Vanessa Carson-Sasso
Biography
Vanessa Carson-Sasso is a Social Worker by training (BSW and MSW) and a passionate champion of quality HIV prevention and care services. Vanessa has been working within these fields for over 20 years, of which, 18 have been managing HIV-related grant-funded projects.
Most recently, Vanessa joined the New England AIDS Education and Training Center as Senior Project Director in 2013. Previously, she was the Director of Client Services at the Boston Public Health Commission, which is the Ryan White (RW) Part A Grantee for the Boston Eligible Metropolitan Area. Preceding her work with RW-funded projects, the majority of her professional experience was in the implementation and coordination of HIV prevention programs, including 6 years at Boston Medical Center.
Vanessa also serves as an Instructor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the UMass Chan Medical School, the Treasurer for the National Alliance of HIV Education and Workforce Development (NAHEWD), Co-Investigator and Fiscal Coordinator for the NAHEWD Opioid Response Network project, and also sits on several national and local HIV-related advisory boards.
Although most of Vanessa’s experience has been with direct service and training/education, she has experience collaborating with researchers on various projects over the years, including SPNS projects (special projects of national significance) and evidence-based and evidence- informed projects. Vanessa states “I feel comfortable with the prospects of both reviewing research protocols and providing feedback on them.”
Vanessa brings many important past and present community alliances to the table to help the CCERC build community perspective on research for the Providence/Boston CFAR:
Present - National Alliance of HIV Education and Workforce Development, Member, 2013-Present, Massachusetts Integrated Prevention and Care Planning Committee, 2013-Present , Northeast Alliance for LGBTQ+ Health*, 2018- present *formerly New England Alliance for Gay and Bisexual Men’s Health, Massachusetts Ending the HIV Epidemic Steering Committee, 2019-Present, High Impact HIV Prevention in Health Care Advisory and Review Committee, 2019-Present
Past - New England HIV Implementation Science Network, 2014-2017, Boston EMA HIV Services Planning Council, 2015, Massachusetts PrEP Clinical Advisory Group & Community of Practice, 2015-2019, Massachusetts Getting to Zero Coalition, 2015- 2019