Seema L. Clifasefi, PhD, is an associate professor and codirector of the Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington-Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, WA. Her research lies at the intersection of substance use, mental health, criminal justice and housing policy, with an emphasis on populations with lived experience of homelessness, substance use and/or involvement in the criminal justice system.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist and co-founder of the HaRT3S. I am also a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Washington State University and hold affiliate faculty positions in both the Department of Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington where I also codirect the Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center at UW Medicine’s Harborview Medical Center. I have been involved in substance use research, assessment and treatment for 25 years and have disseminated this work in over 70 book chapters, abstracts and peer-reviewed articles. Using a community-based participatory research approach, I work with multidisciplinary research and clinical teams, community-based agencies, and people who use substances to codevelop, evaluate and implement interventions that aim to reduce substance-related harm and improve quality of life for people who use substances and their communities. I am also a mother, a wife, a sister and a daughter embedded within families affected by the intergenerational experience of trauma, addictive behaviors and substance use disorder. I attended my first 12-step meeting when I was 16, and my families’ and my own lived experiences drive my desire to reduce the stigma of addictive behaviors and meet people where they are at in all aspects of my work.

Michele Andrasik is a clinical health psychologist. She is the Director of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Community Engagement for the Fred Hutchinson-based HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), Senior Staff Scientist in the Fred Hutchinson Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division and an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Departments of Global Health and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington. Dr. Andrasik has worked in HIV prevention for over 25 years. Her focus has been on social and structural factors implicated in health inequities and stigma and discrimination experienced by communities with devalued identities (racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minorities).

An expert in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and qualitative methods research, Dr. Andrasik has led a robust Social and Behavioral Sciences research agenda for the HVTN for almost a decade. She has extensive experience facilitating training on implicit bias, stigma, microaggressions and trauma to researchers, community-based organization staff and health departments.

I am a clinical social worker focused on working with people who use substances, people who are experiencing houselessness and housing instability, and people living with chronic illnesses. I have experience working on the research side and direct services side of harm reduction, housing, and medical case management. I am grateful to the community members of Seattle and Philadelphia, who have shared their journeys and aspirations with us to create more equitable and effective substance use, housing, and medical systems.