Heather Edney
Principal, Harm Reduction Consultant, OPEN reSOURCE Consulting
Heather Edney is a principal and harm-reduction consultant at OPEN reSOURCE Consulting, with over 30 years of experience dev…
Read biography and watch videoNever Perfect. Never Over. An Unauthorized History of Harm Reduction.
People in the film
Meet the leaders, advocates, researchers, family members, and community voices whose experience brings the history of harm reduction to life.
Dr. Lisa Moore
Associate Professor, San Francisco State University
Dr. Lisa Moore is an Associate Professor at San Francisco State University specializing in harm reduction and social and beh…
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Sue Purchase
Executive Director, Harm Reduction Sisters
Sue Purchase believes that by making drug use safer, we can mitigate overdose, death by overdose, and the spread of AIDS, He…
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Edith Springer
Social Worker (Retired), Harm Reduction Activist
Edith Springer was a pioneering social worker and harm-reduction educator who helped found the New York Peer AIDS Education…
Read biography and watch videoColette August
Executive Director, Tla'amin Nation, Tahoma Indian Center
Colette August is the Executive Director of Tla'amin Nation's Tahoma Indian Center, where she leads staff, volunteers, and s…
Read biographyRicky N. Bluthenthal, PhD
Professor, Department of Populations and Public Health Sciences (DPPHS)
Ricky N. Bluthenthal, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Populations and Public Health Sciences (DPPHS), Vice Chair fo…
Read biographyNigel Brunsdon
Photographer/Harm Reductionist, Injecting Advice/HIT
Nigel's background in providing and running harm reduction services, and training people to deliver safer injecting interven…
Read biographyAllan Clear
Director, New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute's Office of Drug User Health
Allan Clear is the Director of the New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute's Office of Drug User Health, oversee…
Read biographyNick Crofts AM
Honorary Professorial Fellow Nossal Institute, University of Melbourne
Professor Nick Crofts is an epidemiologist and public health practitioner who has been working in the fields of HIV/AIDS, il…
Read biographyDr. Don Des Jarlais
Professor of Epidemiology, New York University
Don C. Des Jarlais, Ph.D. is Professor of Epidemiology and of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Global Public…
Read biographyDennis Flannigan
Member of the House of Rep., 27th District, Tacoma
Dennis Flannigan was a Washington state politician, civil rights activist, and businessman who represented Tacoma's 27th Dis…
Read biographyRebecca Joe Ford
Dave's First Born, Dave Purchase Project
Rebecca Joe Ford, Dave Purchase's daughter and firstborn, volunteered with the Dave Purchase Project, supporting harm reduct…
Read biographyMichael Harney
Prevention Educator, WNC AIDS Project, Co-founder, Needle Exchange Program of Asheville
Michael Harney is a prevention educator at the Western North Carolina AIDS Project and co-founder of the Needle Exchange Pro…
Read biographyRobert Heimer, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health
Robert Heimer is a Professor of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health, specializing in the…
Read biographyMark A. Jenkins
Founder & CEO, Connecticut Harm Reduction Alliance
Mark Jenkins, a service connected disabled Veteran of the United States Air Force and Founder / CEO of the Connecticut Harm…
Read biographyAlex Kral
Distinguished Fellow, RTI International
Alex Kral is an epidemiologist and Distinguished Fellow at the nonprofit research institute RTI International. He has been c…
Read biographyPaul LaKosky, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Dave Purchase Project (Tacoma Needle Exchange / NASEN)
Paul LaKosky is Executive Director of the Dave Purchase Project (Tacoma Needle Exchange / NASEN), a major harm-reduction org…
Read biographyFabio Mesquita, MD
Professor of Public Health, Federal University of Sao Paulo (UNIFESP)
Dr. Fabio Mesquita is a Professor of Public Health at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and a technical officer…
Read biographyStephanie Prohaska
Director of Operations, Dave Purchase Project (Tacoma Needle Exchange / NASEN)
Stephanie Prohaska is the Director of Operations of the Dave Purchase Project (Tacoma Needle Exchange / NASEN), a major harm…
Read biographyDylan Purchase
Dave's Son, Dave Purchase Project
Dylan Purchase, son of Dave Purchase, volunteered with the Dave Purchase Project, supporting harm reduction services in Taco…
Read biographySujata Rana
Co-founder (Retired), Lifesaving & Lifegiving Society (LALS)
After meeting harm reductionist Aaron Peak, she helped launch Nepal's first needle exchange program in 1991, providing steri…
Read biographyCraig Reinarman, PhD
Prof. Emeritus, Sociology & Legal Studies, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz
Craig Reinarman is a Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, with extensive ex…
Read biographyJoyce Rivera, ABD, MA
Founder/CEO, St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction
Joyce Rivera, ABD, MA, is the founder and CEO of St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction and a nationally recognized leader in HI…
Read biographyAlisa Solberg, MPA
Health Transformation Consultant, Uncommon Solutions, Inc.
Alisa Solberg ran the Point Defiance AIDS Project in Tacoma, Washington, home to the oldest legally sanctioned needle exchan…
Read biographyHaven Wheelock
Harm Reduction Manager, Outside In
Haven Wheelock has worked in harm reduction for more than 14 years and currently coordinates Outside In's syringe exchange p…
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