About Us!

Milo the Cockapoo as a baby

Prevention Point Pittsburgh (PPP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing health empowerment services to people who use drugs.

The mission of Prevention Point Pittsburgh is to promote and advocate for the reduction of harms associated with injection and other forms of drug use, and to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, other blood-borne infections, and overdose.

Our Organization

Getting Established
Growth
Outlook for the Future

Learn more about Prevention Point Pittsburgh and our various services, growth, and outlook for the future in the videos above. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or needs for additional information.

Videos made possible by funding from the Staunton Farm Foundation

Featured Staff

Aaron

Executive Director

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Alice

Overdose Prevention Project Director

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Julia

Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Coordinator

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Katie

Adminstrative Coordinator

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Malcolm

Overdose Prevention Specialist

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Gabby

Harm Reduction Services Director

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Cass

Mobile Medical Services Coordinator

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Farris

Naloxone Mailing Project Coordinator

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Lex

Social Work Coordinator

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Allison

Naloxone Mailing and SSP Specialist

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Ashanti

Office & Administrative Coordinator

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Christen

Naloxone Mailing Specialist

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Jonah

Harm Reduction Services Volunteer Coordinator

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Our Board

Sara Luby

President of the Board

Sara (she/her) earned her BSW from Carlow University and her MPH from the University of Pittsburgh.  Sara has worked in community, clinical, academic, and governmental settings in the field of HIV for over 12 years.  Her public health interests include harm reduction; LGBTQ+ health disparities; reproductive justice; and criminal justice reform. 

Ashley Chung

Vice President

Ashley is originally from Maryland and came to Pittsburgh to pursue an MPH. She cares deeply about harm reduction, racial and social justice as public health, and housing-first healthcare. In her spare time, Ashley is also on the Board of Directors for True T PGH, and enjoys cooking for her friends and hiking and biking (hoping to complete the entire Great Allegheny Passage to DC one day!) 

Julie Herzog

Board Treasurer

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Thomas Whitfield

Board Secretary

Thomas works to promote harm reduction and HIV education in Southwestern PA. He holds a B.S. in Public Health from Slippery Rock University and is interested in addressing social determinants of health through a harm reduction lens. Thomas also is on the Board of Directors for Pittsburgh Equality Center. In his spare time, Thomas enjoys going to the movies- specifically horror movies as well as being outdoors.

Kyle Harder

Board Member

Kyle Harder has been involved in the social service field in the Pittsburgh area for 25 years, working direct care and administrative positions. Kyle received his BS in Social Anthropology from the University of Michigan and his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business. Kyle is in long-term recovery from an addiction to alcohol. Reducing stigma and providing harm reduction services to those who use drugs is a passion and mission for him. It is an immense honor to serve on the board of Prevention Point Pittsburgh, alongside those devoted, hard-working employees who are literally saving lives on a daily basis.

Raagini Jawa, MD, MPH

Board Member

Dr. Jawa is board certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, and Addiction Medicine. She has been a long term advocate for harm reduction and low-barrier addiction service access and is leading xylazine training and technical assistance for providers, health departments, and HR agencies. She enjoys volunteering at the PPP wound clinic. Dr. Jawa’s research focuses on mitigating health disparities and aims to optimize integration of harm reduction services for individuals who use substances within health settings by developing and studying provider education and clinical interventions to prevent drug use complications. She has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, been featured on health podcasts, and has been interviewed on WebMD, WTAE, NPR, PBS News Hour for her work and advocacy on harm reduction. For fun, Dr. Jawa is an amateur photographer and accomplished musician who performs vocals and ukulele, leading musical collaborations with her band Leher.

Paul Cooley

Board Member

Paul started volunteering at PPPin 2010.  He is also involved in his Union SEIU, the campaign for SafeNurse Patient Ratios, and is in school to become a Nurse Practitioner. He is along suffering Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and hopes for a World Series win and is optimistic about supervised injection sites in Western PA. 

Leah Picker

Board Member

Leah works as a Director of Foundation Relations and as a Development Director. She holds a B.A. in English from Vassar College, a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh, and earned her CFRE in 2021. Leah moved to Pittsburgh in 2012 from Brooklyn, and lives in East Liberty with her cat Hank, and her dog Rabbit.

Antonio Gumucio, MS

Board Member

Thomas works to promote harm reduction and HIV education in Southwestern PA. He holds a B.S. in Public Health from Slippery Rock University and is interested in addressing social determinants of health through a harm reduction lens. Thomas also is on the Board of Directors for Pittsburgh Equality Center. In his spare time, Thomas enjoys going to the movies- specifically horror movies as well as being outdoors.

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Support Us

We could not do the important work of providing essential harm and risk reduction services without the generosity of people like you. Your contribution allows us to continue working to reduce the rates of Hepatitis C, HIV, and overdose fatalities in our region.

There are several ways you can support us

DONATE NOW

You can donate directly to Prevention Point Pittsburgh by clicking the "Donate Now" button

Corporate Matching

Remember, many companies that match their employee’s charitable gift-giving.  This is a great way to double your donation!

Volunteer

If you would like more information about volunteering with Prevention Point, please send an email with your interest and contact information to jonah@pppgh.org.

Contact Us

Prevention Point Pittsburgh
460 Melwood Ave, Lower Level
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Phone: 412-247-3404

Email us