Anna Blyum, MS is originally from Kazakhstan. She is an alumna of E. Muskie Graduate Fellowship and holds BAs in Foreign Languages and Physical Training and MS in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from The New School, NYC. Presently, she serves as a Senior Program Officer for Central Asia and Afghanistan at the Colombo Plan ICCE in support of the Center’s mission to professionalize the drug demand reduction workforce globally. Ms. Blyum is a credentialed International Certified Addiction Professional (ICAP I) and continues her extensive training in the field. Her research interest lies in the interface between substance use and delinquency in youth and adolescents, or, more specifically, on the evaluation of prevention and treatment policies and interventions related to this population.
Brittany D’Ambrosio earned her B.A. in Psychology from Siena College and M.A. in General Experimental Psychology from St. John’s University. While completing her Masters, Brittany served as a research assistant at a private outpatient facility in New York City, where she completed her Masters Thesis on the impact of treatment modalities on patients’ reported substance use at 6-month follow-up. During this time, Brittany also served as a graduate research intern in Upstate New York, where she assisted in a project assessing if Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) can be adapted to fit juvenile justice settings. Her research interests include: substance use stigma; the opioid epidemic; substance use among college-age individuals and young adults; and evaluating prevention, intervention, and treatment options.
Victor Magaña earned a B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and a M.A. in Clinical Psychology. As an undergraduate, he joined CSUN’s Neuroscience Lab where he participated in electroencephalography (EEG) studies on attention and neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback). While pursuing his master’s degree, he became interested in substance abuse theory and addiction. Victor enrolled in a certification program to become an addiction counselor at a local community college with a desire to learn more about substance use and abuse. At present, he strives to use his research background and interest in substance use to address the issues of awareness, stigma, and effective treatment of addiction.
Charles Marks received his BA in Mathematics and Computer Science from Oberlin College before attending the University of Southern California to complete his MPH. While completing his Masters, Charles worked with the Family Services Department at a rural, Native American health clinic in Bishop, California focusing on the role trauma plays in health outcomes and completed his Capstone Project on the intersection between public health and substance criminalization in the United States. Research Interests include: rural access to substance-related healthcare; substance-related policy creation processes; substance criminalization policies and the resultant public health impact; trauma-informed care and policies.
