Vincent La Padula, Managing Director And Market Manager, J.P. Morgan Private Bank Executive Wealth Group Elected To CASAColumbia Board

NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CASAColumbia™ announced today that Vincent La Padula has been elected to its board of directors.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100923/CASALOGO)

Mr. La Padula serves as the Managing Director and Market Manager for J.P. Morgan Private Bank's Executive Wealth Group.  He leads a team of bankers, investors, credit executives, trust and estate attorneys, and client service professionals that provide wealth management advice, solutions, and services to chief executive officers in the New York area.  The Executive Wealth Group also specializes in sports financing for professional teams across the country.  Before joining the Private Bank, La Padula served as a municipal finance professional in J.P. Morgan's Investment Bank.

Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. La Padula worked in New York City government for 10 years serving in the cabinet of Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg.

"We are very fortunate to have Vince join the CASAColumbia board of directors," said Jeffrey B. Lane, CASAColumbia's Chairman.  "Not only will Vince's financial business acumen and energy serve as an invaluable asset in helping us work toward a future free of addiction, but he is also an engaged father who understands that teen substance use is a public health problem of epidemic proportions."

"Addiction comes with great costs to individuals, families and society at large, and CASAColumbia performs amazing work towards the understanding of and treatment of this disease.  I am honored to be a part of the CASAColumbia board and be able to make contributions to address this critically important issue," La Padula said.

Mr. La Padula holds a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York, an MPA from the City University of New York and a JD from St. Johns University School of Law.

CASAColumbia is a science-based, multidisciplinary organization focused on transforming society's understanding of and response to the disease of addiction.  Founded in 1992 by Former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASAColumbia assembles the professional skills needed to research, prevent, treat and eliminate this disease.  CASAColumbia conducts its own research and also utilizes the scientific findings of others to inform Americans of the economic and social costs of substance use and addiction in all sectors of society and its impact on their lives.  CASAColumbia aims to reduce the stigma attached to this disease and replace shame with hope.  For more information www.casacolumbia.org.

SOURCE The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University