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Our Staff
- Nathaniel C. Webster, MD
- Dr. Nathaniel Webster, who has served as Beacon Center’s Medical
Director since 1995, received his medical degree from Meharry Medical
College in Nashville, Tennessee in 1960. He brings to this agency a long and
distinguished medical career, which includes 38 years of experience
specializing in the field of addiction medicine. He has had a private
practice in Buffalo, New York since 1963 and more recently has been
providing suboxone stabilization and maintenance for opiate dependent
individuals as well as outpatient detoxification and alternative therapy for
chronic pain. This includes non-narcotic medication and low-level laser
therapy. Dr. Webster additionally has held positions that include Buffalo
City School Physician and Medical Director for the New York State Drug Abuse
Rehabilitation Center at the Masten Park location. He was an FDA Program
Review Specialist for the former Department of Substance Abuse Services in
New York State, Director of Sheehan Memorial Hospital’s Emergency
Department, and Director of Erie County Medical Center’s Substance
Intervention Unit. Dr. Webster has co-authored or contributed to several
publications on topics related to substance abuse.
- Faith N. Peterson, CASAC
- Faith Peterson, the Director of Beacon Center, received her Bachelor of
Arts degree from State University of New York College at Fredonia, New York
in 1972. She then became a New York State Credentialed Alcoholism and
Substance Abuse Counselor in 1985. She was selected for participation in the
University at Buffalo Center for Management and Center for Entrepreneurial
Leadership’s Class of 1997. Ms. Peterson has many years of experience in the
addictions field and has dedicated most of her adult life to helping
recovering people. She has served as President of the Western New York
Chemical Dependency Consortium, Inc.; as Chairman of the Episcopal Diocese
of Western New York’s Chemical Dependency Commission; as Director of the New
York Federation of Alcoholism Counselors, Inc.; as Director of Amicae, Inc.,
a hotline for rape and battering; as a member of the Roswell Alliance
Foundation; as a member of the Board of Directors of the Erie Community
College Foundation; and as a member of the Niagara County Network. She has
worked in the substance-abuse treatment field since 1983, and was Program
Coordinator of the Chautauqua County Council on Alcoholism, Inc., Executive
Director of the Genesee Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc., and
Director of Outpatient Services at Bry-Lin Hospitals, Inc. In 1990, she
founded Beacon Center, an outpatient chemical dependency treatment agency,
with one location and three employees. Beacon Center has since expanded to
four locations and is one of the 25 largest women-owned businesses in
Western New York. Ms. Peterson also has plans in place to open a supportive
living home, the Albert O. Nichols House, in Herkimer, New York, named in
honor of her father’s memory.
- Jacqueline Nicastro, MBA, CASAC
- Jacqueline Nicastro is Beacon Center’s Chief Operating Officer and, as
such, is responsible for all day-to-day operations of Beacon Center’s four
locations. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science from
Medaille College in Buffalo, New York in 1992 and her Master of Business
Administration (MBA) degree in 1998. She has been employed at Beacon Center
since 1992, her superior administrative skills enabling her to rapidly
advance over the years until she was promoted to fill her current position.
She became a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor in 2003
and has been elected to serve on the Niagara County Community Services
Board. She also is a long-time member of the Western New York Chemical
Dependency Consortium and the Niagara County Network. An employee of Beacon
Center almost since its inception, Ms. Nicastro has had a large part in the
growth of Beacon Center over the years.
- Carolyn Grisko, MS, CASAC
- Carolyn Grisko, Clinical Supervisor, oversees Beacon Center’s
counseling staff at the Sheridan Drive location, and also assists in
supervising clinic staff at the other locations as needed. Her desire to
help others led her to obtain her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the
State University of New York at Buffalo and her master’s degree in
Counseling Education from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. She
obtained her certification as a New York State Credentialed Alcoholism and
Substance Abuse Counselor in 1993. She joined Beacon Center’s staff in 1992
as an alcoholism counselor and was promoted to the position of Clinical
Supervisor in 1994, working in that capacity since that time. Ms. Grisko
brings to her position a unique combination of knowledge, intelligence,
compassion, and giftedness as both a counselor and a supervisor.
- Thomas E. McDonald, M.Ed., CRC
- Beacon Center counselor Thomas McDonald, who has worked in the human
services field for 33 years, is committed to helping people with addictions
problems and brings many years of dedicated experience to his position. This
commitment has led him to work in the addictions field since 1986, having
been employed in hospital emergency rooms, inpatient treatment facilities,
and currently in outpatient treatment. We at Beacon Center have been
privileged to have Mr. McDonald on our staff since 2001. He received his
Bachelor of Science degree in Rehabilitation Education in 1971 and his
Master of Education degree in Counselor Education in 1973. In addition, he
obtained his credential as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) in
1975. He divides his time between Beacon Center’s Lockport and Niagara Falls
locations.
- John Vaccaro, CASAC
- John Vaccaro brings 22 years of experience in the human services field
and a passion for helping others to his counseling position at Beacon
Center. An employee of Beacon Center for seven years, he holds a Bachelor of
Science degree in Community Human Services and became a New York State
Credentialed Alcoholism Counselor in 2002. Besides working as a
substance-abuse counselor, he also has many years of experience as a
residential program counselor in a psychiatric setting.
- Lorraine Fagan, RN
- Lorraine Fagan’s passion for helping others led her to choose the
career of Registered Nurse. In addition to being a Registered Nurse, she
also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Canisius College in
Buffalo, New York. She has been with Beacon Center since 2003, providing
counseling services as well as medical nursing assessments. Before that she
was employed in a hospital setting working in critical care. After many
years, Ms. Fagan decided that she wanted to take her career in a different
direction, lending her skills to the community rather than to a
hospital-based setting.
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