relations firm that specializes in problem and responsible gambling policy. She most recently served as Vice President of US Policy and Strategic Development for EPIC Risk Management, a global harm prevention consultancy, conducting work in over 24 countries. Prior to her role at EPIC, Brianne served as Legislative Director for the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). Her experience includes over a decade of leadership in advocacy, public policy, government affairs, and communications.

Doura-Schawohl’s practice spans a wide range of work with executive and legislative branch officials and private sector stakeholders at the international, federal, state, and local levels of government. She has a history of achievements in State and United States Congressional legislative work, including a diverse portfolio of complex problem gambling policy issues. This continues to be invaluable in her ability to make a difference on behalf of people with gambling problems around the world.

Doura-Schawohl works with Congress and numerous state legislatures and regulators to provide expert advice on gambling policy. She continues to work with stakeholders on both sides of the aisle. Additionally, she has been featured in international, national, state, and local media, including ABC News, Bloomberg, CBS, CNBC, Forbes, ESPN, The Athletic, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, CBC and others. 

Brianne was named one of the top lobbyists in 2023 and 2022 by ‘The Hill’, named one of the top 100 lobbyists in 2022 and 2021 by the National Institute of Lobbying & Ethics (NILE), was featured as one of the 25 People to Watch in 2022 by Global Gaming Business, an honoree of the 2023 class of 40 under 40 Emerging Leaders in Gaming, is an honoree of the 2023-2024 ‘10 Women Rising in Gaming’ by Global Gaming Women and CDC Gaming Reports and named one of the top 10 most influential women in gaming in 2023 by iGB. In 2019 she was appointed as a member of the Digital Gaming Advisory Group for the State of Hawaii and continues to serve on various coalitions. 

In 2020 and 2021 she was a guest faculty member for Seton Hall Law School at their Gaming Law, Compliance, and Integrity Program and continues to be a guest lecturer for the University of Minnesota, Global Institute for Responsible Sport Organizations, and at Bradley University. Doura-Schawohl presents at conferences and other public events on gaming policy across the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia. 

Doura-Schawohl serves on the Board of Directors for Kindbridge Behavioral Health and is a member of the leadership team of the NILE Next Gen Executives committee, a group committed to advancing educational & networking opportunities for the next generation of leaders within the government relations profession. She is a member of the National Council on Problem Gambling military affairs committee.

Mrs. Doura-Schawohl holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Mary Washington. She is a proud military spouse and resides in Fairfax, Virginia with her family.

Jon-Pierre Micucci brings over 20 years of consulting experience in the public and private sectors, ranging from on-the-ground disaster relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina to brand strategy projects in the Northern California tech sector. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in accounting and information systems from Boston College, he earned an MBA from California College of the Arts, an innovation-centric program centered on design strategy principles. His current mission is living one day at a time as a gambler in recovery.

Elizabeth Thielen is a Senior Director at Nicasa Behavioral Health Services in Lake County, Illinois with over 20 years in the addictions field. A Licensed Professional Counselor and Problem and Compulsive Gambling Counselor, Elizabeth is passionate about increasing awareness of gambling disorder in the community and among helping professionals. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling, and has also been an adjunct faculty at the College of Lake County, teaching about Process/Behavioral Addictions.  Elizabeth co-chairs the Gambling Disorder Committee, a sub-committee of the Illinois Substance Use Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery. Having spoken at the local, State, and National levels, Elizabeth is recognized as an engaging speaker on the subject of gambling disorder and prevention. A former amateur athlete, Elizabeth is also committed to helping athletes avoid disordered gambling as our state adjusts to recently legalized sports betting.