Get Involved
Meet our national board members, look for CSSDP chapters near you, or start a chapter of your own!
Join A Chapter
Find an active CSSDP chapter near you
Quebec
British Columbia
Ontario
Alberta
Nova Scotia
Newfoundland & Labrador
Want to start a chapter? Apply here
If you are looking to start a chapter, visit our Chapter Resources section for more information!
Meet the National Board
The CSSDP board members work together in our fundraising, outreach, and political advocacy subcommittees to support our chapters across Canada, develop our annual national conference, and reach our local, national, and international goals. The national team works hard to connect with chapter members across Canada, spread harm reduction and achieve drug policy reform.
Kira London-Nadeau
Chair
Kira is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Psychology at the University of Montréal. Her research focuses on the bidirectional effects of cannabis and mental health issues in adolescence, with a focus on sexual and gender minorities.
Alex Betsos
International Liason
Alexander is an undergraduate student of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University. His interests surround drug policy’s direct impact on individuals and the intersection of substance use and electronic dance subculture.
Simona Rosenfield
Board Member
Simona is an undergraduate student in Journalism and Creative Writing at Concordia University. She hopes to lend her writing and research skills to promote drug policy and education reform, as they intersect with sustainability, health, and human rights.
Michelle St. Pierre
Vice Chair
Michelle is a graduate of the University of British Columbia currently working towards her Master’s in Clinical Psychology where she seeks to identify differences in pain perception between cannabis users and non-users
Heather D'Alessio
Chapter Liason
Heather is a drug policy reform and harm reduction activist currently based in Ottawa. Some of her greatest passions are improving drug education, reducing the stigma of drug use and mental illness, as well as advocating for an end to the war on drugs.
Stephanie Lake
Secretary, UBC Chapter Chair
Stephanie is a PhD candidate in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC and a researcher at the BC Centre on Substance Use where she is studying the use of medical and non-medical cannabis among people with long-term drug use.
Avery Sapoznikow
Outreach Chair
Avery is a graduate of Psychology from British Columbia Okanagan, where he conducted research on the interactions of cannabis and attention. Currently, he works as a community support worker for adults with developmental disabilities and mental health issues.
Shannon Golsof
Board Member
Shannon is a undergraduate student of Psychology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Her research interests include the therapeutic potential of psychedelic plants and substances and how they can aid with addictions and mental disorders.
Advising Team
The CSSDP Board of Directors relies on our mentors and advisors to help strategically brainstorm, plan, and execute essential functions for the organization as a whole. Our advisors provide insight, help and support to the CSSDP national team, as well as individual chapters across Canada. Their invaluable advice and experience is integral to how CSSDP functions on a local, national and international level, and they help the national team make and reach our collective goals.
Nazlee Maghsoudi
Strategic Advisor
Nazlee has been involved in the development of evidence-based drug policies at the grassroots, national, and international levels since 2013. She is the Knowledge Translation Manager at the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation and is pursuing a PhD in Health Services Research at the University of Toronto.
Jenna Valleriani
Strategic Advisor
Jenna is the CEO of the National Institute for Cannabis Health and Education, and executive director of Hope for Health Canada. Jenna was the lead author of our Cannabis Education Toolkit and has been a Strategic Advisor for CSSDP for 3 years.
Dessy Pavlova
Strategic Advisor
Dessy is a professional writing and English graduate with a passion for research in cannabis and grassroots political advocacy. An aspiring project manager, she focuses research, outreach and freelance writing, editing and web development.
Donald MacPherson
Strategic Advisor
Donald is the Executive Director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. He advocates policies based on principles of public health, human rights, social inclusion, and scientific evidence and moving away from a criminal justice paradigm where people with health problems are criminalized.
Rebecca Haines-Saah
Strategic Advisor
Rebecca is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary and co-lead for the O’Brien Institute’s Population Health and Prevention Interest Group. Her research focuses on adolescent mental health and substance use through a social justice lens.
Join the Board
CSSDP Board Member Applications
Join the Board of Directors! Our AGM is coming up. See our post or email us at contact@cssdp.org for more information.
Not in Canada? You can still get involved!
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an international organization with chapters in 6 different contents! Check out the different countries where SSDP can be found around the world: