Dubois County CARES names first executive director, expands prevention role
Dubois County CARES named Hilary Duncan as its first executive director, adding paid leadership to a coalition tracking teen alcohol, vaping and marijuana use in four towns.
Dubois County CARES named Hilary Duncan as its first executive director. Duncan, a Dubois County resident, brings experience in nonprofit leadership, communications, fundraising strategy, donor engagement, event management and relationship-building.
In the new role, Duncan will work with the board to guide strategy and measure outcomes, while also coordinating with schools, parents, healthcare providers, law enforcement, businesses, faith organizations and other community partners.
CARES traces its start to October 2014, when community leaders came together to focus specifically on youth alcohol and drug use. At that point, the Dubois County Substance Abuse Council and the Dubois County Public Health Partnership already existed, but neither was built solely around youth prevention. The coalition later began receiving federal Drug-Free Communities funding in 2017, along with support from the Dubois County Community Foundation and local donors.
Its mission is to empower youth to be alcohol- and drug-free through education, skill-building programs and teamwork. Its prevention model starts with an annual Community Assessment, then uses the findings to build a Strategic Action Plan aimed at reducing risk factors and strengthening protective factors. CARES works with partner agencies and local lawmakers to build a community that does not tolerate underage drinking and drug use.
The coalition’s goals are tied to the Indiana Youth Survey, a biennial spring survey of students in grades 6 through 12. CARES wants to cut past-30-day alcohol use from 15.3% in 2018 to 10% or lower by 2028, while also reducing youth past-30-day vaping of tobacco products by 10% and marijuana use by 10% by 2028.
CARES works with youth in Dubois, Jasper, Ferdinand and Huntingburg. School-based CARES youth groups were active in three county high schools during the 2022-23 school year, and a June 2026 newsletter invited each school to send up to 15 students for leadership training. The coalition graduated from the National Coalition Institute’s National Leadership Academy at CADCA in 2024.
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