Sheila P. Vakharia currently works at the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) as the Deputy Director of the Department of Research and Academic Engagement. She is also the author of the forthcoming book, “The Harm Reduction Gap: Helping Individuals Left Behind by Conventional Drug Prevention and Abstinence-Only Treatment” with Routledge in February 2024. 

In her role at DPA, Dr. Vakharia helps staff and others understand a range of drug policy-relevant research issues. Dr. Vakharia builds relationships with drug researchers and helps to advance policy-relevant research. She also mobilizes researchers in support of DPA policy campaigns and organizes conferences on key issues in drug policy. 

Dr. Vakharia regularly presents at events hosted by universities, state public health departments, and professional associations. She has also spoken at nationally recognized conferences, such as AMERSA, and at events hosted by groups such as the National Academies of Medicine. She is often sought after by the media for quotes on cutting-edge drug policy-relevant news and issues and has been quoted in outlets such as NPR, The New York TImes, NBC News, TIME, and CNN. She has also published op-eds in the NY Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, and LA Times.

Before joining DPA, Dr. Vakharia received her Master’s in Social Work from Binghamton University. Upon graduation, she worked as a social worker in a traditional 12-step abstinence-only outpatient setting with clients who were primarily mandated to treatment. While there, she conducted intake assessments, facilitated aftercare groups for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, and was a representative to the local drug court. She soon grew disenchanted with providing a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment to clients who were facing severe negative consequences for not maintaining abstinence while in treatment. She left to work at a syringe service program where she provided counseling using a harm reduction approach, and completed a Post-Master’s Certificate in the Addictions from New York University. 

Upon realizing that there was an absolute dearth of substance use content and harm reduction information in social work programs, she pursued her PhD in Social Welfare at Florida International University’s School of Social Work. Upon graduation, she accepted the position of Assistant Professor at Long Island University‘s Social Work Department. While there, she coordinated the Substance Use Counseling Concentration and taught courses infused with a harm reduction perspective. Additionally, Dr. Vakharia pursued numerous outside service and speaking opportunities which broadened her scope of focus to include domestic and international drug policy. She completed her Certificate of Human Rights and Drug Policy at Central European University in Budapest, which led to her writing a report summarizing Civil Society input for the preparations leading up to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in 2016.