Our Team
Experienced Substance Misuse Professionals
upcoming FREE education for parents
Parenting Keys: Containing Teen Substance Use during COVID-19
Tuesday June 2
5:30 p.m.
Zoom Webinar
Register at www.breakthevape.com/contact
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It is extra challenging to support our teens when so much of what they depend on - school, friends, trips to the mall, hangouts, parties, summer camps, team play, and group activities has been taken away from them. How can we speak with our teen, create shared plans, and build common goals that will bring them through this without turning to dependence on addictive substances such as nicotine, marijuana, alcohol or drugs that fill the emptiness?
You may have heard that positive communication, having a plan, setting boundaries and recognizing progress are important steps to implement. In reality, knowing what to do and how to do it is hard and we have not been trained as parents in the skills needed. Through this webinar, you will gain insight into the new skills and practices to help teens regain control over their relationship with addictive substances.
Do you want to learn the following?
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How Coronavirus can impact teens and substance use
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Key parenting skills for intervening
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How to move beyond conflict to cooperation
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Things you can do now to impact change
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How to cope with COVID-19 uncertainty
Register now for the complimentary June 2nd webinar presented by Break The Vape. I am honored to have Dr. Melissa Sporn, psychologist specializing in child and adolescent development, and Corinne Coppola, creator of Resilience For Life, guiding us through the keys to parenting during times of uncertainty.
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Gail Embt
Break The Vape
Program Supervisor
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For questions about the program, contact info@breakthevape.
meet the break the vape team
Gail Embt, M.B.A.
Program Supervisor
Gail Embt is changing the public response to vaping from condemnation and conflict to understanding and intervention. When she was faced with her teenage son’s vaping addiction, she experienced first-hand the lack of fact-based education, appropriate intervention programs and support for families. Determined to help her son reclaim his life and restore trust between them, Gail has partnered with organizations that specialize in substance abuse intervention and offers an adapted Break the Vape ” program to empower other families to address their struggles with teen nicotine and marijuana vaping.
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Gail works holistically to help stem the vaping epidemic. She advocates--with her own Fairfax County Public School system (in Virginia) and PTA for youth and parents--for policies to support the addicted. She also actively serves on the Fairfax Prevention Coalition focused on building a safe and healthy community free of substance misuse. Gail is trained in the Matrix Model for Substance Abuse Intervention for Teens and Young Adults. The Break The Vape Family Program she offers combines the Matrix Model Family Program with Mindfulness Practices to connect teens to their bodies and provide them the tools to make healthy choices. She is also certified in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).
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Gail has over 25 years of corporate experience, including 8 years at the executive level. She is the founder of KinergyCare, a company that provides care coordination support for patients and families. She earned a BA from Cornell and an M.B.A. from Georgetown.
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Corinne Coppola, M.A.
Teen Group Leader
Known for her contagious uplifting energy, Corinne Coppola combines her 25+ years in business and organizational development with mind-body practices to guide and empower others to access tools that will support their journey to wellness. Corinne has consulted with Encore Recovery Solutions, an outpatient substance abuse center, in small group and 1:1 settings as part of a holistic protocol. At Encore, she co-facilitated 12-week multi-family groups, with parents and young adults, providing support, education and community for families in recovery. Through her work at Encore and her own recovery journey, Corinne is passionate about working with families before substance use escalates. Through her work as adjunct professor at George Washington University's Milken School of Public Health and her work at a DC-based nonprofit, MINDS, Inc., Corinne built, directed and implemented mindfulness programming for numerous private and public schools in the DC Metro area. Using an integrative approach to teaching mindfulness practices, Corinne has taught mindfulness to thousands of young people and adults to strengthen their skills in awareness and compassion, in order to lead healthier lives. Corinne utilizes a myriad of tools from experts in mindfulness, trauma, energy medicine, conflict resolution, yoga and positive psychology and specializes in working with those affected by anxiety, depression, substance use and PTSD.
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Corinne regularly designs and delivers training sessions and presentations on Resilience and Well-Being to national and regional audiences. Corinne staffs and manages meditation retreats for teens and young adults for iBme (Inward Bound Mindfulness Education), leading and co-facilitating small groups. In addition, for over 10 years Corinne co-lead retreats for survivors of domestic & sexual violence through the Center for Earth Based Healing.
Susanne Navas, M.A.
Parent Group Leader
Susanne Navas coaches individual clients as well as groups to lead a physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy and purposeful life. As a Certified Life Coach, Yoga Instructor, Recovery Coach, IFS (Internal Family Systems) Coach and USA Triathlon Coach, Susanne helps clients reach their goals. Susanne doesn't believe in quick fixes and instead encourages clients to embrace positive daily steps that lead to life-long health-sustaining habits. She has created successful mind-body-wellness programs for youth and adults and has been invited as a keynote speaker for corporate, wellness, high school and college audiences. Susanne works in treatment facilities where she works with clients addressing Substance Misuse Disorder, depression, anxiety, and other related conditions.
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In 2010, alarmed by the growing rates of teen substance use, depression and teen pregnancy, Susanne started a youth triathlon program in Waterbury, CT (ACHIEVE, now known as Race4Chase) to teach youth healthy lifestyle skills and positive social skills. The program is now in 25 locations in 3 states and growing. She co-founded S.M.A.R.T., a nonprofit in Southbury, CT that seeks to promote a healthy community for families, by providing workshops and events that teach parents, educators and community leaders positive leadership and parenting skills. The program also increases awareness in substance misuse among the community’s youth. Susanne is an adjunct instructor at George Washington University’s School of Medicine, and a certified yoga coach. She volunteers at Second Story, a shelter for teens in crisis, and also volunteers with Communities in Schools, an organization that works to prevent youth from dropping out of school.