MCADA New Executive Director Announcement 2022

After a thorough and inclusive interview process, the Executive Board and the Mercer Council on Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (MCADA) staff are pleased to announce hiring their new Executive Director, Ms. Margarita Leahy. She officially joined our team on May 23, 2022. 

Ms. Leahy comes to the council leadership position as a bilingual, bicultural resident of Mercer County. She is a Rider University graduate with her M.A. degree in Community Counseling and her post master's degree Ed.S. in Counseling Services. Margarita completed all her Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counseling courses at the Trenton Rescue Mission through a New Jersey Prevention Network scholarship. She is a Leadership Trenton Fellow, class of 2004. Ms. Leahy has years of clinical, administrative, and leadership experience, with her most recent position as one of The College of New Jersey's Counseling and Prevention Services Assistant Directors. She holds the following credentials: New Jersey Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, National Board-Certified Counselor, and an Approved Clinical Supervisor. Her wide-ranging experience in prevention, harm reduction, and intervention is an asset to our mission.

"I'm excited and proud to join and lead the MCADA team in their important prevention, harm reduction, and early intervention work with the Mercer County community. I hope to be an asset to our community through the work of our agency team. I believe that my early career experience as a teacher and my post-graduate school focus on mental health and substance use issues is a good fit for the mission of MCADA. In my first year, I will focus on continuing to strengthen the excellent foundation that's already laid by my MCADA predecessors and creating even more partnerships and collaborations with our Mercer County Community. My leadership style has always been collaborative, active listening, and shared decision-making with my team. I have a growth mentality in approaching goals and objectives with an eye for adding value and improvement. I hope to energize and encourage every member of my team to continue their important work for our community. I am very motivated to maintain and grow our mission in the future. I will strengthen and expand our prevention mission through data, research, and collaborating with other local subject matter experts to meet the growing needs of the Mercer County Community."