Dania Abu Baker earned a BSc in Psychology with Honours from the University of Manchester, UK and a MSc in Mental Health Studies with Distinction from King’s College London, UK. During her studies, Dania became interested in applying psychological knowledge to clinical problems related to displacement and war trauma. She examined the association between parenting styles/parental resilience and children’s mental health in the West Bank, and also conducted a randomised controlled trial examining the efficacy of Writing for Recovery Intervention with adolescent Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Dania’s experience includes working as a psychologist with refugees at International Medical Corps Jordan providing one to one and group psychotherapy sessions as well as conducting mental health awareness raising sessions at community level. She also worked as a psychosocial support officer at Azraq Refugee Camp with CARE International Jordan where she designed manuals and intervention programmes for refugees of all ages. Dania’s research interests include designing specialised substance use prevention programmes and interventions that are culturally sensitive and tailored specifically to the needs of refugees.
Raúl Bejarano
Raúl Bejaranoearned his B.A. in Political Science from the National and Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a M.A in Political Science from the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE).
During his master degree he focused on understanding the role that political variables play on violence related to Drug Trafficking Organizations in Mexico. As a senior drug research fellow at CIDE’s Central Region Drug Policy Program (PPD), he has led a program that seeks to measure the size and value of the marijuana markets in Mexico. This initiative has received funding by the Open Society Foundations and it is a pioneering tool to orient policy makers in the path forward towards regulation. He supports decriminalization of all substances and the end of the war on drugs, working hand in hand with civil society organizations in Latin America. For him, substance use is a public health issue, not a criminal problem.
Wayne Kepner
Wayne Kepner received his Bachelor’s degree in History at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his Master’s degree in Public Health at San Diego State University (SDSU). At SDSU he is the Co-President and Co-Founder of Aztecs For Recovery. His research interests include health disparities, substance use, recovery science and prevention.
Nathan Fox
Nathan Foxearned his B. S. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas and his M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of North Texas (UNT). While completing his master’s degree, Nathan worked as a graduate research assistant in UNT’s Digital Libraries conducting ethnographic qualitative research and operated as a Student Counselor at UNTWISE, a student mental health and vocational evaluation clinic. He also studied drug policy and harm reduction abroad in Portugal during UNT’s inaugural wintermester. Upon returning to Texas, he began volunteering with the Dallas Harm Reduction Initiative providing syringe and naloxone services to active substance users during street outreach. For his graduate internship, he worked as a Counseling Intern at Healing Springs Ranch, a trauma-focused residential treatment facility for individuals experiencing addiction and/or mental health concerns, further building on his skills as a psychotherapist.
His academic and personal experiences have informed his research interests in drug policy, harm reduction, treatment interventions, programs of recovery, and outcomes for individuals with substance use disorders. He hopes to use his doctoral training to become a leader in drug policy reform and substance use research.
