Two Collaborative leaders earn Prevention Specialist certification

Two leaders within The Collaborative have earned their Certified Prevention Specialist credentials, assuring the public that prevention services are offered in an ethical and technically sound manner.

Those two are Executive Director Maryann Morris and Prevention Specialist Victoria Silsby. The Collaborative is a nonprofit located in Londonderry and serving residents of Windham, Windsor and Bennington counties.

The CPS certification is administered by Prevention Works!VT and the Division of Substance, Vermont Department of Health. Assuring that prevention services are offered ethically and in a sound manner is important since  prevention specialists work with vulnerable populations, such as children and youth, and it is essential that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide effective services.

Morris joined The Collaborative in 2003 as extended day program coordinator. In 2010 she became executive director and worked to make The Collaborative a regional asset for substance misuse prevention. Morris serves on several statewide prevention planning teams, including the Vermont Substance Misuse Prevention Council, and volunteers locally on town and organizational boards and committees.

Silsby started in 2009 when her children were in high school and middle school. As a long-time resident of Manchester, she is passionate and dedicated to making the area a healthier place to live, work, go to school in and to visit. She also believes that all community members play a part in helping kids to make healthy choices. Much of her outreach involves working with businesses and towns and policy adoption. She served on Manchester’s Housing Committee and is a past board member of The Wilson House. She is currently serving a three-year term on the Vermont Prevention Certification Board.

prevention services are offered in an ethical and technically sound manner

If you are interested in the CPS process, please click here .