NYSAM Annual Conference Speakers
AARON FOX, MD
Dr. Aaron Fox is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Fox is board certified in addiction medicine and internal medicine, and he is the Director of the Bronx Transitions Clinic, which provides a medical home to persons returning from jail or prison. His research involves opioid use disorder treatment in primary care, harm reduction and criminal-legal settings. He completed residency training at Montefiore in Primary Care/Social Medicine in 2007, and he received a Master’s Degree in Clinical Research from Einstein in 2012. He is the president elect for the New York Society of Addiction Medicine.
EDWIN SALSITZ, MD, DFASAM
Dr. Edwin A. Salsitz has been an attending physician in the Mount Sinai Beth Israel , Division of Addiction Medicine, New York City, since 1983, and is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is the principal investigator of the Methadone Medical Maintenance (office-based methadone maintenance) research project. Dr. Salsitz is certified in Addiction Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, as well as by the Board of Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease. He has published and lectures frequently on addiction medicine topics.
Dr. Salsitz is a course director for ASAM sponsored Buprenorphine and REMS safe opioid prescribing trainings, and is a lead mentor in the PCSS-MAT mentoring program. He has co-chaired the ASAM Review Course, the ASAM Common Threads Course, the ASAM State of the Art course and is a reviewer for the Journal of Addiction Medicine and Drug and Alcohol Dependence. He is the chair of the ASAM REMS course on safe and effective prescribing of opioids. Dr. Salsitz was the Co-chair of the ASAM CME committee and Chair of the New York Society of Addiction Medicine CME and Education committee.
Dr Salsitz teaches addiction medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, to third year medical students, masters of science students, neuroscience PH.D candidates, and psychiatry residents.
Dr. Salsitz was a founding member of the medical advisory panel, for the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services.
Dr. Salsitz is the recipient of the 2014 ASAM Annual Award, the 2018 ASAM Annual Educator of the Year Award, and the 2021 NYSAM Lifetime Achievement Award.
TIMOTHY WIEGAND, MD, FACMT, FAACT, DFASAM
Timothy J. Wiegand, MD, FACMT, FAACT, DFASAM is Program Director for the URMC Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program, and the Medical Director for Huther Doyle, an addiction services provider in Rochester, New York, where he works in a collaborative model providing a variety of services for patients with substance use disorders, and serves as facilitator for their Project ECHO program on Pain, Opioid Prescribing and Addiction. In addition to ED, hospital and clinic work treating drug exposures, intoxication, withdrawal and assisting with pain management for patients maintained on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in the ED, hospital and perioperative setting, Dr. Wiegand is involved with medical education and research in toxicology and addiction.
PAUL WAX, MD, FACMT
Dr. Wax is the Executive Director of the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and an Adjunct Clinical Professor at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. Dr. Wax received his B.A from Dartmouth College, his M.D. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, his Emergency Medicine residency training at UCLA, and his Medical Toxicology fellowship training at New York University. He is Board-certified in both Medical Toxicology and Emergency Medicine. In 2010 Dr Wax co-founded ACMT’s Toxicology Investigators Consortium, known as ToxIC. A multicenter research consortium and patient registry, ToxIC currently receives funding from NIH, CDC, and FDA and in recent years has focused on the fentanyl epidemic. In 2019 Dr. Wax received the Career Achievement Award in Medical Toxicology from the American College of Medical Toxicology.
BARRY LOGAN, PHD
Dr. Barry Logan is Executive Director at the non-profit Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) at the Fredric Rieders Family Foundation in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. He is also Chief Scientist at NMS Labs in Horsham PA, where he leads a team of forensic toxicologists and certifying scientists. He holds academic appointments at Arcadia, Thomas Jefferson and Indiana Universities in the United States.
Dr. Logan is a Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Toxicologists (ABFT), and has over 200 publications and has made over 700 presentations in forensic toxicology and analytical chemistry, including work on the effects of illicit and prescription drugs on drivers, and drug caused and related death. His current research priorities are focused on new drug trends, the opioid crisis, rapid reporting of drug mortality data, and the analytical and interpretive toxicology and chemistry of novel psychoactive substances, founding www.NPSDiscovery.org in 2018.
Dr. Logan’s contributions to the field of toxicology were recognized in 2021 by the International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT) presentation of the Alan Curry Lifetime Career Achievement Award.
KIM ALDY, DO, MS, MBA
Dr. Kim Aldy earned her medical degree at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. She completed residency in emergency medicine at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and a medical toxicology fellowship at the University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Aldy now serves as the Program Director of the Toxicology Investigator’s Consortium, the multicenter toxicosurveillance and research network built through the American College of Medical Toxicology. She has also maintained an academic and clinical affiliation with the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
KELLY S. RAMSEY, MD, MPH, MA, FACP, DFASAM
Kelly S. Ramsey, MD, MPH, MA, FACP, DFASAM is a board certified internal medicine and addiction medicine physician who has treated substance use disorder since 2004. She worked as Medical Director of an academic center-based OTP in the South Bronx before working for nearly a decade for a large FQHC in the Hudson Valley where she created and grew a MAT program for OUD and AUD to 10 sites and 1500 patients. Most recently, Dr. Ramsey worked as the Chief of Medical Services at the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).
Dr. Ramsey has provided expert advice to the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, serving on numerous committees for about 15 years as the Co-Chair of the HIV Quality of Care Advisory Committee (QAC) until December 2020; and, until starting at OASAS in June 2020, Vice-Chair of the Substance Use Guidelines Committee for the HIV Clinical Practice Guidelines (a collaboration with Johns Hopkins University) and Co-Chair of the Office of Drug User Health’s NYS Buprenorphine Advisory Workgroup.
Dr. Ramsey was the recipient of the New York State Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award for contributions to drug user health in NYS in December 2018. Dr. Ramsey was the Distinguished Contributions to Behavioral Medicine Award Recipient, awarded by the American College of Physicians (ACP)in April 2023. Dr. Ramsey was awarded the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Special Medical Alumni Board Award in October 2023.
Dr. Ramsey is the President for the NYSAM BOD. In addition, she currently serves as Region I Director on the ASAM Board of Directors.
CHINAZO CUNNINGHAM, MD
Commissioner Chinazo Cunningham, M.D., was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul on December 1, 2021 and confirmed by the New York State Senate on January 24, 2022 as Commissioner of the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).
Dr. Cunningham is a physician, researcher, and public health professional who brings over 20 years of expertise in substance use treatment to OASAS. Prior to joining OASAS, she served as the Executive Deputy Commissioner of Mental Hygiene at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, was a practicing physician at Montefiore Health System, and a Professor of Medicine, Family and Social Medicine, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Cunningham has more than 20 years’ experience in research, care, and program development that focuses on people who use drugs. She has also partnered with community-based organizations to develop pioneering programs to promote the health of this population.
Dr. Cunningham led one of the first clinics in New York City to integrate buprenorphine into primary care. She has trained hundreds of doctors to treat substance use disorders in primary care. She has also led several research studies and published numerous research articles that focus on treating substance use disorders.
ROB KENT, JD
Robert A. Kent is the President of Kent Strategic Advisors, a consulting firm focused on drug policy and assisting stakeholders with making treating and recovery more accessible. Mr. Kent most recently served as General Counsel with the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In this role Mr. Kent provided overall legal support to all components of ONDCP and assisted with the the development of the 2022 National Drug Control Strategy.
Mr. Kent previously served as the Vice President of Advocacy and General Counsel for the American Association of Orthodontists, a national healthcare organization. Prior to that he served as the General Counsel for the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS). In this role, Robert provided overall legal support, policy guidance, and direction to the OASAS Executive Office and all divisions of the agency. Robert led the OASAS efforts to implement New York State’s Heroin and Opioid Task Force recommendations, including the Combat Addiction/Heroin Campaign, the Federal Opioid Targeted Grant program, and Medicaid Redesign Team initiatives including implementation of historic legislation to increase access to treatment, including harm reduction services. Robert has co-authored articles on patient confidentiality and sober homes and has presented nationally and throughout New York State on the addiction system of care.
In 2011, Robert was recognized by the Caron Foundation with their Legal Professional Public Service Award. In 2013, Robert was recognized by the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies with their Leadership Award. In 2016, Robert was recognized by the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence with their Nyswander/Dole “Marie” award; the Long Island Recovery Association Friend of Recovery Award; and the Northern Tier Providers Coalition Public Service Award. In 2018, Robert was honored by the Friends of Recovery New York with the Charles Devlin Recovery Advocate Award and by Christopher’s Reason with the Outstanding Leader in the Recovery Community Award. In 2019, Robert was honored by NYAPRS with its Public Policy Leadership Award and by the MHANYS with their CEO Award. In 2020, Robert was honored by the NYS Justice Center with their Champion Award.
Mr. Kent is a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law.
ELIAS DAKWAR, MD
Dr. Dakwar completed a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Columbia and received a K23 award evaluating the ketamine infusions combined with mindfulness training to treat cocaine use disorders. Most recently, he is a principal investigator on several R01s evaluating ketamine for induction onto extended-release naltrexone for opioid use disorder as well as ketamine infusion to facilitate treatment for cocaine use disorder and alcohol use disorder.
JULES NETHERLAND, PHD
Julie “Jules” Netherland, Ph.D., is the managing director of the Department of Research and Academic Engagement. In that role, she works to ensure that DPA grounds its policy work in the best possible research and evidence and that researchers and academics have the tools they need to change policy. Jules previously worked in DPA’s New York Policy Office where she was instrumental in passing New York’s first medical marijuana laws. Before coming to DPA, she worked in public health research and policy with a focus on HIV/AIDS and substance use. She is the editor of Critical Perspectives on Addiction (Emerald Press, 2012) and co-author of Whiteout: How Racial Capitalism Changed the Color of Opioids in America (UC Press, 2023). She holds a B.A. in religion from Bryn Mawr College, a Master of Social Work from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in medical sociology from the City University of New York.
SHEILA VAKHARIA , PHD MSW
Sheila P Vakharia is the Deputy Director of Research and Academic Engagement. In this role, she helps DPA staff and others understand a range of drug policy issues. Dr. Vakharia builds relationships with drug researchers and helps to advance policy-relevant research. She also mobilizes researchers in support of DPA policy campaigns and organizes conferences on key issues in drug policy.
Before joining DPA, Dr. Vakharia was an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Long Island University. She has also worked as a clinical social worker in both abstinence-only and harm reduction settings. Her research interests include harm reduction therapy, drug policy reform, drug stigma, overdose prevention, and social work education. She is on the Board of Directors of Filter magazine.
Dr. Vakharia received a Ph.D. in Social Welfare from Florida International University, a Master’s in Social Work from Binghamton University, and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Addictions from New York University.
SAMANTHA KOURY, EDD, LMSW
Samantha P. Koury, EdD, LMSW, is the Co-Director at the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC), as well as a trainer and consultant on various ITTIC-related projects. She is a graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work and Marymount University’s School of Education. Samantha has close to nine years of experience working with staff in different agencies, organizations, and systems to become more trauma-informed in their work. She is passionate about trauma-informed leadership, workforce wellness, and helping organizations and systems plan for, implement, and sustain trauma-informed organizational change.
BRIAN HURLEY, MD, MBA, DFASAM
Brian Hurley, MD, MBA, FAPA, DFASAM is an addiction physician and the Medical Director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He is the President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the Co-Clinical Director of the Addiction Treatment Starts Here program through the Center for Clinical Innovation, focused on increasing the delivery of medications for addiction treatment in California’s community health centers. He is a senior researcher at the Friends Research Institute and recently concluded a role as a co-primary investigator on a Tobacco Related Disease Prevention Program-funded project integrating smoking cessation services into community mental health centers and patient-centered medical homes. He has also led numerous grant funded projects for Medications for Addiction Treatment Access Points projects funded by the Sierra Health Foundation supporting access to medications for addiction treatment across Los Angeles County and is the program lead for LA County’s Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration’s Harm Reduction grant award and the Centers for Disease Control Overdose to Action Local grant award. He is also a co-investigator for several Rand Corporation projects evaluating the integration of substance use disorder and mental health treatment within community health settings.
ALEX KROTULSKI, PHD
Dr. Alex J. Krotulski serves as an Associate Director at the CFSRE working in the areas of forensic toxicology and forensic chemistry and is the Program Manager for NPS Discovery, the CFSRE’s drug early warning system and flagship program for the identification and characterization of new and emerging synthetic drugs. Dr. Krotulski is an analytical chemist by training and practices as a forensic toxicologist. Dr. Krotulski holds faculty appointment and serves as the Assistance Program Director for the Thomas Jefferson University Master of Science in Forensic Toxicology (MSFT) program and was recently appointed as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
Dr. Krotulski received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Analytical Chemistry from Temple University in 2019 following receipt of his Master of Science degree in Forensic Science from Arcadia University in 2015 and Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Loyola University New Orleans in 2013. To date, Dr. Krotulski has authored or co-authored more than 45 publications in the areas of forensic toxicology, clinical toxicology, and forensic chemistry, in addition to more than 65 presentations across various areas of forensic science, mass spectrometry, and analytical chemistry, and has severed a chair, co-chair, or moderator for more than 8 workshops and webinars. Dr. Krotulski’s current research and casework focus heavily on aspects related to the detection and characterization of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), including studies that examine NPS positivity, trends, metabolism, and effects through NPS Discovery’s intelligence, surveillance, monitoring, and response efforts.
For his contributions to the field of forensic toxicology, Dr. Krotulski was awarded the inaugural 2021 Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT) Research in Forensic Toxicology Award and the 2022 American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Toxicology Section’s Irving Sunshine Award for Outstanding Research by a Young Investigator. In addition, Dr. Krotulski was awarded the 2020 Young Forensic Scientists Forum (YFSF) Founder’s Award and 2017 AAFS Toxicology Section’s Best Poster Award, and has received honors for his Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS) Noteworthy Article involving the synthetic cannabinoid 4F-MDMB-BINACA. In 2020, Dr. Krotulski was appointed to serve as the Guest Editor for the 2021 Special Issue in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
Dr. Krotulski remains an active member of several professional organizations including the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS – Toxicology Section), The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT), the International Society for the Study of Emerging Drugs (ISSED), and the International Alliance of Clinical and Forensic Toxicologists (IACFT). Dr. Krotulski serves on various committees across these organizations, including SOFT’s NPS Committee and Young Forensic Toxicologists Committee, and has complete various other role with respect to planning committees, program committees, and working groups. For his expertise in high resolution mass spectrometry and its applications, Dr. Krotulski has been designated as a “Thought Leader” with SCIEX.
JEFFERY BRENT, MD, PHD, FACMT
Jeffrey A. Brent is a medical toxicologist who is a distinguished clinical professor of medicine and emergency medicine at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. In addition, he is a professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. He is also the past president of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, was editor in chief of the journal Toxicological Reviews, and was a member of the board of directors of the American College of Medical Toxicology. Previously, most of Brent’s research focused on the use of fomepizole as a treatment for both methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning, and he led a trial of this drug which resulted in the FDA approving it in December 1997. Currently, Brent serves as Director of the Toxicology Investigators Consortium, an NIH and FDA supported multi center research and surveillance group. Brent is also a senior editor of “Critical Care Toxicology: Diagnosis and Management of the Critically Poisoned Patient,” originally published in 2005, and now in its second edition, which was published in 2017.
LAILA KHALID, MD, MPH
Dr. Laila Khalid MD MPH is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center. She received her medical degree from Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. She completed her Internal Medicine residency and chief year at Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge followed by a General Medicine fellowship, Preventive Medicine residency and a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University. She joined Montefiore in 2014 to complete an additional year of General Medicine fellowship and stayed on as a clinician-educator with a focus in chronic pain and addiction medicine. She is board-certified in both internal and addiction medicine and her special interest lies in educating providers and treating patients with an overlap of chronic pain and addiction. She is the Director of the Buprenorphine Treatment Network, Associate Program Director of the Addiction Medicine fellowship and serves as faculty on the Addiction Consult Service. Regarding pain management, she codirects a resident-led chronic pain clinic embedded in primary care and is an eConsultant for opioid management of ambulatory patients at Montefiore. She also serves as core faculty in many educational interventions in pain and addiction for medical students, residents and addiction medicine fellows.
POOJA LAGISETTY, MD, MSC
Dr. Pooja Lagisetty is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and practicing physician with a focus on addressing access barriers and developing interventions to better treat chronic pain and addiction across medical settings. Dr. Lagisetty received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, completed her internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and received her master’s degree in health services research via the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. She also holds a joint appointment in the Center for Clinical Management and Research at the Ann Arbor VA and is a contributing member at the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. Clinically, she is boarded in both Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine and treats patients across the spectrum of chronic pain and addiction. She has co-led the development of the Michigan Medicine Inpatient and Emergency Department Addiction Consultation Team and the curricula around opioid use disorder for the University of Michigan Medical students. Her research has been influential in understanding stigma and disparities for individuals with pain and addiction. Specifically, her work has highlighted treatment access barriers for individuals with chronic pain following policies aimed at reducing prescription opioid supply and racial disparities in the receipt of medications for opioid use disorder. She has been funded by multiple federal agencies including NIDA, SAMSHA, and the VHA and also by foundations including the Michigan Health Endowment Fund and Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan.
NATHALIA FERNANDEZ
Nathalia Fernandez is a New York State Senator for District 34 covering the Bronx and Westchester. She chairs the Senate Alcoholism & Substance Use Disorders Committee and works every day to help New York fight against the opioid crisis.
Nathalia is a daughter of immigrants. Since childhood, she has always had a love for her community and desire to serve. As a New York State Assemblymember for the 80th District, Nathalia’s passion and dedication to the Bronx helped make her the leader she is today.
EDWARD NUNES, MD
Dr. Nunes is a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Research Psychiatrist at New York State Psychiatric Institute. He is an internationally recognized leader in research on treatments for opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders, and on co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders. For the past thirty years with continuous funding from NIH, mainly National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), including a series of Career Development Awards, he has led clinical trials on medication and behavioral treatments for cocaine and opioid use disorders. He has over 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications, including papers in JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, and Lancet, in addition to numerous book chapters and a textbook on diagnosis and treatment of co-occurring psychiatric disorders among patients with substance use disorders. His group was among the first to demonstrate that depression could be identified with careful clinical diagnosis and successfully treated among patients with alcohol, opioid or cocaine use disorders, and to demonstrate that behavioral intervention could improve the effectiveness of naltrexone as a treatment for opioid use disorder.
For the past 20 years he has served as a Principal Investigator in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN, New York Node), focused on clinical trials to demonstrate the effectiveness of new treatments in real-world clinical settings. Among other accomplishments his group led the first large multisite trial of behavioral treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder among women with substance use disorders, the first large multi-site trial of a technology-delivered behavioral treatment for substance use disorders, and co-led the first large U.S.-based trial comparing extended-release injection naltrexone versus sublingual buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder. Currently in the CTN, he and his colleagues are developing a major clinical trial that will be a cornerstone of the NIH HEAL Initiative (Help End Addiction in our Lifetimes), testing strategies–different medication doses and formulations, and behavioral treatments–to improve the effectiveness of buprenorphine and injection naltrexone for treatment of opioid use disorder. He is also a multiple Principal Investigator on the New York Healing Communities Study, a major NIH funded effort which, along with 3 other States, seeks to demonstrate that a concerted community wide effort to expand medication treatment and other interventions can drive down the high rate of deaths from opioid overdose.
He has served on the Board of Directors of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the American Board of Addiction Medicine and the Addiction Medicine Foundation, and National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, and currently serves on the NIH Working Group on the HEAL Initiative, the Addiction Medicine sub-Board of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, and is Deputy Editor of the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Locally, he has been active throughout his career mentoring research fellows and junior faculty, and he serves as Co-Chair of the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Department of Psychiatry Institutional Review Board.
KAILIN SEE
Kailin has been working in harm reduction in Canada and United States for the last 18 years. She is proud to be the Senior Director of Programs for OnPoint NYCserving Washington Heights, East Harlem and the Bronx in New York City. She was the program and development lead for the historic opening of the first two publicly-recognized overdose prevention centers in the United States.
TIFFANY LU, MD, MS
Tiffany Lu, MD, MS is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York. She is currently Associate Director of Addiction Services at New York City Health & Hospitals/Jacobi where she serves as medical director of the hospital’s opioid treatment program and leads addiction care and education initiatives across the safety net health system.
Prior to joining Jacobi, Dr Lu was the Medical Director of Montefiore’s Buprenorphine Treatment Network, where she led primary care-based opioid use disorder treatment across 7 community health centers. She also founded the Addiction Medicine “Bridge Clinic” to provide low-threshold care for people with substance use disorders. Dr. Lu was Principal Investigator of a federal grant to expand addiction education for medical students and residents and municipal contracts to integrate nurse care management for buprenorphine treatment.
Dr. Lu graduated from UCSF School of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. She holds a Masters of Science in Clinical Research Methods from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. In addition, Dr Lu is active with the American Society of Addiction Medicine as member of the Quality Improvement Council and Education Chair for the New York Chapter.
KATHERINE MULLINS, MD, AAHIVS
Katherine Mullins MD, AAHIVS currently works as the Assistant Director of Addiction Medicine for the Family Health Centers, a network of FQHCs within NYU Langone, and as a Clinical Assistant Professor for the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. After earning her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, she completed her Primary Care/Social Internal Medicine Residency and Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center. She is passionate about integrating harm reduction principles into medical education and developing primary care systems that support people who use drugs or have substance use disorders.
BETTY LEE , AGNP
ALIZA COHEN
SAM RIVERA
Sam Rivera has over 29 years of progressive experience in social services. He has dedicated his professional career to ameliorating the harms associated with the War on Drug Users, racism/sexism, structural inequality, and mass incarceration and will continue to work to end systemic as well as systematic barriers to populations that are most vulnerable.
MAIA SZALAVITZ
Maia Szalavitz is the author, most recently, of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, which is the first history of the movement aimed at focusing drug policy on minimizing harms, not highs. Her previous New York Times bestseller, Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction wove together neuroscience and social science with her personal experience of heroin addiction. It won the 2018 media award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and has written for numerous other publications including TIME, Wired, Elle, the Nation and Scientific American.
Her 2006 book, Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids, was the first to expose the damage caused by “tough love” youth treatment and helped spur Congressional hearings. She has also authored or co-authored five other books, including the classic on child trauma, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, with Dr. Bruce D. Perry. She lives with her
husband and two squeaky cats in New York City.
PARKER BAIRD
STEVEN GREY
TRICIA BAUTISTA
ZINA HUXLEY-REICHER
