About Us
Song for Charlie is a national family-run nonprofit charity dedicated to raising awareness about ‘fentapills’ — fake pills made of fentanyl.
We partner with experts, educators, parents and other influencers to reach the most vulnerable group: young people between the ages 13-24.
Our program highlights the emerging dangers of self-medication and casual drug use in the fentanyl era and encourages healthier strategies for coping with stress.
Growing up in our fast-paced world is stressful. Song for Charlie is a national family-led, nonprofit charity that encourages young people to choose healthy coping strategies over self-medication. We empower students to learn and share knowledge by providing research tools and promoting peer-to-peer learning programs.
We envision a future in which the casual use of prescription pills is considered socially unacceptable, and in which sharing random pills is uncool. We endeavor to change the ‘quick fix’ mindset of self-medication in favor of more organic and sustainable strategies for managing stress and anxiety. To accomplish these goals, we must break through the noise and communicate with young people on their terms – go where they are; speak their language; and get them talking.
Charlie’s parents are dedicated to informing young adults, parents and educators about counterfeit pills like the one that killed their son in May 2020. Upon Charlie’s death, Ed and Mary were shocked to find that the fake fentapill problem was well known among medical and law enforcement authorities, but not by the most vulnerable group – young people between the ages of 13-24.
The Ternans believe the best way to address the problem is to warn people of the prevalence of fake pills and offer healthier alternatives for managing stress. They are determined to cut through the misinformation that exists about the fentanyl epidemic and provide fact-based resources directly to young people in plain language.
Ed Ternan
President
Mary Ternan
Vice President
Marcia Lee Taylor
Strategy Advisor
Robert Graff
Technology Advisor
Jill Sigler
Chief Financial Officer
Kaila Sassano
Chief Development Officer
Kristen Giordani
VP of Communications & Digital
Denise Mariano
VP, Partnerships
Krista Feierabend
VP of Creative
Jennifer Epstein
Director of Strategic Programs
Gina Malagold
Director of Multicultural Affairs
Rafael Campos
Chair, African American Advisory Council
Laura Didier
Director of Outreach
Christina Julian
Project Manager
Renee Cuevas
Associate Director of Youth Health Initiatives
Kristin MacRoastie
Director, New Drug Talk Oregon (NDT OR) Program
Brylle Digman
Oregon Outreach Coordinator
Ed Ternan
Mary Ternan
Alexis Anvekar
Garth Graham
Bridget Lattimer
Patricia Marinelli-Casey
Brennan Mullin
Patrick L. Nally
Jack Symes
J. Brian Ternan