Meet Steve

When Dr. Steve Nelson ran into Pat Bird at an Intermountain Healthcare "Eggs and Issues" get together in 2008, he expressed interested in substance abuse prevention. Little did he know he'd be taking the reins at SMART a few years later. Steve currently serves as our vice chair, and will take over at the end of Don's term.

Steve is happy to enjoy a delicious free lunch once a month, but that's not why he shows up. He has a lot to offer the coalition. He says,“After 33+ years of medical practice as a family physician and now as an occupational medicine physician, I’ve been around the block a few times. I hope to use knowledge gained from experience on the “front lines” of dealing with drug seekers to help other physicians faced with similar patients.”

Steve grew up in Nevada, and moved around quite a bit throughout his medical training. He started out at BYU, then went to medical school at Brown in Rhode Island. His internship took him to California, where he served his residency at Ford Ord. It was in California that he met his wife, Linda. His greatest accomplishment has been talking her into marrying him (but did she know when she said yes that she was only going to get a one-day honeymoon?). They are the parents of five and grandparents of nine, and make their home in Lindon. Steve and Linda's connection goes back from before they met in California, however. His dad worked at Hoover Dam during the '30s, and it turns out Linda's dad did, too.

Among Steve's many interests are spending time with his family (especially out of doors), attending plays and concerts, and reading. He particularly enjoys American history, and recently read Lincoln's Virtues, by William Miller. He recommends it highly as an inspiring read. Steve also enjoys watching movies. A Man For All Seasons is one of his favorites.

What does the future hold for Steve (besides SMART)? He's already traveled to exotic locations (Haleakala Crater in Hawaii is one), and speaks both German and Spanish. Now he'd like to learn more about space exploration and has dreams of becoming the first octogenarian astronaut. That will be a few years from now. In the meantime, he might take up harmonica, or baritone ukulele. Coalition talent show, anyone?

Meet Kari

Kari Schmidt works for the Utah Department of Health as the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program manager, and has been with SMART from its beginning.

An avid baseball fan, Kari can be found at the baseball park with her family when weather permits. If the weather is not cooperative, she might spend her time watching a favorite baseball movie, like Field of Dreams or The Natural.

Baseball isn't the only sport Kari loves. She enjoys being out of doors, hiking, boating, biking, and playing volleyball or basketball.

Kari also loves to travel, and says the most interesting place she's been is Pompeii, Italy. One of her greatest accomplishments was to overcome her shyness and join a study abroad group in college. She went to Paris, France, where she had long dreamed of visiting, and it didn't disappoint--she's been back three times since! She speaks just enough French to get by. In the future, Kari would love to visit the pyramids in Egypt.

Anyone needing decorating advice can feel free to ask Kari--she enjoys interior design and regularly helps friends and family out.

Recently Kari read The Hiding Place, by Corrie TenBoom. She said it was great, although it isn't "the happiest of stories."

Kari is the proud aunt of three, and she herself is the oldest of three children. Her brother plays (you guessed it) baseball for The College of Eastern Utah.

Kari grew up in Orem, but recently purchased her own home and now lives in Pleasant Grove. She attended BYU, earning a B.S. in Community Health, which she puts to good use in her work. She has a passion for helping people, and hopes that together we can make our community a safer, healthier place to live.

Meet Casey

Casey Christopherson has been with SMART since the summer of 2008, when Pat Bird approached him about joining the group. As a child welfare administrator with DCFS, Casey knows first hand that prevention doesn't get nearly enough attention or funding, and he's happy to have an avenue to address some community problems from the front end.

Casey's experience with child welfare and family issues make him a great resource on our team. He supervises all the DCFS teams in Provo, so he sees a great deal of the problems in our community. He knows that addressing substance abuse can have an impact not only on the safety of our community, but can also positively affect child abuse and neglect of children who suffer from parental addictions.

A native of Utah County, Casey grew up in Spanish Fork and ended up settling there for good about thirty years ago. He and his wife met while working at the same grocery store, and together they have four children, ages 9 to 21.

When asked about something he's done in his life that he's proud of, Casey said, "I worked the first seven years of my marriage in a warehouse. The plant closed down and . . . I decided to go back to school. I am proud that I did that. I had to work two and three part-time jobs, I had two kids at the time, and I was older than the majority of the college kids. It was hard, but I earned my undergraduate degree and then my MSW in 5 years. Looking back, I don’t know how I did it! " Casey earned his MSW from the University of Utah in 2001. Prior to that, he earned a B.A. in psychology, with a minor in Spanish.

When he's not solving Utah County's problems at work, Casey enjoys reading, mountain biking, playing guitar, and spending time with his family, many of whom live close by. He likes to travel, and the most exciting place he's visited is Mexico. Speaking Spanish probably came in handy there! He'd like to visit Norway (his great-grandmother came from that country) or just about anywhere. One of his dreams is to own a small resort on a tropical island and offer a place to get away from it all. Of course that will require his being on hand at all times to run the place, but he thinks he's up to the job.

Among Casey's favorite movies are The Graduate, and Shrek. He recently read The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, by Bruce Perry, which he recommends as an interesting, albeit "bit depressing" read.

Thanks for letting us get to know you a little better, Casey!