Below are some selected highlights of work I have done over the years along with descriptions of the roles I played in the development of these projects. There are plenty more examples of my work that I’d be happy to show you if you want to sit down and talk about some potential upcoming projects.
You can also click here for a copy of my resume.
Quincy Drug Task Force
Quincy Drug Task Force
The challenge: the City of Quincy was regularly seeing 10-14 accidental poisoning (overdose) deaths per week. The city asked for help to save the lives of its citizens struggling with substance abuse.
QDTF: Team Building & Presence
As a key partner and communications director for the Drug Task Force, my first action was to bring on additional members of the community that had a stake in the drug problem: law enforcement officers, politicians, doctors, counselors, teachers, athletics coaches, members of the clergy, parents, and more. After interviewing all of these stakeholders, we built an MVP web site to share our contact information and provide access to critical resources.
QDTF: Outreach
Next I led the research on creating a robust journey map from an addict's perspective: to unlock the myriad (and often contradictory) ways someone addicted to opioids goes through the medical, legal, and court system. From this research we identified urgent touch points and developed a multi-pronged integrated outreach campaign with two goals: to educate the public about how serious the substance abuse issue was, and to get people access to the appropriate programs. We used all kinds of media channels, including online video, social media, event marketing, billboards, and more.
QDTF: Drug Drop-Off Day
A major next step was in creating a prescription pill "Drug Drop Off Day." Our research showed young people regularly raided the medicine cabinets of their friends and family for pills, leading to increased rates of youth addiction. Removing access to opioids from homes proved to be a huge step in fighting substance abuse. Our first event removed thousands of pills from the streets, and has since become a national model replicated by many other communities.
QDTF: Narcan Distribution
Our success with our outreach campaign afforded us the political capital to take a bold next step -- to provide Narcan to our police, firefighters, teachers, coaches, and citizens. Narcan is a drug that counters the effects of opioid overdose. Since the program started, Quincy citizens and first responders have revived thousands of people from overdose using Narcan. By the time our Narcan program hit the streets, the city's overdose deaths dropped to less than one each week.
QDTF: Continuing Outreach
The pathways to rehabilitation and sobriety have been created, and successful prevention programs are in place, yet the work continues. Quincy has begun a major reconstruction of its downtown area, and the Quincy Drug Task Force is working to scale its efforts as the population grows. We've now included additional social media channels and local broadcast media as part of our continuing outreach, and continue to build partnerships with other substance abuse groups to stay ahead of the problem. Likewise, iterative changes are made to our approach, communications, and support structures to continue to provide cutting-edge help to our neighbors in need.