Byron
Wood
(he/him)
Byron is a founding member of WESUP.
His experience undergoing a workplace monitoring program that targets and harms workers diagnosed with addiction inspired him to advocate for the rights and wellbeing of people who use drugs. Byron lives on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəýəm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations (Vancouver, Canada).
Katrina Stephenson
I am the founder and CEO of Nurse 2 Nurse Peer Support. Over the last 15 years, I have focused my nursing career in the harm reduction field and caring for individuals challenged by Concurrent Disorders. I also have lived experiences, which support my ways of knowing. I have compassionately cared for both my patients' traumas and my own work related PTSD. In order for nurses to provide safe and holistic care, we need adequate supports from the government, insurance agencies, employers, regulatory bodies, unions and peers in order to create psychologically safe workplaces. As a Harm Reduction Nurse, I believe it is essential for us all to understand and care for people with mental health and substance use challenges in such a way to reduces stigma and discrimination. Storytelling is powerful in changing the negative climate surrounding many health conditions and disabilities.
Andrzej
Celinski
Residing in Toronto Ontario, Andrzej is a Drug Culture Specialist and cofounder of the Reclaim Collective. He has been active in harm reduction projects, advisory panels, research and working groups. He is a long-time member of the National Safer Supply Community of Practice
(NSS-CoP), has worked for the Dr. Peter Centre in Knowledge Translation and as an Editor for The Drug Hub. As well, Andrzej worked as Executive Administrator, Contract Manager and Stimulus Connect Liaison with the Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs (CAPUD). Andrzej has written chapters, articles, and op-eds for publications such as Filter, and presented on topics including Safe Supply, Peer Work, and Substance Use in the Trades, among other drug policy and harm reduction-related topics. He feels strongly about the need to end drug prohibition, establish greater access to safer supply, modernize education about “street” drugs and advocate for the implementation of decriminalization and legalization models globally. His York University Master’s in Environmental Studies (MES with Urban Planning Certification) graduate research is focused on drug use and the housing crisis. Andrzej’s passions include travelling, movies, reading, art, music, and a good conversation.
