Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH - Course Director

Chief, Division of General Academic Pediatrics
Executive Director, Kraft Center for Community Health
Conrad Taff Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Julie Burns

Julie Burns is the president and CEO of RIZE Massachusetts and leads the foundation’s work researching, investing in, and expanding evidence-based treatment solutions as well as building coalitions across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors to end the overdose epidemic in Massachusetts.  Previously, Julie was a senior director at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation overseeing communication strategy, strategic planning, and administration.  Prior to her work with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Julie worked for former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino in several roles including deputy chief of staff; director of the Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events; president of the Fund for Boston Neighborhoods; and executive director of Boston 2004 Inc., created to prepare Boston for the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Virginia Commonwealth University, has a graduate certificate in public relations from Emerson College, and has completed senior executive programs at Babson University, Bentley University, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Julie served as member of the city of Boston’s Office of Recovery Services Substance Use Prevention Advisory Board under former Mayor Marty Walsh and was appointed as a member of the Commission on Methamphetamine Use by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in October 2021.  She also serves her community on several nonprofit boards and commissions.  

Kelly Celata, MS, LADC

Kelly Celata is the Homeless Services Program Manager at Brockton Neighborhood Health Center. Her role entails management of the Community Care in Reach mobile addiction services unit, the shelter-based primary care clinic at the Father Bill’s and Mainspring emergency shelter in Brockton, and BNHC’s advanced drug checking initiative. Kelly is a licensed alcohol and drug counselor and holds a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Bridgewater State University. She has seven years of experience in the field of substance use treatment and nine years of experience in the human services field.

Davey Cole

Davey Francis Cole is from Moose Deer Point First Nation, currently living on Treaty 1 territory and has been working in outreach, crisis response and harm reduction for almost a decade. Davey works at Sunshine House, a drop in resource centre in the downtown core of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and is the manager of the Mobile Overdose Prevention Site which is the only overdose prevention site in Manitoba. Davey is also a two spirit drag performer who organizes with QPOC Winnipeg and is an advocate for safe supply, social justice and harm reduction.

Jessie Gaeta, MD

Jessie M. Gaeta, MD has practiced Internal Medicine at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program since 2002, and served as Chief Medical Officer from 2015-2022. Dually board certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine, Dr. Gaeta graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1998, trained in Internal Medicine at Boston University Medical Center, and served as Chief Resident in 2002.  She completed a Physician Advocacy fellowship at the Institute on Medicine as a Profession at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2007.

Dr. Gaeta has dedicated herself to advocacy for and with people living with substance use disorders, particularly when they are disconnected from traditional pathways to care.  She is always learning more from people with lived experience about homelessness, opioid use disorder, and harm reduction. Over the past two decades, she has spearheaded numerous innovative initiatives to rethink how we approach care for individuals with substance use disorder and complex health conditions, particularly when these conditions are exacerbated by severe poverty, racism, trauma, and social stigma.

Shannon Heuklom, MSN, MPH, RN, AGPCNP-BC, PMHNP-BC

Shannon Heuklom is a primary care and psychiatric nurse practitioner at San Francisco Community Health Center. She has led the multidisciplinary street medicine team at SFCHC for the last 3 years and is focused on providing long term, whole person care to those who are unsheltered.  She has worked in the Tenderloin community of San Francisco for the past 8 years. She is interested in developing programs that are outside the norms of typical healthcare services. Past projects included starting a nutrition/food pharmacy program and developing and facilitating photography therapy groups.  

Sarah Mackin

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 18 years of experience in the field of public health, substance use, harm reduction, HIV/AIDS, and homelessness to the work.

Allyson Pinkhover, MPH, CHO, CPhT

Allyson Pinkhover is a public health practitioner focused in harm reduction and substance use and is the Director of Substance Use Services at Brockton Neighborhood Health Center. Allyson holds a B.Sc. in biological sciences from the University of Rhode Island and MPH from Drexel University. She is a fourth year DrPH student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is passionate about promoting the health and human rights of people who use drugs. Also a Certified Health Officer, Allyson currently serves as the Chair of the Holbrook Board of Health.

Hugh Silk, MD

Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, FAAFP, is a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Vice Chair for Community Health.  His clinical care is providing outreach care for individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use issues with Road to Care and the Homeless Outreach and Advocacy Program.  At UMass he is the Pathways Leader for Structural Inequity, Advocacy, and Justice and faculty lead of the Gold Humanism Honor Society student chapter.

Kenneth Washington

Kenneth Washington is an accomplished assistant director of AHOPE Needle Exchange, driven by a passion for harm reduction that stems from his work with at-risk youth. His lived experience has instilled in him a deep understanding of the challenges of racism, classism, and substance use, inspiring him to become a leader in the field.

Kenneth's outstanding achievements in harm reduction have earned him a seat on the Massachusetts Harm Reduction Advisory Council, a testament to his unwavering dedication to public service. His desire to help his community has led him to excel in drug checking and introduce innovative safer smoking practices to the Boston area outreach.

With his profound knowledge and expertise, Kenneth has made a significant impact on the lives of countless individuals and helped to shape policies that promote safer and healthier communities. His contributions have been widely recognized and admired by peers, colleagues, and stakeholders alike.

Mary Wheeler

Mary Wheeler has been working in harm reduction for over two decades in Massachusetts. She currently manages multiple syringe service sites on the North Shore of Massachusetts.