NADCP’s Drug Court U invites you to join a free, 90-minute webinar on the science behind substance use and trauma in the brain. Treatment court judge and neuropharmacology expert Judge Kim McGinnis takes viewers through the science of brain change in those experiencing substance misuse or trauma. With time permitting, the speaker will answer questions from viewers.
Session Description
Substance use and trauma change brain architecture, leading to frustrating or unexpected behaviors. This session will discuss structural changes commonly found in the brains of people struggling with substance misuse and trauma, which will help us understand some of our participants’ frustrating behaviors.
At the end of this sessions, attendees will:
About the Speaker
Pueblo of Pojoaque Chief Judge Kim McGinnis earned a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from the University of Michigan in 1999 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology, Molecular Neurogenetics Unit. She graduated from Boston University School of Law in 2004 and clerked at the Michigan Court of Appeals before joining Detroit Legal Aid and Defenders as a felony-level public defender. In 2008, she became an assistant defender with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, where she served as the principal appellate attorney investigating convictions tainted by Detroit Crime Lab malfeasance. In 2011, she moved to Taos, New Mexico and practiced domestic relations law, primarily representing victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in state and tribal courts. The Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Council appointed her associate judge in 2013 and chief judge in 2015. Judge McGinnis presides over Pojoaque’s Path to Wellness Courts and is project director for Pojoaque’s Sober Living/Re-Entry Project. She is also a certified handler of ADW Kiki, the Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Court’s service-trained courthouse facility dog.
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