Phil Lahey's guest on this week's Empty Chair is Louise Griffin. Louise Griffin is a proud “Lowellian” and the President of Zack’s Team Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the stigma and shame associated with substance use disorder through education, information, and compassionate support. Zack’s Team's primary focus is to enable families who lack financial means to send their loved ones to recovery living following in-patient treatment.

Zack’s Team was launched in the fall of 2014, in memory of Louise’s youngest son, Zachary Gys. Zachary died on July 19, 2013, from an accidental opiate overdose at the age of 21, after struggling with substance use disorder for several years. Louise is a strong advocate for education, support, recovery, and treatment. Louise founded and continues to facilitate, the Merrimack Valley’s Zack’s Team Foundation’s Coping Today support group to assist families struggling with the loss of a loved one due to substance use disorder.

Louise also worked with Jim Wahlberg on the production of the movie, “If Only.” If Only is a short film intended for teens, parents, and adults to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drugs to keep them out of the hands of kids. Her next project with Jim is the documentary entitled, “Out of the Ashes” which explores the impact of losing a child to substance use and turning grief into purpose. She participated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s “Stop Addiction in Its Tracks” campaign, sharing Zack’s story and the effects it had on her family.

Louise was appointed to the City of Lowell’s Opiate Task Force and was the keynote speaker at the first Opiate Youth Summit held at the Tsongas Arena. Louise has been a featured speaker at many community events in the Merrimack Valley. She is currently employed by the University of New Hampshire as the Associate Vice President and Chief Research Administration Office.