Our Team

Laura Wargo

Director, New Hampshire Partnership for Recovery Residences

Laura Wargo is a dedicated professional whose career is focused on serving and empowering vulnerable populations. Laura is a social worker by heart and by training. She believes that with the right environment and opportunity all human beings are capable of growth and change.

With close to 15 years of experience in the public sector, Laura’s career has been focused on serving, children, youth, and their families who experience a wide variety of complex social issues, including SUD. As a leader in state government, Laura is experienced in state regulations, compliance, contract management, and organizational change. Laura has become an innovative critical thinker who is adept at generating local solutions through joint decision making.

Currently serving as the director of NH Partnership for Recovery Residences. She believes that safe, supportive, and high-quality housing options can increase someone’s success in recovery. She values collaborative relationships and ethical decision making, and believes thoughtful discourse can improve outcomes across the continuum of care.

Laura is a person with lived experience whose recovery journey depends on being of service to others. Laura gives back to the community through serving on the board of directors of both Turning Point Recovery Center and Windsor County Special Investigation Child Advocacy Center. When not working or volunteering, Laura can be found spending time with her family, piecing together a puzzle, or hiking through the White Mountains.

Tanya Wessells

Certification Manager, New Hampshire Partnership for Recovery Residences

Tanya Wessells is a New Hampshire native, growing up in Milford and moving to Nashua, where she currently resides with her family. She has worked in the substance use and recovery field for over eight years, after embarking on her recovery journey in 2010.

Her lived experience drives her commitment to offering compassionate and supportive care, which she strongly believes in providing when working with individuals struggling with substance use.

Her professional experience includes working at Keystone Hall, a former residential program at Harbor Care, as a support worker, where she transitioned into an intake specialist; serving as a Case Manager for Families in Transition Transitional Living Program; the Program Manager for Addiction Recovery Coalition of New Hampshire (ARCNH); and most recently, the Recovery Support Supervisor at Harbor Care’s Recovery Housing program.

She obtained her CRSW certification in 2019 and became an approved CRSW Supervisor two years later. Additionally, she has participated in the Communities Project Impact Leadership program for the last two years.

Tanya is passionate about making an impact in the recovery community. She firmly believes there is always a solution to be found for any problem. It may take time to reach the solution, but that is part of the beauty in life, she says.

Tanya is actively involved in her own recovery, which includes her local 12-step community. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, camping, taking road trips, and listening to music.

Tanya looks forward to meeting and helping the next person interested in exploring how they can make a difference in their recovery community.

Paul Sutter

Research Assistant

Paul Sutter is a seasoned professional with a strong foundation in urban planning, data analysis, and compliance, who has built a distinguished career by enhancing the integrity and effectiveness of public health and financial systems. Currently serving as a Research Assistant at Growth Partners in Lincoln, Nebraska, Paul conducts in-depth research on public health trends and policy impacts, contributing significantly to a broader understanding of these critical areas. His work involves evaluating public health department capabilities and utilizing advanced statistical techniques to influence strategic decisions, advocacy, and policy formulations.

Prior to joining Growth Partners, Paul honed his expertise in financial regulations and IT security at LincOne Federal Credit Union and Union Bank and Trust Company, where he played a crucial role in intercepting fraudulent financial activities and enhancing institutional compliance. His rigorous approach to securing transactions and managing high-volume financial processing has prevented significant financial losses and bolstered organizational security.

Paul is also deeply committed to community service, having volunteered with local organizations such as Meals on Wheels and the Parks and Recreation Department, further showcasing his dedication to societal welfare.

An active voice in urban development, Paul independently writes and publishes a blog that addresses vital issues like zoning, NIMBYism, and social equity in urban planning. His research-driven articles, leveraging resources from entities like the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, resonate with a broad audience, fostering public engagement and discourse on these pivotal topics.

With his ongoing education in architecture and urban planning at the University of Nebraska, Paul continues to expand his expertise and impact, driven by a passion for creating resilient and informed communities through enhanced public health systems and robust financial practices.

Jeff Barr

Chief Operating Officer

Jeff has 26 years of experience helping public and behavioral health professionals and their partners use data and science to improve programming and enhance health outcomes.

As COO at Growth Partners, he oversees contracts with survey scientists to develop and enhance sampling methodologies that help states and territories inspect retailers for compliance with tobacco and other health laws.

He is a nationally recognized expert on retail inspection programs, merchant education, and building partnerships between public health initiatives, retailers, food and beverage organizations, and related businesses. Part of his expertise in this area comes from insights he gleaned as a 15-year food industry franchise consultant and trainer for an international corporation operating restaurant chains and tobacco and pharmaceutical enterprises.

Jeff has also overseen national contracts with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to evaluate state and territorial compliance with federal retail inspection contracts, as well as contracts with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to analyze compliance with federal retail inspection laws in all 50 states and nine jurisdictions. In that role, he also oversaw national training, technical assistance, national meetings, and conferences to improve state and territorial retail inspection programs.

Jeff has conducted hundreds of workshops and training events for local, state, and federal agencies including SAMHSA, FDA, and the National Association of Attorneys General. The audiences for these trainings are diverse and include retailers and law enforcement as well as public health practitioners. Jeff also has experience in state government, having designed and directed the State of Illinois’ Tobacco Inspection Program for 15 years.