Founding Partners

PRINCIPAL & CO-FOUNDER

(she/her)

taeko@partnersintheworks.com

Areas of Expertise 

• Non-profit management including strategic planning, values to practice, contracts management, growth and succession planning, and executive coaching
• Organizational development assessments including staff surveys and interviews, focus groups, and systems review across 9 organizational domains to make actionable plans for transformation informed by participants, staff, leadership, and board members 
• Creating tailored e-courses and onboarding systems to support organizations grow in a sustainable way

Background

Dr. Frost has worked in the non-profit public health sector for nearly 20 years in primary care, reproductive health, and harm reduction. During her time as an executive director of a harm reduction program the organization was a finalist for the New York Nonprofit Excellence Awards for outstanding leadership and participatory management practices. She then moved on to do organizational development consulting work to support with development, strategic planning, evaluation, and demonstration project support. In her most recent position as Senior Director of Innovation & Strategy at National Harm Reduction Coalition, she led a state-level harm reduction funding campaign to secure $15.2 million for harm reduction programs, launched a five-state grant-making initiative in greater Appalachia, led multiple large-scale evaluation and needs assessment projects, and supported a rebrand and website renovation. She has co-directed two public health advocacy documentaries to promote social dialogue about harm reduction innovation, published peer-reviewed articles on the integration of low-barrier medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and holds a certificate from the UCLA Healthcare Executive Program. Taeko received her doctorate from the CUNY School of Public Health & Health policy and conducted her dissertation research on public drug use in New York City. 

CO-FOUNDER

(she/her)

sarah@partnersintheworks.com

Areas of Expertise

• Program management including peer program development, staff onboarding, support of managers, service integration, and milestone development
• Curriculum development including harm reduction, viral hepatitis, boundary setting, and outreach best practices 
• Technical assistance including resource compilation, factsheet writing, best practices development, policies and procedures revision
• Data collection systems, monitoring & evaluation training for non-research staff, and report writing

Background

For the last decade plus, Sarah has inhabited a broad range of roles within the harm reduction movement, from street based outreach, to nonprofit administration, government and funding, and research. With this wraparound experience she offers perspective on the continuum of program development and implementation, from policy and funding to service delivery. In her role overseeing harm reduction outreach, she led a project using GIS technology to map syringe access and disposal, which led to community support for a park-based program for syringe disposal and expanded pharmacy access. As an organizational development consultant, she has supported programs to create systems and content to effectively onboard staff, promote professional development, and create systems for performance evaluations. During her time within a State Department of Health, she developed a statewide data collection system using a collaborative feedback model which accommodated the needs of SSPs across rural and urban environments and was flexible enough for programs that wished to collect more or less individual-level data. She has led coalition building efforts, team retreats, and stakeholder focus groups across multiple roles. In her most recent capacity, she led a direct-services staff of 15 through service adaptation to COVID-19 without closing. 

CO-FOUNDER

(he/him)

hector@partnersintheworks.com

Areas of Expertise

• Effective drop-in center management, conflict de escalation, setting up and running participant advisory boards, strategies for inclusive decision making processes  
• Integrating harm reduction practices in non-harm reduction settings including housing, drug treatment, adult day centers, and other spaces where people may also need harm reduction resources and strategies
• Technical assistance including effective group supervision strategies, leadership and professional development for newer managers, and clinical supervision for newer case managers 

Background

Over a decade ago, Hector started as a volunteer at a harm reduction program because of his connection to the Washington Heights neighborhood and people who use drugs. Hector was promoted to manage drop-in center including triaging requests, offering referrals to services, de-escalating conflict, and overseeing group and day-to-day services. He has been featured on CNN, Manhattan Times, and NY News 1 on navigating overdose prevention and in the NYC Health citywide overdose campaign for Spanish speakers.  In his next role Hector planned and managed the growth and expansion of a Brooklyn-based harm reduction program including launching a hepatitis c testing and treatment partnership with a hospital-based program. In his next role at an outpatient treatment program, Hector oversaw a behavioral health program and supervised case managers/peers and Social Work Interns to provide treatment to individuals with co-occurring disorders and/or under governmental mandates. In his current position, Hector provides clinical and administrative supervision to overnight and weekend wellness advocates in their role supporting patients following a non-fatal opioid overdose. Hector has been offering clinical supervision in the capacity as a consultant for 5 years and focuses on leadership skills and management for newer managers. 

Consulting Partner

(they/them)

New Orleans, LA

Areas of Expertise 

• Implementing low-barrier, high-impact data collection and analysis designed to enable program evaluation from the community scale up to state or regional initiatives
• Planning and implementing point-in-time surveys and other unique models for feedback, dialogue, and drug user leadership
• Leveraging Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial analysis, and spatial visualization tools to illuminate the spatial dimension of drug-related harm, community needs, and evaluation efforts 
• Guiding the development of harm reduction programs, including innovative service/resource and organizational models centered on drug user leadership

Consulting Partner 

(she/her)

Brooklyn, NY 

Areas of Expertise 

• Remote consultation and technical assistance on offering clinical services to people who use drugs in low barrier settings 
• Best practices on training team members working in overdose prevention centers
• Remote consultation on wound care content and services delivered to people who use drugs
• Best practices for integrating sex worker support services
  

Consulting Partner 

(they/she)

San Francisco, CA 

Areas of Expertise 

• Training in consultation developing resident/client-first harm reduction programs and organizational cultures, particularly in housing settings
• Training and consultation offered in creative and holistic community building within housing and drop-in service centers
• Consultation in implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion within organization and client/resident services