Moderator

• 
  Carole Burns

Participants

• 
  Mariano Avila

  Host

  Avila was born in Mexico City, Mexico. His life and work have taken him from refugee camps in Palestine to Guatemalan communities built atop garbage dumps. He has met dignitaries and celebrities from around the world. Avila is a graduate of Calvin University in Michigan, has an MFA in creative writing from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina and holds certificates from Harvard Kennedy School, the Poynter Institute and the National Equity Project.

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  Scott Stokes

  Panelist

  Scott currently serves as the Communicable Disease Harm Reduction Section Manager, at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, in the Division of Public Health, in the Bureau Communicable Diseases. Prior to state service he was employed at the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW) for 24 years, and was the Statewide Director of Prevention Services. While at ARCW he developed and implemented Syringe Access Programs in ten Wisconsin communities as well as implementing a statewide HCV testing initiative. He served on the National Harm Reduction Working Group. He was appointed to Wisconsin’s State Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse where he chaired the Prevention Committee and served as the Council Co-Chair. He also was on the World Service Board of Trustees for Cocaine Anonymous. Scott has been in long term recovery from addictions since 9/19/1984.

• 
  Jose Salazar

  Panelist

  José Salazar is the current HIV Director at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers. Born and raised in Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico, Jose migrated to the US in 2004 and lived in El Paso TX for a year before he migrated to Milwaukee WI in 2005. From 2005 through April 2007 Jose volunteered at the HIV Prevention Program at Sixteenth Street, facilitating information about prevention of HIV, STIs, and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections and assisting in the Syringe Exchange Program. On April 11, 2007, Jose became a staff member at Sixteenth Street in different capacities and has collaborated with community partners applying his experience on management, outreach, community relations, program development, events organization, health education, social services, case management, and other enabling services. Jose is bilingual in English and Spanish and has over 17 years of experience educating community members on Harm Reduction and Overdose Prevention, providing HIV and HCV testing, and facilitating connection to substance use disorder (SUD) services for people who inject drugs.

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  Thomas Wolf

  Panelist

  Thomas Wolf is a formerly homeless recovering Heroin and Fentanyl addict from San Francisco. In 2018, Thomas spent 6 months homeless on the streets of the Tenderloin neighborhood struggling with addiction. He was arrested 6 times for holding drugs for street-level drug dealers and other offenses and eventually went to jail for 3 months before going to a 6-month inpatient treatment program where he found recovery. Thomas is now a Recovery Advocate based in San Francisco. He has done speaking engagements both in the United States and Canada and considers these crises to be Bi-Partisan. Thomas has stood in Sacramento with parents who have lost their kids to Fentanyl poisoning and been invited to speak at fundraising events for various Non Profit Organizations including: The Salvation Army and The Welcome Home Project. Most recently, Thomas was invited to speak and participate in a panel discussion about homelessness and public safety at the Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research (SIEPR.) Thomas also has started a YouTube channel called Voices in Recovery, interviewing persons who have experienced homelessness and addiction to raise awareness and share the truth of life on the street. Thomas has become a strong voice for a new approach to the homeless and drug crises that blends accountability and public health approaches in San Francisco and beyond. His story and solutions have been featured in local, national, and international news including CNN, FOX news, New York Times, Los Angeles Times the San Francisco Chronicle and more. Thomas is a Co-Founder of the California Peace Coalition and founder of the Pacific Alliance for Prevention and Recovery. He is 4 years clean and sober and through recovery has reconciled with his wife and 2 children. Speaking Engagements/Interviews: siepr.stanford.edu/events/policy-forum/2022-spring-policy-forum youtu.be/jZBd74qzsV4 (SIEPR Starting at 23:42) youtu.be/qZWCigYSyps (California Insider interview Oct. 2021) Documentaries: www.beyondhomeless.org/ (Beyond Homelessness www.prageru.com/video/homelessness-the-reality-and-the-solution (Homelessness the Reality and the Solution) youtu.be/WijoL3Hy_Bw (Fight for the Soul of Seattle)