Leo Beletsky01.04.20 — Professor Leo Beletsky received the Association of American Law Schools’ Law, Medicine and Health Care Community Service Award at the organization’s annual meeting in January. Beletsky’s community engagement spans local, state, national and international service. He directs the Health in Justice Action Lab, which advises the Boston City Council, local community organizations and the office of the Suffolk County DA on the overdose crisis and frequently provides public health and drug policy analysis in local and regional media. In 2018, he served double duty as a commissioner on the Massachusetts Harm Reduction Committee and the Massachusetts Section 35 Committee. On the national level, Beletsky’s involvement has included consulting for the PEW Charitable Trusts and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy on criminal justice and public health issues. Internationally, Beletsky has assisted the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and currently serves as an expert on health and human rights with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Professor Beletsky holds a joint appointment with Northeastern University’s School of Law and Bouvé College of Health Sciences. His expertise is in the public health impact of laws and their enforcement, with special focus on drug overdose, infectious disease transmission and the role of the criminal justice system as a structural determinant of health. One of the nation’s preeminent experts on North America’s opioid crisis, Professor Beletsky is a frequent media commentator on drug policy, health equity and criminal justice issues. 

About Northeastern University School of Law

The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country and is a national leader in legal education reform. Founded with cooperative legal education as the cornerstone of its program, Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences. All students participate in full-time legal placements, and can choose from the more than 1,500 employers worldwide participating in the school’s signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. The future of legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experience to successfully practice law.

For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu.