About Me
Hi, my name is Donna – and I am an alcoholic.
This is how we introduce ourselves in recovery fellowship rooms of programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.
You may not be an alcoholic, but if you’re on this site, it means you desire a change in your health.
Perhaps you want to lose weight, improve a chronic condition, or change an unhealthy behavior pattern, such as addiction to a poor diet, negative self-thought, or, as was my case, drugs and alcohol.
Regardless of the change you desire to make, the first step is the same – recognizing where you are and owning it in a non-judgmental way. As I like to quote, “the first step to change is recognizing your own bullshit.”
That’s why, for alcoholics, introducing ourselves that way is so incredibly empowering. Without identifying our disease, we can’t take necessary action to heal.
The same goes for you acknowledging whatever it is that you want to change. Whatever the reason it is that brought you to this site, I commend you for having the curiosity to change, and am grateful you turned to this site for support.
I am a doctor of drugs by training, aka a clinical pharmacist. And yes, as a woman in recovery, I see the irony ;). As I describe below I have over a decade of experience in teaching and clinical practice, specifically in the area of chronic disease. But it was truly my own journey that led me to create this site.
I know what it’s like to look in the mirror and dislike what you see, maybe even despise what you’ve become, or at minimum, know that drastic change is needed if you want to live a long and healthy life.
After making that first step in my own journey – the decision to acknowledge my truth and seek the help I needed – I realized my purpose in life is to use my personal and professional experience to help people like myself, those who desire change but are still struggling and suffering.
I now say in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, “Hi, my name is Donna, and I am a very grateful recovering alcoholic.”
Beyond my dedication to a life of sobriety that includes giving back to others, some of my other personal interests range from traveling, Latin ballroom dancing, surfing, scuba diving, skiing, and cooking. Please read my professional bio for more information on my clinical training and experience as a clinician, professor, and medical science liaison.
Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your interest in DrDWellnessAddict.com. It is my honor to be a part of your journey. Namaste.
About Dr. Donna Leverone
Dr. Donna Leverone is a clinical pharmacist specializing in family medicine. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Florida, where she spent two additional years as a fellow in a clinical, academic appointment with the Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. Her primary practice was managing an anticoagulation clinic in addition to treating other primary care conditions, described below.
Additionally, her fellowship involved research, publishing and teaching. During this time, she also practiced as an inpatient clinical pharmacist at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans System. After completing her fellowship, she held a clinical professorship at Temple University’s College of Pharmacy with a primary care practice site at Fairmount Primary Care Center. She has also taught for several medical, physician assistant, and nursing colleges.
Dr. Leverone has experience in treating a myriad of conditions, with a focus on psychiatric and cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors, including but not limited to depression, anxiety, insomnia, diabetes, hypertension, COPD, asthma, smoking cessation and hyperlipidemia. Her clinical practice also focused on wellness, treating and preventing chronic disease through nutrition, movement, and stress management.
She has formally trained with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, including a course on food as medicine. In addition, she has informally trained under nutritionists, functional medicine experts, and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners.
After leaving academia and clinical practice, she joined the pharmaceutical industry as a medical science liaison (MSL) in the cardiovascular division at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where some of her primary roles included medical education, liaising research generation, and promotional presentations. In April of 2018, she moved to GlaxoSmithKline as a MSL for their respiratory division. Please refer to her CV on LinkedIn for full details regarding her career accomplishments, including publications, book chapters, research, presentations, lectures, and primary responsibilities as an MSL.
Dr. Leverone’s mission is to provide wellness education to support the treatment and prevention of disease, with a focus on vulnerable populations. Her philosophy is grounded in teaching self-care to patients, utilizing traditional medical treatments only as necessary. She is bilingual in Spanish and has helped lead several medical mission trips to Guatemala and El Salvador.
Dr. Leverone is also the CEO of her new wellness business, DrDWellnessAddict.com, launching in the winter of 2019. The primary objective is to help individuals learn how to take back their health by successfully implementing lifestyle changes in an effective, enjoyable, affordable, and sustainable way.
