Tricia Christensen, MPP, is a senior consultant at Health Management Associates (HMA) specializing in harm reduction and drug policy. With over a decade of experience in behavioral health, Tricia focuses on improving access to care and driving policy change. She has worked in outreach, direct service, health coaching, care coordination, research, and coalition building, and advising at the state, regional, and national levels. At HMA, she helps clients, including hospitals, private businesses, and community organizations, integrate overdose prevention and harm reduction strategies.

Tricia’s harm reduction journey began in Baltimore, Maryland, where she worked as policy manager for Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition. She established the Maryland Harm Reduction Action Network, a statewide network advocating for the health, dignity, and safety of people who use drugs.

In 2020, Tricia moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she helped establish and launch a new syringe services program with San Antonio Nexus Connection, providing staff training and writing protocols for outreach, supply ordering, and data collection. She helped launch the program in 2021 and worked on-site for an additional 6 months to refine the protocols.

Tricia later served as director of policy at Community Education Group (CEG), focusing on the syndemic of HIV, viral hepatitis, and overdose in Appalachia. She launched the Appalachia Opioid Remediation project, monitoring opioid settlement funds across 13 states.

Tricia collaborates with diverse groups to drive change, emphasizing inclusion of those with lived experiences in drug use, sex work, and homelessness. She advocates for law enforcement diversion, low-barrier access to medications for addiction treatment, and access to life saving overdose and infectious disease prevention supplies.

Tricia holds a Master of Public Policy in health policy from Johns Hopkins and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Washington State University. She lives in Clarksville, Tennessee, with her husband and two children.