Vanessa Lopes- McCoy joined the PAARI team in March 2020 as a Project Manager, focusing on a new pilot project in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Vanessa graduated from Merrimack College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Medicine, hoping to become a Physical Therapist. During her time at Merrimack she fell in love with prevention and education. Immediately following graduation Vanessa went on for her Master’s in Health and Wellness Management at Merrimack. During her time here she focused on substance use prevention targeting youth. Vanessa loves looking at numbers and seeing the data change over time (hopefully for the better). With over 5 years of experience in leadership and project development, she is excited to be a part of PAARI. Like many, she has grown up around the disease of addiction and looks forward to making a difference every day. She is based out of the Plymouth office and can be reached at vanessa@paariusa.org.