Traci Green
Principal Investigator
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Dr. Green is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on drug use, opioid use disorder, and drug-related injury. She earned a Master of Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from McGill University and a PhD in Epidemiology from Yale University. She helped design the ASI-MV®, a real-time illicit and prescription drug abuse surveillance system developed by Inflexxion, Inc. Prior to joining the Heller School at Brandeis, she served as Deputy Director of the Boston Medical Center Injury Prevention Center, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Community Health Sciences at the Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University where she co-directs the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Opioids and Overdose at Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Green helped co-found www.prescribetoprevent.org for prescribers and pharmacists and its companion site www.prevent-protect.org for families, patients, and community organizations. She serves as an advisor to the Rhode Island Governor on addiction and overdose, and consults for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas on public health and public safety opportunities. She served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and two recent National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committees pertaining to opioid pain management, regulatory strategies to address opioids, and medications for opioid use disorder. Her research is supported by the CDC, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, and the Department of Justice.more
Laura Michelson
Project Director
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Laura Michelson, LCSW, MSW, is a research project director for Dr. Traci Green at the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Laura earned a master's degree in clinical social work from Boston College, with a focus on mental health. She has an undergraduate degree from Hobart & William Smith Colleges in Women's Studies. Prior to her position at Heller, she was a community engaged facilitator for the HEALing Communities study at Boston Medical Center. Laura has worked in LGBTQ public health, including the recruitment and education of biomedical clinical trials. In her free time, she enjoys meditation, reading and staying active in nature.more
Becca Olson
Project Manager
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Rebecca (Becca) Olson, MPH, is a research project manager for Dr. Traci Green at the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Becca earned a master’s degree in public health from Boston University, with a focus on epidemiology and global health. She has undergraduate degrees from the University of Connecticut in Spanish and nutritional sciences. Prior to her position at Heller, she was a project coordinator for a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration contract titled “Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS).” She has a background in mental health and substance use recovery, including collegiate recovery. In her free time, Becca enjoys reading and traveling.more
Joe Silcox
Research Associate / Project Manager
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Joe Silcox, MA, is a Research Associate (Project Manager) for Dr. Traci Green at the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Joe earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Saint Anselm College and his master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts - Boston (UMass Boston) in Applied Sociology. Joe is currently a PhD Candidate in Sociology at UMass Boston and specializes in research on substance use, stigma, identity, harm reduction and social control.more
Cole Jarczyk
Research Assistant / Analytical Chemist
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Cole Jarczyk, BA, is a research assistant for Dr. Traci Green at the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative. Cole earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Economics from Colgate University. Prior to his position at Heller, he studied and synthesized novel ester hydrogenation catalysts with... Dr. Anthony Chianese. His expertise is primarily in analytic, inorganic, and organic chemistry. In his free time, Cole enjoys hiking with his dog and cooking.more
Kristin Doneksi
Maine Access Points
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Mary Wheeler
Healthy Streets
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Kim Powers
ACCESS Hope
Kim Powers is a fierce and fearless advocate for People who use Drugs (PWUD) and People living with HIV. She has been practicing Harm Reduction for 30 plus years identifying as a Person with Lived Experience who is not Abstinent. In 1989 Kim joined the IV League, a working group from ACT UP Boston. They operated an illicit needle exchange programs allowing Kim to access and distribute thousand of syringes to PWUD in Boston. In 2000 Kim moved to Cape Cod where she continued distributing syringes and Narcan with minimal pushback. In 2002 Kim Founder SWAG, a Sex Worker Advocate Group providing resources, support and a safe space for current and former women working in the sex workers on the Cape. Cod From 2003-2018 Kim owned a women's recovery home that included residents on Medication Assisted Treatment. Increased community outrage prompted Kim to file a lawsuit against the town for violating the Fair Housing Act. Soon after the harassment stopped. From 2014-2021 Kim was the Drug User Health Outreach Coordinated at a Syringe Access Program (SAP) in Hyannis. In 2015 the Town of Barnstable filed a lawsuit to close the Hyannis NEX. Working with GLAD's legal team Kim testified in front of the SJC. In 2017 they ruled that privately owned NEX programs could open without State or Local approval and lifted all restrictions on secondary syringe access. In 2015 She was an advisor for the HBO Documentary "Cape Cod Heroin USA". In 2016, with the presence of Fentanyl in the Drug Supply and an increase in Overdose deaths Kim helped the CDC conduct interview with Drug Users. Their voices helped bring a more effective, easy to use 4mg nasal spray to Ma. In 2017 Kim joined the MC4SCS to work to make Safe Consumption Sites legal. That same years She was the recipient of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women's Unsung Hero award for her work with PWUD on Cape Cod. In 2000 Kim founded Access HOPE, a Mobile Outreach Harm Reduction Program providing anonymous Syringe Access, Drug Testing and Supervised Overdose Prevention. Her mission is to Empower Drug Users by removing barriers, reducing stigma and Meeting People where they choose.
Allyson Pinkhover
Brockton Neighborhood Health Center
Allyson Pinkhover is Director of Substance Use Services at Brockton Neighborhood Health Center. She is a public health practitioner with expertise in substance use, harm reduction, and low-threshold treatment services. Allyson is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in biological sciences and Drexel University with an MPH in community health and prevention. She is a DrPH student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health concentrating in health equity and social justice, and is passionate about promoting the health and human rights of people who use drugs.more
Sarah Mackin
AHOPE
Sarah Mackin, MPH is the director of AHOPE Needle Exchange at the Boston Public Health Commission, where she began her work in harm reduction and drug user health in 2010. She oversees the largest needle exchange and harm reduction program in New England , which provides comprehensive drug user health services to over 8,000 people each year. Sarah brings over 15 years of experience in the fields of public health, substance use, harm reduction, HIV/AIDS, and homelessness.
Clare Schmidt
AHOPE
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Don Jackson
Greensboro Exchange
Don Jackson is the Program Director of the Greensboro Exchange, and present at both the front and back of the Exchange's drop in site. Doing it all, from placing supply orders, driving everyone safely to West Virginia and back, and adding his artistic touch to everything. Don is about to take the lead this year with NCSU's drug testing, and will be in charge of running our new mass spectrometer.
Louise Vincent
North Carolina Survivors Union
Louise Vincent has a Masters in Public Health and was the first annual recipient of the Dan Bigg Award. She is the Executive Director of North Carolina Survivors Union, and was part of the creation of the The National Urban Survivors Union Leadership Team where she also sits on the board as the Executive Director. She led both the teams for #REFRAMETHEBLAME as well as #BIGGLOVEWV. She is our main grant writer and is always hunting for the funding opportunities to keep NCSU going no matter what chaos may ensue!
Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta
MPH, PhD
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Mary Figgatt
MPH, PhD Candidate UNC, Chapel Hill
Mary is a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology. She received her MPH in Epidemiology from Drexel University. After receiving her MPH, Mary completed the CDC/CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellowship at New York State Department of Health. Prior to beginning her doctoral training, she was an epidemiologist at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health where she implemented the city’s drug overdose fatality review program and led several other epidemiological projects. Her research interests include substance use, infectious diseases, and the importance of harm reduction and policy on improving health outcomes.more