Shelby Arena

HARM REDUCTION COORDINATOR

Shelby earned her dual Bachelor of Arts Degrees in International Relations and Latin American Studies from Canisius College. She is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work at the University at Buffalo. She has worked in the health and human services sector since 2016 with experience educating and counseling people in reproductive health and justice, domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as mental health and substance use. Shelby is an advocate for harm reduction and is passionate about fostering community connections.

Brian Clemency, DO, MBA, FACEP, FAEMS

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH

Dr. Clemency has been involved in emergency care for nearly 20 years, beginning his career as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. Dr. Clemency completed both medical school and an MBA in health care administration in 4 years, before coming to Buffalo to continue his medical education. He is double boarded in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. Dr. Clemency has become a local, regional and national leader in prehospital care, education and research. Dr. Clemency has authored over 30 peer reviewed publications, including 3 on the topic of opioid overdose. Dr. Clemency is the Research Director and oversees external funding.

Lucy Connery, MPH

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Lucy Connery came to Buffalo in 2015 to attend Daemen University, where she received her BS in Health Promotion, BA in Spanish, and her Master of Public Health. Connery continued her career in public health at the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo & WNY, where she launched multiple community health initiatives to promote regular physical activity, positive mental health practices, and improved quality of life in WNY. After time working as a Research Manager in the University at Buffalo’s Department of Emergency Medicine, Connery was quickly attracted to the MATTERS program for its advocacy for people who use drugs (PWUD). Lucy serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Daemen MPH Department and SUNY Cortland’s undergraduate Health Department; in her spare time, Lucy volunteers as Co-Chair for the Young Non-Profit Professional Network of Greater Buffalo’s board of directors.

Elizabeth Crawford, MPH

HARM REDUCTION ASSISTANT

Elizabeth gained a passion for public health and medicine while working at Sisters of Charity Hospital. She graduated from The University at Buffalo with a BS in Biology and Public Health. She went on to receive her MPH from Imperial College London where she concentrated in Health Systems and Services. Elizabeth hopes to pursue a career in medicine where she will work to improve access to care and health equity.

Mia Dickinson

HARM REDUCTION SPECIALIST

Mia recently graduated from University at Buffalo with her Bachelor Degree in Public Health. She found her passion for public health through working for the New York State Contact Tracing Initiative during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and hopes to work towards reducing health disparities and increasing access to healthcare throughout her career.

Brigid Keane, MPH

OUTREACH COORDINATOR

Brigid graduated with her MPH in 2023 from Daemen University with a focus on Community Health Education. She graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a degree in biology with the ambition of going into a field where she was able to help others. Brigid is passionate about being a supportive member of her surrounding communities. She spends her free time doing pilates/other forms of physical activity and spending time with family, friends, and her 2 year old puppy Mochi.

Lauren Lennett

PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST

Lauren completed her undergraduate degree in Public Health at The University at Buffalo, where she is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Health. She has had leadership experience for several years as a camp counselor and group leader at a summer sleep-away camp in Pennsylvania. Lauren specializes in digital marketing and content development and has a passion for taking care of others and helping her greater community.

Joshua Lynch, DO, EMT-P, FACEP

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Dr. Lynch is an emergency physician and EMS medical director from Buffalo, NY. He is a senior physician with UB|MD Emergency Medicine and holds faculty appointments at the University at Buffalo and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Lynch has spent over a decade in EMS leadership and several years as the system medical director at Mercy Flight of WNY (aeromedical and critical care transport).

Dr. Lynch is the creator of MATTERS. This program works to provide efficient buprenorphine training to emergency physicians and create linkages between the hospital and substance use treatment programs. He serves as a technical advisor for the Erie County and New York State Departments of Health. He and his team are proud to have received nearly 3 million dollars in grant funding to support the MATTERS program and widely expand access to high-quality addictions care. The team is also greatly appreciative to our partners at the New York State Department of Health for the contributions to the electronic referral platform.

Robert McCormack, MD, MBA, FACEP

PHYSICIAN ADVISOR

Dr. Robert McCormack is an attending physician in the emergency department of Erie County Medical Center. In addition to his emergency medicine work at ECMC, he is also a Clinical Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Vice Chair at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Chief of Service of Emergency Medicine for the Kaleida Health system. Dr. Robert McCormack is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services Community Service Award and the Western New York Heroes award.

Phil McNamara

OUTREACH MANAGER

Phil holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture as well as a CASAT-T. He has worked as an SUD Counselor specializing in MAT at Best Self and as a Community Outreach Coordinator specializing in HCV Linkage and Harm Reduction at ECMC’s GI / Hepatology Dept. He also has a decade of bar/restaurant management in NYC and Buffalo. Phil is the founder of Buffalo Resilience a nonprofit linking local businesses to community organizations to provide meals and harm reduction supplies to underserved communities in WNY. He believes that a strong community can offer many different paths to recovery and is passionate about building strong community connections.

Mila Pakhomova

PROGRAM MANAGER

Mila Pakhomova holds an Associate degree in Allied Health Sciences as well as a Bachelor degree in Nursing. With a lifelong passion surrounding healthcare, Mila comes to MATTERS with 15 years of experience in healthcare administration and management. Through her experience she discovered a love for creating order out of chaos as well as enhancing the functionality of programs and departments. Her greatest accomplishment as a manager has been building teams that feel empowered, supported, engaged and focused on the organization’s mission. She is excited to be a part of a program which shares in her love of providing help to those in need. Outside of work, Mila enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, reading, and listening to music.

Katie Rossi, MS

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Katie holds a BS in Health and Wellness and MS in Health and Human Performance. She started working in healthcare in 2012 and quickly discovered a knack for operations, specifically in high stress and complex environments. Her experience spans multiple medical specialties most notably neurology and emergency veterinary medicine. Beyond health and medical operations, her passion lies in leading teams and solving problems.

Kailyn Tomilin

PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST II

Coming soon!

Renoj Varughese, MD

DIRECTOR OF TELEMEDICINE SERVICES

Dr. Varughese is an emergency physician and EMS medical director in Buffalo, NY. He currently practices at Buffalo General Hospital, ECMC and the Veterans Affairs WNY Hospital. His focus is on telemedicine and community paramedicine. He serves as the Telemedicine Director.