Leo Beletsky, JD, MPH

Faculty Director

l.beletsky@northeastern.edu

@leobeletsky

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Leo Beletsky is Professor of Law and Health Sciences at Northeastern University. He is also on faculty of the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. 

 

Leo is an interdisciplinary social epidemiologist who explores the role of law and law enforcement as structural determinants of health. His intervention design and implementation science research focuses on the use of policy interventions to improve population health and equity.

Belinda Bonnen

Lead Organizer​

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Belinda Bonnen is an activist whose work focuses on racial justice, civic engagement, and alternative transportation. She brings over 15 years of experience in project management, coalition-building, and community organizing through the arts to her work with the Lab.   

Jeremiah Goulka, JD ​

Senior Fellow and Director of Justice Policy

jeremiah@northeastern.edu

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Jeremiah Goulka is a criminal justice expert whose passion is in translating research into policy and practice. He leads the Lab's SHIELD police training initiative, which connects law enforcement and public health agencies to improve both police and community health and safety during the overdose and coronavirus crises. Previously, he led justice and security research projects for several federal and local agencies at the RAND Corporation, where he was a member of the RAND Center for Quality Policing and a professor of criminal justice policy in the Pardee RAND Graduate School. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he served as executive director and co-creator (with the U.S. Attorney and a Coast Guard admiral) of a joint local-state-federal task force that facilitated rebuilding the New Orleans region’s criminal justice systems. He began his career clerking for the Hon. W. Eugene Davis on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeremiah has law degrees from the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Edinburgh Law School and is a member of the District of Columbia bar. 

Sunyou Kang

Research Administrator​

sunyou.kang@usc.edu

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Sunyou Kang is a student at the University of Southern California pursuing a B.S. in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention. Her past and present research experiences center around identifying and rectifying the missteps and misinformation surrounding substance use disorders with the intention of guiding efficient and effective policy change on every level.

Jaime Arredondo Sánchez Lira, PhD, MS

Training & Policy Fellow​

jarredon@ucsd.edu

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Jaime Arredondo Sánchez Lira completed his PhD in Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU). He studied political science and economics at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de Mexico (ITAM). He worked four years as Chief of Staff for the Ministry of Public Security in the State Government of Quintana Roo, where he gained extensive experience in coordinating federal programs and establishing partnerships with universities. His research focuses on adapting and implementing interventions based on empirical evidence, in order to modify the effects of police practices and the judicial system as risk factors in the spread of diseases (HIV, HCV), particularly among injecting drug users in the border region Mexico - USA. Currently, he is a professor of Drug Policy at CIDE in Mexico. His research seeks to transform the public debate by viewing drug use as a public health issue rather than a public safety issue.