Sharon A. Hartman

Sharon A. Hartman, LSW, MBA
Director of Professional Training and Education 

Ms. Hartman is responsible for presenting effective training programs to clinical and supervisory staff at Caron. With 25 years of experience in the field of chemical dependency treatment, she has played a key role in developing and implementing residential and outpatient programs, including Caron’s nationally recognized intermediate care program for relapse patients.  

In her position, Ms. Hartman oversees Caron’s alignment of its training focus with its patient population needs, best standard of care and evidenced based practices. Ms. Hartman introduced a system of clinical supervision that supports the growth and development of its professional staff.  Training topics at Caron address a broad spectrum of areas including co-occurring disorders, motivational interviewing, family counseling and working with adolescents.   

Ms. Hartman also developed and oversees an Addiction Counselor School that is designed for new employees as well as a complementary school for entry-level clinical positions. 

She began her work with Caron Treatment Centers in 1995 as the Clinical Director of Adult Services. In her tenure at Caron, she established the relapse program and has previously held positions as Director of the Women's Primary Unit and the Men's and Women's Extended Care Programs.   

Ms. Hartman has been frequently asked to speak on topic of codependency, women’s issues, relapse, relationships, forgiveness, and spiritual growth in recovery.   

Ms. Hartman is a licensed social worker and holds a Masters in Social Work from Marywood University and a Masters in Business Administration from Alvernia College.

Back to Top

Ann W. Smith

Ann W. Smith, MS, LPC, LMFT, Executive Director, Breakthrough at Caron

Ann Smith is the Executive Director of Breakthrough at Caron, a five and a half day residential group therapy program designed to help adults shift destructive life patterns, improve relationships and foster personal growth. For nearly 30 years, her focus has been on addiction, family systems and experiential therapy. 

Ann is best known for developing innovative residential treatment programs for adults from painful families. She returned to Caron in January of 2009 with her patented Breakthrough program. A pioneer of codependency treatment, she was instrumental in designing and directing the original five-day program for Adult Children of Alcoholics from 1984 to 1991 at Caron, which reached more than 14,000 people.

Ann is renowned for her clear and entertaining teaching style delivering valuable information on a variety of personal growth topics. For more than 25 years, she has lectured and taught workshops on topics ranging from addiction in the family to dysfunctional relationships.

Ann has a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and is licensed as both a Professional Counselor and a Marriage and Family Therapist in Pennsylvania.  She is the author of two books titled Grandchildren of Alcoholics: Another Generation of Co-dependency and Overcoming Perfectionism: The Key to a Balanced Recovery.

Back to Top

Harris Stratyner, Ph.D.

Harris Stratyner, Ph.D., CASAC
Regional Vice President of Caron New York

Dr. Stratyner is the Regional Vice President for Caron Treatment Centers' New York Recovery Center. He is a renowned addiction and mental health treatment specialist with more than 27 years of experience. In addition to treating patients, he oversees the clinical staff and develops and implements workshops and programs for patients in recovery at Caron New York.

Dr. Stratyner developed the technique "Carefrontation," which combines the latest motivational engagement techniques and an environment of respect and dignity to stress individual responsibility to deal with one's addiction or mental health condition.

Dr. Stratyner currently holds positions as a Clinical Associate Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and as a Vice Chair of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) Board of Directors. He is also a contributing author to the PDR Guide to Pediatric & Adolescent Mental Health (Published in 2009 by Thomson Reuters).

Before joining Caron, Dr. Stratyner held leadership and academic positions at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He was listed by the prestigious Castle Connelly almanac as one of the profession's leading specialists.

Back to Top

Christopher Kennedy Lawford

For the past five years he has worked with a number of partners in private industry, the non-profit sector, state and federal governments and patient advocacy groups to effect change and raise awareness about pressing public health issues. Presently Mr. Lawford is working with the United Nations, the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse, and the World Health Organization in efforts to raise awareness globally about addiction and hepatitis.

Mr. Lawford has extensive experience in the non-profit sector working with a variety of organizations including: Caron Treatment Centers, California Hepatitis Alliance, The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, Special Olympics, The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, and was recently appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Public Health Advisory Committee. Mr. Lawford spends much of his time speaking globally in support of these issues. His political resume includes executive staff positions with The Democratic National Committee, The Community Action for Legal Services Agency and in the Washington office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He has also held staff positions on numerous national, state and local political campaigns.

Mr. Lawford spent twenty years in the film and television business as an actor, lawyer, executive, and producer. His acting credits include roles with Anthony Hopkins in Slipstream and The World's Fastest Indian, The Sixth Day and Terminator 3 with Arnold Schwarzenegger, 13 Days with Kevin Costner, Russia House with Sean Connery and Ben Kingsley and Oliver Stone's The Doors. Additionally, Lawford spent three years on All My Children, and produced weekly segments for Extra and CNN focusing on political and social awareness within the entertainment community.

As an author, Mr. Lawford has published three critically acclaimed books. In his 2005 New York Times Bestselling memoir, Symptoms of Withdrawal, Lawford illuminates his extraordinary life offering a cohesive message of survival, hope, and inspiration. The book received praise from critics and writers alike:

"Christopher Lawford owns the most elusive of the qualities a young writer needs - he is in possession of a naturally good style...Three cheers."
-- Norman Mailer

"... has poignant legitimacy."
-- Janet Maslin, The New York Times

...a moving tale of self-discovery and redemption...a writer of talent and grace.
-- Publishers Weekly

In 2009, Lawford followed with, The New York Times Bestseller Moments of Clarity: Voices From the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery and Healing Hepatitis C.

Mr. Lawford holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University, a Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School and a Masters Certification in Clinical Psychology from Cambridge City Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, where he gained an academic appointment as a Lecturer on Psychiatry at HMS.

Mr. Lawford has four children, David, Savannah, Matthew, and Taylor and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.