Meet the staff

Executive Director

LCC Coordinator

MOS host

  Dawn Pelc is the Executive Director of the Local Coordinating Councils in both Porter, and Starke Counties under the auspices of the Governor’s Commission for a Drug Free Indiana since 1989. The coalitions have recently been rebranded as Hub Coalition Porter County and Hub Coalition Starke County to better reflect the addition of the recovery-based community and expand resources. 

A career reflective of corporate accolades at the “Big Eight” accounting firms of Deloitte-Touche and Arthur Andersen in Chicago, Dawn transitioned to non-profit management after receiving a Master of Public Administration from Indiana University. Reconnecting with her Northwest Indiana roots, she found herself reinventing herself as both a Director of Development at Girl Scouts Chicagoland and Foodbank of Northwest Indiana, and as the Northwest Indiana Regional Director of the National Kidney Foundation. Executive Director of the Porter County Substance Abuse Council (now Hub Coalition Porter County), since 2014, Dawn oversees over 1 million in grant funding for Drug Free Communities (DFC) 10-year grant; Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) grant that offers mental health training to the community to identify crisis and suicide prevention for 3 years; the Partners for Success (PFS) grant for 5 years with additional focus on the communities of Portage, Valparaiso and Chesterton to build infrastructure for future funding; and coordinates the Indiana Department of Health’s ECHO grant to provide harm reduction strategies for 2 years in the county. 

Dawn received a Master of Public Health with emphasis in Addiction and Intervention from Indiana University; Lilly Philanthropy certificate from IUPUI as a Certified Fundraising Management (CFRM) professional; International Certification-Reciprocity Consortium – Certified Prevention Specialist (CPS), Distinguished recipient of the CADCA (Coalition Anti-Drug Coalition of America) coalition excellence award in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2022. Dawn created and produced the Matters of Substance podcast on Spotify and iHeartradio that can be heard on local radio WVLP 103,1 five times a week. 

Partnerships for Success 

Project Director

MOS Producer and Host

Carley Samayoa has been with PCSAC since January 2019.  She began by coordinating the Partnerships for Success grant that ended in 2020.  In an effort to educate the community she produces and co-hosts the Matters of Substance podcast.  She also began the sharps collection initiative, which allows Porter County residence to turn in sharps to participating police departments. Carley has a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice that she received from Indiana University. In addition, she is currently taking master level courses to obtain a graduate certificate in Addictions Interventions through Indiana University. Carley's hobbies include painting and taking photos. In her down time she enjoys spending time with her husband and pup!

Partnerships for Success 

Lead Epidemiologist 

 Jie Chen is an epidemiologist with four years of experience working in the public health field. Jie focuses on investigating and identify the root cause of public health issues in the community with excellent analytic and research skills. Prior to joining PCSAC, she spent one year at Indiana University - Purdue University as a research assistant and a program coordinator. Jie aims to improve health outcomes by understanding the public health barrier, accessing community resources, and implementing greater community health education programs to the local community. During her free time, she loves hiking with her dogs at different state parks.

IN CARES ECHO

Project Coordinator