Our Team
Theresa Vezina, Executive Director ▾
For more than a decade Theresa’s life and work has been centered on caring for community, disrupting systemic injustice, working for and with people who use drugs and building compassionate communities.
Coming from Vermont CARES in Burlington, VT, Theresa is a leader in harm reduction with a passion for championing the rights of people who use drugs and communities affected by discrimination and systemic inequality. She is committed to ensuring accessibility to basic human rights, harm reduction, and placing social justice at the core of her endeavors. Theresa brings a robust background in operations, fiscal management, advocacy, and organizational development. She has primarily worked in rural communities increasing access to harm reduction supplies and services. She also has a strong background in policy change and advocacy for people who use drugs at the local and state level.
Theresa is a proud mother, grandma and a person of color with lived and living experience. She is also a longtime practitioner of the Healing Arts. She comes to this work with a deep level of understanding, acceptance, and passion for this work and is committed to forwarding the work of NEXT Distro.
Outside of her work life Theresa values time alone in meditation, practicing yoga, and spending time with her family and friends. She loves cooking, the beach, and playing board games.
Luis Montoya, Operations Director ▾
Luis Montoya (He/Him) is a Cuban immigrant with a passion for creating a society in which people who use drugs and their communities thrive. He got into harm reduction because he has known and loved people who use drugs throughout his life. Prior to NEXT, Luis coached, mobilized, and supported youth drug policy reformers across the globe, and served as the Operations Director at Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP).
Dan Coello, Program Director ▾
Dan Coello began working in harm reduction with NEXT in 2020. Prior to NEXT, they provided logistical support and live sound engineering for Brain Arts Organization in Boston, a non-profit dedicated to empowering underrepresented and underfunded musicians, artists, and creators of all kinds. With their background in clinical nutrition and passion for community-based programs, Dan hopes to make a difference in the way vital resources are delivered in the harm reduction community.
Nial Murphy, Distribution Manager ▾
Nial always had a passion for harm reduction through years of study and projects. His background in shipping & receiving led him to an incredible opportunity at NEXT. Now, as the second program associate in June 2021 he’s excited to join the team and make an impact in his community.
Presto Crespo, Coordinator of Support Services ▾
Presto Crespo (he/him) is NEXT Distro’s Coordinator of Support Services, responsible for providing assistance to NEXT’s participants in the areas of housing, medical insurance, SU treatment, Hep-C information/treatment and much more. Presto completed their BA in Psychology at CUNY Hunter College and is looking to complete graduate school as well as a PhD in psychology to do research within the field of psycho-pharmacology. Outside of NEXT responsibilities and pursuing education, Presto enjoys engaging with any artistic medium and currently volunteers on Mondays with PuppyKittyCity, a cat/kitten rescue based in Queens, NY. Presto was born, raised and still lives in the Bronx, NY and is extremely active in employing harm reduction strategies in their locale as well as spreading the wave of online, accessible harm reduction on a national scale. Presto is an animal lover but is partial to cats. Presto is looking to gain experience in a lab conducting psychological/pharmacological research soon as an intern or apprentice. Presto is also interested in participating in any trans specific service work, panels and events that possibly overlap with nightlife and/or drug use. Recently, Presto was responsible for connecting NEXT Distro with BodyHack, the trans specific party that is the largest gathering of trans people nationally. At this event, Presto and other NEXT team members distribute harm reduction supplies and teach the party crowd about various HR knowledge. Presto also works for NYSDOH PORT (AIDS INSTITUTE/ODUH) and was recently published in Justice Rivera’s most recent reprint of her anthology Body Autonomy: Decolonizing Sex Work and Drug Use.
Sidney Lane, Program Coordinator ▾
Sidney Lane, a born & raised Rhode Islander, found their passion for harm reduction in the intersections between community care, visual arts and mutual aid. Before NEXT, Lane invested their time in community outreach with a specialized focus on uplifting and advocating for BIPOC Trans sex workers. In addition to working as a peer case manager and outreach worker, they have a breadth of experience in community based mutual aid. Sidney is proud to bring their unique background & experiences to the NEXT team.
Grace Ambrose, Syringe Services Intake Coordinator ▾
Grace Ambrose (she/her) is based in Kansas City, MO, where she works with Confluence HRKC, a mobile harm reduction organization that she co-founded in 2020. She is passionate about expanding syringe access in the eleven states where SSPs remain illegal, including her home state of Missouri. Prior to NEXT, she worked for over a decade in the contemporary art world and was the coordinator of Maximum Rocknroll, the long-running punk fanzine based in San Francisco.
Julia Persaud-Naipaul, Syringe Services Intake Coordinator ▾
Julia has always had a passion to help others in her community and recently developed a strong interest in harm reduction through her studies. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Substance Abuse counseling. Her background in data cleaning and analyses led her to a role at NEXT as the Syringe Services Data Assistant, combining her passion and skills into one.
Eugenio Almodovar-Aviles, Naloxone Services Intake Coordinator ▾
Eugenio first came to harm reduction by volunteering at the Grand Rapids Red Project. Seeing the mistreatment that people who use substances face in their day-to-day lives inspired him to become an advocate for the basic human rights that people who use substances are often stripped of. Eugenio has found his groove working as NEXT's Naloxone Data Assistant, using his experience in client services to grow and nurture connections within our organization, with our affiliates, and our participants. For the first time in his life, he says, he's found true joy, purpose, and fulfillment in his work.
Emily Poteet, Secondary Distribution Program Coordinator ▾
Emily is a passionate advocate for harm reduction, bringing a wealth of experience and dedication to their role as Secondary Distribution Program Coordinator at NEXT Distro. Their journey into harm reduction began with personal connections to people who use drugs and attending music festivals where they share the importance of harm reduction practices with their friends and fellow festival-goers. With a Master of Public Health and extensive experience working at a syringe service program in rural North Carolina, Emily has been at the forefront of reducing stigma and advocating for the well-being of those who use drugs. At NEXT Distro, Emily is eager to contribute their knowledge and passion to the team, furthering the mission of expanding harm reduction efforts and creating inclusive, supportive environments.
Draca Hing, Office Manager ▾
Grey Marsh, Data Analyst & Insight Manager ▾
Grey is a certified Data Analyst through Springboard Analytics. They received their BA in Sociology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a Social Justice concentration from Goucher College in Baltimore. Grey has over a decade of experience in nonprofits and communicating data stories within direct service settings, and is excited to be leveraging their passion for the intersection of data and person-centered insights at NEXT. Grey came to NEXT with a background in program analysis for a large homeless services provider in NYC and domestic violence & sexual assault survivor advocacy in New Jersey. They enjoy making zines, watching pre-70s films, and spending time in their garden with their sweet senior cat.
Alfred DiRosa, Pennsylvania State Director ▾
Alfred got his start in harm reduction as an MAT counselor in Charlottesville, VA before moving to Pittsburgh to pursue his MSW with a focus on community organizing. This led him to work with Hazelwood Initiative, a community based non-profit focused on affordable housing and neighborhood planning. He spent six years managing their operations and outreach efforts, and became the managing editor of the area's community newspaper. Alfred partnered with numerous community members, groups, and local leaders to facilitate community meetings, partnerships, campaigns, and projects that empowered residents as decision makers in development conversations. Alfred is excited to bring his experience in harm reduction and community building to NEXT to help expand access to Naloxone throughout PA.
*Alf is employed by Prevention Point Pittsburgh which works closely with NEXT on statewide naloxone distribution in Pennsylvania
BRUCE TRIGG, OOPP CLINICAL DIRECTOR ▾
Dr. Trigg is a pediatrician and public health physician. He worked for 23 years with the New Mexico Department of Health where he helped to establish one of the first statewide harm reduction programs in the U.S. He was part of a multidisciplinary perinatal substance use program that continues after more than 25 years. He was leader of the effort to start a methadone maintenance program at the Bernalillo County jail in Albuquerque. Dr. Trigg worked as a clinician in buprenorphine and methadone treatment programs in New Mexico. He has been a national advocate for providing medication for addiction treatment (MAT) for incarcerated populations. He worked as a global MAT consultant in South East Asia from 2013 to 2016. Dr. Trigg now lives in NYC where he is a consultant with the New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute, Office of Drug User Health and consults nationally on MAT. Dr. Trigg graduated from the George Washington University School of Medicine. He did his pediatric training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in NYC and the University of New Mexico. He worked for three years as a General Medical Officer in the Indian Health Service in New Mexico and Arizona.
TRACIE GARDNER, BOARD President ▾
As Legal Action Center Vice President of Policy Advocacy, Tracie directs LAC’s Policy Advocacy work, spearheads major initiatives and fosters strategic partnerships that support LAC’s mission. Tracie has worked more than 30 years in the public health, public policy, and not-for-profit fields as a policy advocate, trainer, and lobbyist. She has led advocacy campaigns that achieved substantial increases in funding and landmark policy reforms in the areas of substance use, HIV, alternatives to incarceration and reentry services and community and correctional health. She is currently a board member of Outreach Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services.
From 2015 to 2017, Tracie served as the Assistant Secretary of Mental Hygiene for New York State where she oversaw the state’s Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Office of Mental Health, Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, and the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. Prior to her appointment by the Cuomo Administration, Tracie was a key member of the Legal Action Center for more than 14 years, serving as LAC’s Co-Director of Policy. In this role, she conducted and coordinated the Center’s New York State public policy advocacy in the areas of substance use disorders, criminal justice, and HIV/AIDS. Tracie received a BA from Mount Holyoke College.
TRACEY HELTON MITCHELL, BOARD MEMBER ▾
Tracey Helton Mitchell has dedicated her life to the care and treatment of people who use drugs. Tracey entered school through an ex-offender's program where she earned a bachelors of business administration and masters of public administration. In addition, she is a certified addiction specialist and supervisor. She was featured in the movie Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street. She has also been featured by CNN, Anderson Cooper, Vice, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times.
TINO FUENTES, BOARD OF DIRECTORS ▾
Tino Fuentes is a former drug dealer and drug user who has lost countless friends and family members to drug overdose. Prompted by the lack of action from the government and an inability to get community programs on board, Tino began teaching people how to check their drugs for fentanyl in 2016. Tino has taught people overdose prevention and reversal, and how to test drugs for fentanyl in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Newark, Baltimore, Pueblo, Dublin, and Paris. Tino has been practicing harm reduction for over 15 years and has worked at several New York City syringe exchange programs including Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center, Washington Heights CORNER Project, and St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction.
ANDREW REYNOLDS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS ▾
Andrew Reynolds is the Hepatitis C Wellness Manager at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and an independent hepatitis C and harm reduction consultant, and was the former Hepatitis C and Harm Reduction Manager at Project Inform. In these roles, he manages HCV treatment for PWID at syringe service programs, writes health education materials, fact sheets, toolkits and articles on all aspects of hepatitis C awareness, prevention and treatment. He is the author of the Positively Aware “Annual Hepatitis C Drug Guide,” and sits on the AASLD/IDSA HCV Guidance Panel. Andrew has over 20 years of HCV, HIV and STD awareness, prevention and treatment experience, delivered in a wide variety of settings from street outreach to clinical settings to jails and prisons. In addition to HCV, Andrew works extensively in drug user health, harm reduction and safe consumption space education and advocacy. He serves on numerous boards of directors, advisory boards and committees, including the Organizing Committee of the “End the Epidemics” campaign for California, a community initiative to eliminate HIV, HCV and STDs in California.
TALEED El-SABAWI, BOARD OF DIRECTORS ▾
Taleed El-Sabawi is a health policy, politics, and law researcher and subject matter expert on drug use and addiction policy. She is an Assistant Professor at Florida International College of Law and a Research Scholar at the Addiction & Public Policy Initiative at the O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law, Georgetown Law Center. Dr. El-Sabawi received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and practiced law for 5 years before going back to get her Ph.D. in Public Health, Health Services Management & Policy from the Ohio State University. She is an interdisciplinary researcher that uses a mixed-methods approach and has published both qualitative and quantitative works on many subjects including health insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders; the division of regulatory powers between the FDA and the DEA; off-label use of medical devices; risk assessment models for tobacco regulation; the politics of the opioid crisis and the power of narrative in framing policy problems.
