Shayla S. Schlossenberg

Shayla S. Schlossenberg (they/them) is the current Drugs Services Coordinator at Release, the national centre of expertise in drugs and drug policy. Shayla has spent the past 8 years researching and working in the substance use field across the US, UK, and China. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Shayla moved to the UK in 2019 to complete an MSc in Anthropology at the University of Oxford, producing a dissertation on harm reduction’s role in drug user subjectification in the UK. Prior to this, Shayla has been worked at centres for people who use drugs and sex worker projects in three cities in the USA (Baltimore, Washington DC, and New York City) and in Shanghai, China. Since completing their MSc, Shayla has worked in East London concurrently managing two drug and alcohol outreach teams specializing with engaging different marginalized communities of people who use drugs prior to assuming their current role at Release. Shayla’s particular harm reduction skills are working with people oppressed by patriarchy, people who use methamphetamine, and people who trade sex.