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In Memorium

Theodore P. "Ted" Bucon, 74, of Hamilton Township, NJ, born Oct. 8, 1945, passed away on Aug. 1, 2020, at home. Born and raised in Trenton, Ted was a resident of Hamilton Township for nearly 50 years. Ted was a graduate of Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville (Class of '63) and received his master's in business administration from Rider College. He served as first lieutenant in the United States Army for three years during the Vietnam War and received an honorable discharge in 1970. He spent 34 years of his life working for the State of New Jersey, retiring in 2005 as the director of administrative services for the Department of Health, Division of Addiction Services. During that period, he served on the NJ Board of Opticians for 22 years.

Ted was a such a champion for our NJ programs!  He  supported medication-assisted treatment and was the father of our current State Opioid Treatment Authority, Adam Bucon.
Cheryl Gardine devoted her whole career to the treatment of those suffering with opioid use disorder and was a brilliant and dedicated treatment provider. She founded her Missouri treatment program and turned it into an amazing place for patients to get comprehensive, exceptional treatment. Cheryl dutifully served as the president of the Missouri provider association, MATOD, and additionally served as the delegate from Missouri to the AATOD board. As MATOD president, Cheryl did a lot to support her state provider programs. She assisted other Missouri OTPs in operating procedures, clinical services, training in billing procedures, and was very diligent in keeping the providers in Missouri informed of all Federal OTP related issues and all AATOD related activities. Cheryl worked to support her state conferences and worked toward sufficient training for all OTP providers in Missouri. It is evident that the quality of OTP treatment in the state of Missouri was better because of Cheryl Gardine.

Cheryl was well loved and regarded by everyone she knew. She had the most generous character. Whether it be for a friend, her daughter, her grandson, a patient, or anyone in the treatment provider world, Cheryl would do anything in her power to help anyone in need. 

Cheryl Gardine was so full of life and enjoyment. She was absolutely obsessed with the St. Louis Cardinals, and her favorite past time was going to Cardinals games. She also loved swimming, playing bingo, and playing and watching softball. Above all, she loved to spend every minute possible with her grandson, Rylan. Her daughter, Casey, says that no matter what Cheryl planned with Rylan, he always talked Grandma into buying him his favorite meal, steak. Ryland was also able to talk Grandma into taking him to Chuck E. Cheese every year for his birthday. Cheryl spoke so affectionately all the time about Casey and Rylan to her colleagues.

Cheryl Gardine left us way too soon but left behind a legacy. She left her mark on the OTP system in the state of Missouri. Her other legacy is a beautiful, amazing daughter and son-in-law, and an extraordinary grandson. She will be missed by so many but never forgotten.



Niki was born in Pensacola, FL and earned her MS in Human Services and Criminal Justice at Springfield College in Manchester, NH.

Niki dedicated her life to increasing access to care through her grant writing work at SAMHSA and other key organizations. She was a senior research associate for Advocates for Human Potential (AHP) with more than 30 years of experience working with communities and systems to improve the lives of individuals with multiple vulnerabilities. She was the founding executive director of the New Hampshire Taskforce on Women & Recovery and was administrator of women offenders for NH Dept of Corrections. She also pioneered use of forensic risks and needs assessments in collaboration with the National Institute of Corrections and designed a project for the first cohort of Second Chance Act grants

At AHP she served as lead writer and content expert for Decisions in Recovery: Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder, a web-based shared decision-making tool on medication assisted treatment (MAT) as part of the SAMHSA. She also was impactful in Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS) and served as subject matter expert for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) and was instrumental in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement assisting the CA Dept of Health Care on the Hub and Spoke Model.

She was the recipient of the 2006 New Hampshire Woman of the Year Award, presented by Governor John Lynch, and the recipient of the 2007 Susan B. Anthony award presented by the YWCA. She most recently served at Pinnacle Treatment Centers on the development team, increasing access to care through her grant writing experience.

Niki will be remembered as a brilliant writer, a punk rock priestess, a devoted friend, a loving mother, and a tireless advocate for public health.



Ronald B. Trautz, 74, died peacefully after a long illness on August 14, 2020, in Hamilton, NJ, with his family by his side. He was born on February 3, 1946, in Newark, NJ.

Ron attended Livingston High School and graduated from the New York School of Interior Design. He received his undergraduate and Master of Social Work degrees from Rutgers University. For a short time, he worked as an interior designer and then began his career in the addiction field, providing counseling services to individuals struggling with opioid use disorder.

He was Executive Director of The New Brunswick Counseling Center in New Brunswick and Burlington, NJ, and maintained a private counseling practice. Ron was a committed and devoted individual with strongly held convictions and was a great advocate for our field. He always showed compassion and respect for the patients we care for in our treatment programs and had great relationships with our community stakeholders. He was a great singer and found joy in music and art, both he loved immensely. He leaves great memories and contributions to our agency and counselors, many of whom he mentored.

Greg Warren was known in Maryland for having a passion for helping persons with substance use disorders, and in particular, those who were justice-involved. He passed away in 2021 at the age of 58, survived by his wife of 32 years, two daughters, two brothers, his father and stepmother. Greg was raised in the Washington, DC suburbs of Maryland, earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Maryland, and master’s degrees from both Bowie State University and Loyola University. He worked in many treatment programs as a clinician or leader but was perhaps best remembered by the MATOD board in his capacity of President and CEO of Baltimore Substance Abuse Services, which coordinated the City’s substance use disorder treatment strategy, including distribution and oversight of what was then a large system of grant funds.

Throughout his career he considered making treatment services available to people who were justice involved to be a primary target for treatment expansion. One MATOD board member fondly recalls accompanying Greg on a trip to Rikers Island, to learn more about how that model prison-based OTP operated, as Greg hoped it could be reproduced in Maryland. One of many impactful efforts that Greg was instrumental in was expanding OUD treatment with buprenorphine, by way of his leading the Baltimore Buprenorphine Initiative, which established centers of treatment induction and referral to office-based treatment. Greg’s energy and passion for his work will be missed by Maryland treatment providers.