Dr. Georgiana Couden has been named Halifax County Opioid Settlement coordinator, effective Friday.

Couden will be responsible for the oversight and dissemination of the Halifax County Opioid Settlement funds in support of the county commissioners and in accordance with the memorandum of agreement between the state of North Carolina and Halifax County.

“I am professionally and personally aware of how damaging substance use is on people’s lives. The loss of one life is too many,” said Couden. “I am thrilled at the opportunity to impact positive change in my home county of Halifax, and I am ready to roll up my sleeves and tackle the hard work of lasting prevention and meaningful recovery from substances.”

Couden has been with the Halifax County Health Department since 2016, most recently as social work supervisor, before taking the role of opioid settlement coordinator. 

She holds her doctorate in social work from Simmons University and master’s in public administration from Rutgers University, along with certifications in Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid, QPR, Positive Parenting, Child Passenger Safety, and SIDS counseling. 

She has participated in numerous substance use and community intervention training sessions, as well as hosted speakers on several substance-use-related topics in her role as facilitator of the Halifax County Substance Use Coalition.

Additionally,Couden is the secretary for Halifax County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, vice president for Halifax County Safe Kids, and a member of the Northeast NC Domestic Violence Taskforce, Stepping Up Initiative, and Positive Parenting Program Community Leadership Team, among others. 

Outside of her role with the county, she advocates for the social work profession, especially within public health, and serves as an abstract reviewer for the American Public Health Association.

“I am pleased to welcome Georgiana Couden into the newly created role of opioid settlement coordinator,” said County Manager Dia Denton. “This role is vital to ensure that Halifax County’s opioid settlement funds are managed properly and directed toward programs that make a meaningful impact to our county.”

With her husband of 32 years Richard, Couden has been a Halifax County resident since 2008, raising her family of five children and welcoming her first granddaughter here.