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	Staff

Staff- International Harm Reduction Association

The operational running of IHRA is managed by a team of staff. Please visit the contact IHRA page for queries.

Professor Gerry Stimson - Executive Director

Rick Lines - Deputy Director

Professor Gerry Stimson, Executive Director

Professor Gerry Stimson was appointed as the Executive Director of IHRA in 2004, taking over from Pat O’Hare. He is a longstanding supporter of IHRA and has been the Programme Director for the International Conferences on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm since 2000. Professor Stimson is a public health sociologist committed to working to reduce the harms from psychoactive substance use, improving public health through social and health policy and working internationally to promote harm reduction.

From 1990 to 2004, Professor Stimson was Director of the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour - one of the leading groups conducting research on reducing harm from drug and alcohol use. He has nearly 40 years’ experience of research in this field and has advised the UK government, World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UNODC on issues relating to drugs, HIV infection and AIDS. Professor Stimson was instrumental in the development and evaluation of harm reduction in the UK as a response to HIV/AIDS. As well as his work at IHRA, he is also Emeritus Professor at Imperial College London, a board member of the UK Harm Reduction Alliance and the Editor of the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Rick Lines, Deputy Director

Rick Lines has been with IHRA since 2007, and has been working in HIV/AIDS and harm reduction policy and advocacy for more than 15 years, and is recognised internationally for his leading work in the areas of HIV/AIDS in prisons, human rights, drug policy, and the death penalty for drug offences. Rick worked at a senior level for NGOs in Canada and Ireland prior to coming to IHRA, and has acted as a technical assistance advisor on HIV in prisons for several UN agencies. He regularly speaks and publishes internationally, and holds Masters Degrees in both Sociology and International Human Rights Law.

Damon Barrett, Senior Analyst: Human Rights

Damon Barrett joined IHRA in 2007 as part of the 'Harm Reduction & Human Rights' (HR2) programme. Damon holds an degree in Law and a masters degree in International Human Rights Law, and has previously worked at Save the Children UK. His work at IHRA is focused on the development of a human rights based approach to drug policy at the international level. He was a member of the UK delegation to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in 2008 and 2009, and has also worked to raise the profile of drug policies at the UN Human Rights Council. Damon has authored numerous reports on human rights and drug policies and has spoken internationally and delivered training on human rights, the UN system and rights based approaches.

Catherine Cook, Senior Analyst: Public Health and Policy

Catherine Cook joined IHRA as a Research Analyst in 2007. Her role includes research and production of our 'Global State of Harm Reduction' resources, as well as coordinating other IHRA reports and publications.Catherine holds a BSc in Psychology from Sussex University and an MSc in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Brunel University, London. Before joining IHRA, Catherine worked as a Programme Assistant at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

Jennifer Curcio, Administrator

Jennifer Curcio joined IHRA in 2001, and works in Melbourne, Australia. She has a degree in Business from La Trobe University in Melbourne, and her role at IHRA includes overseeing content management for the IHRA websites, coordinating the IHRA e-newsletters, managing IHRA memberships, and providing secretariat services for the Board of Directors.

Annie Kuch, Office Manager

Annie Kuch joined IHRA in early 2007, and is based at the London office. Annie graduated from the University of Leeds in 2006 with a degree in History. In her final year she specialised in African History. In previous years Annie has been involved with a Northern Ugandan Society, lead Amnesty International youth groups and currently volunteers at a soup kitchen in London. Annie’s role at IHRA entails office management including booking travel arrangements and assisting the team in projects.

Andreas Woreth, Senior Financial Administrator

Andreas Woreth joined IHRA in 2007 on a part-time basis, and is responsible for financial management. Andreas was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland, where he started a career with an international bank, and worked around the world on private banking, system development, operational and financial audits. He acquired the 'Swiss State Diploma in Finance and Banking' and the 'Swiss Institute of Organisation and Method Diploma'. Andreas then began working in central services for drug treatment charities twelve years ago. Since then, he has also helped organise a number of UK and European events for the European Network for Drug Treatment and HIV in Prisons.

Patrick Gallahue, Human Rights Analyst

Patrick Gallahue joined IHRA in 2009, and his work focuses on the death penalty for drug offences. Previously, Patrick spent seven years as a journalist in New York City, winning several local and national awards. He holds a bachelors degree from Long Island University, and an LL.M. in International Human Rights Law from the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Yana Polonska, Intern

Yana Polonska has a first degree in social work and an Msc in Social Management and Social Work from the University of Manchester. Yana previously worked as a HIV counselor in a drop-in centre for a community-based NGO in Moscow, Russia. She has also worked as the Advocacy Coordinator and Information Manager at the Russian Harm Reduction Network. She is currently working for the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network as the Knowledge Hub Coordinator, and is also volunteering for the 'talkingdrugs.org' project (managed by Release in the UK), as well as for the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) and for IHRA.