Erin Russell

Erin is a Principal Consultant with Health Management Associates, where she leads a portfolio of projects that expand the reach and acceptability of harm reduction services. She has been immersed in harm reduction for over a decade, building her expertise through experience in advocacy, government, and nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining HMA, she served as the first Chief of the Center for Harm Reduction Services at the Maryland Department of Health. She led statewide naloxone distribution, syringe service programs, a harm reduction grant program, and local capacity-building initiatives. She has been at the forefront of integrating harm reduction into larger behavioral health, opioid response, and infectious disease prevention programming, serving to improve state government capacity to meet the needs of people who use drugs.

The mission of Health Management Associates, the largest healthcare-only consulting firm in the United States, is to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities by making publicly funded healthcare, and the social services that support it, more accessible, equitable, and effective. Comprising over 900 consultants and growing, HMA is a group of trusted advisors offering insights and technical assistance, gained from real-world experience and ongoing work, on the cutting edge of healthcare and social service reform and improvement.