IRETA is excited to announce the appointment of Eric Hulsey, DrPH as Executive Director effective July 1. Dr. Hulsey will be taking the reins from Peter Luongo, PhD, who is retiring from a long career in public health at the end of June.
Dr. Hulsey comes to IRETA with over 20 years of experience in the field of public health with expertise in SUD treatment and systems innovation, overdose prevention, program design, planning and evaluation, health services research and advanced analytics.
Prior to accepting the position as Executive Director at IRETA, Dr. Hulsey served as the Manager of Behavioral Health Analytics with Allegheny County. Most recently, he held the position of Senior Technical Advisor of Drug Use Epidemiology and Data at Vital Strategies’ Overdose Prevention Program as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Overdose Prevention Initiative.
Dr. Hulsey previously served as the Scientific Director of IRETA between 2007 and 2010 while earning his doctorate degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008. He remained active as a member of IRETA’s Board of Directors since 2014, most recently serving as Board Chair until his appointment as Executive Director. Dr. Hulsey has also served on the Board of Directors for Prevention Point Pittsburgh, Onala Recovery Center, and the Staunton Farm Foundation.
The staff members and Board of Directors at IRETA would like to thank Dr. Peter Luongo for his 14 years at IRETA. Dr. Luongo is leaving IRETA with a breadth of knowledge from his extensive career in public and behavioral health.
“It has been my honor and privilege to be part of such a dynamic, thoughtful and effective organization. We have made significant contributions to addiction practice and have stayed focused on our mission of improving the quality of addiction treatment. And I am forever grateful to the IRETA staff and Board of Directors for their talents and support,” Dr. Luongo stated.
After Dr. Luongo announced his retirement in July of 2024, the Board engaged in a strategic planning process followed by a search to fill the Executive Director position. It was only after an extensive process of vetting and interviewing many qualified candidates that Dr. Eric Hulsey was offered the position.
IRETA’s staff and Board members are excited to see what the future holds with Dr. Eric Hulsey at the helm and wish Dr. Luongo a wonderful retirement!
