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<br />(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) <br /> <br />We sat down with experts in on our community to talk about the heroin epidemic. Meet the <br />panelists: <br /> <br />Colleen Bridger, MPH, Ph.D., Orange County Health Director <br /> <br />Colleen Bridger started as the Orange County Health Director in November 2011. In this <br />capacity she is responsible for implementing policy and programs aimed at improving the health <br />of the population of Orange County, North Carolina. She has 2 decades of experience as a Local <br />Health Director, first in Stokes County and then in Gaston County North Carolina. <br /> <br />In Gaston County, she ran one of the largest health departments in the state, managing over 20 <br />different programs, 225 employees and a budget of nearly $20,000,000. Under her leadership, <br />all three Health Departments have won numerous awards including multiple consecutive Ralph <br />Ketner awards for Innovation in Government, and multiple GlaxoSmithKline Child Health <br />Recognition awards. <br /> <br />She is the current President of the North Carolina Health Director's Association where she runs <br />point on statewide issues affecting all 85 local health departments in the state. Dr. Bridger is <br />adjunct faculty at the Gilling Global School of Public health and teaches a course on Public <br />Health and Systems Thinking in the Health Policy and Management Department. <br /> <br />To get in touch with this panelist, click here. <br /> <br />Tessie Castillo, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator, Raleigh, NC <br /> <br />Since 2010, Tessie Castillo has served as Advocacy and Communication Coordinator for