Our Team

Robert A. Kent
President

Kent Strategic Advisors, LLC

Robert A. Kent is the President of Kent Strategic Advisors, LLC

and serves as a healthcare strategic policy advisor focused on

helping clients maximize their opportunities to serve those in

need of help.

Robert previously served as the General Counsel with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In this role, Robert provided overall legal support to all components of ONDCP. During his time at ONDCP, Robert helped advance policy changes to: eliminate the DEA X-waiver making buprenorphine access easier; adopt regulations to allow mobile methadone access nationwide; extend take home methadone dosing permanently; significantly update the rules that govern access to methadone; extend the rule to allow telephonic initiation to buprenorphine; made investments in harm reduction services; proposed a balanced approach to the scheduling of fentanyl related substances; proposed investments in people and technology to increase our intervention efforts at the border; and proposed a science-based rescheduling of marijuana.

Mr. Kent has also served in a similar capacity in New York State as the General Counsel for the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS). In this role, Robert provided overall legal support, policy guidance, and direction to the OASAS Executive Office and all divisions of the agency. Robert led the OASAS efforts to implement New York State’s Heroin and Opioid Task Force recommendations, including the Combat Addiction/Heroin Campaign, the Federal Opioid Targeted Grant program, and Medicaid Redesign Team initiatives including implementation of historic legislation to increase access to treatment, including harm reduction services.

Robert has co-authored articles on patient confidentiality and sober homes and has presented nationally on the addiction system of care. He is also a frequent contributor to media stories concerning drug policy.

Robert has received numerous awards recognizing his impact on the recovery field including: the Caron Foundation Legal Professional Public Service Award; the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies Leadership Awards; the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence’s Nyswander/Dole “Marie” Award; the Long Island Recovery Association Friend of Recovery Award; the Northern Tier Providers Coalition Public Service Award; the Friends of Recovery New York’s Charles Devlin Recovery Advocate Award; Christopher’s Reason’s Outstanding Leader in the Recovery Community Award; the NYAPRS’ Public Policy Leadership Award; the MHANYS’s CEO Award; and the NYS Justice Center’s Champion Award.

Mr. Kent is a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law.

Elizabeth C. Dears, Esq.

Chief Compliance Officer

Kent Strategic Advisors, LLC.

Elizabeth, a graduate of Albany Law School, has served as a

proactive, articulate and collaborative specialist in governmental

affairs representation, advocacy and policy development on all

matters related to health care, health insurance and health

information technology.

Elizabeth has more than twenty-five years’ experience working on behalf of physicians, their patients, and patient caregivers to enhance health outcomes across the continuum of care.

Previously, Elizabeth worked as the Senior Director For Strategy & Regulatory Programs at

DrFirst, a healthcare technology solutions company, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. In this capacity, she advised company leadership on state and federal legislative and regulatory changes mandating electronic transmission of prescriptions and prescriber queries of state prescription drug databases as well as interoperability and electronic prior authorization requirements and provisions to enable or restrict the provision of telehealth care. In this role, Elizabeth also advocated with several states to enable integration of hospital and physician practices utilizing DrFirst medication management tools with state prescription drug databases (PDMPs).

Stephanie Campbell

Senior Vice President of Strategic Solutions

Kent Strategic Advisors, LLC.

Stephanie began her advocacy with ACT-UP, the grassroots

organization that empowered people to fight back against health

discrimination through direct action, partnerships with

government and public health experts to end the AIDS

pandemic.

After she received her MA from Columbia University, an MS from University of Albany, and an MSW from New York University, Stephanie worked to increase harm reduction and recovery supports and services to people who use drugs.

Stephanie joined Friends of Recovery— New York (FOR-NY) and worked at

the state and national levels on public policy issues affecting individuals and families

impacted by substance use. As a person in sustained recovery, Stephanie oversaw the

creation of the first-in-nation statewide behavioral health ombudsman office (CHAMP), which has helped thousands of New Yorkers access treatment and recovery supports and services along the full continuum of healthcare. She is an adjunct professor at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work. She is also a member of the Recovery Policy Collaborative in partnership with the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the O’Neill Institute at Georgetown University, and serves on the National Harm Reduction Steering Committee, convened in 2021 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Betty Ann Hartman Foundation Award (2022); the Long Island Recovery Association Friends of Recovery Award (2019); In His Name Outreach Advocacy Award (2017); New York Press Association Best News/Featured Series Award (2009); African Reflections Foundation Award (2009); and the Albany School of Education Secondary Education Award (2008). Stephanie joined Kent Strategic Advisors in 2023 as Senior Vice President of Strategic Solutions.