“Lauren’s work in the drug policy field started with his experiences in community organizing in the early 1990s with then-illegal harm reduction efforts. During his time as Addiction Policy Scholar, Lauren was able to see this work come full circle as he played a central role in securing funding for Rhode Island’s first Overdose Prevention Center.”

— The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law

The Equity Expectation Policy serves as a framework for leaders, such as officials serving on an opioid settlement advisory board, to weave equity into spending decisions. 

EEP, designed by Nocera, was created to be “broad enough that it could be relevant if you were a town with 9,000 people or if you were a place with a million people … but also specific enough that it was actionable,” he said. It features six focus areas to help officials decide how to disburse settlement funds. 

Kaitlyn Levinson, Assistant Editor, Route Fifty