Lea Simms, MPH
Program Manager

Lea Simms is the Project Director of Khanya, an NIH funded project which aims to understand the effectiveness and implementation success of a stepped care, peer-delivered behavioral intervention for individuals with HIV and substance use in Cape Town, South Africa. She also collaborates with other lab members on the larger portfolio of research studies in South Africa and the Maryland area and supports overall lab program management.

Previously, Lea worked at The American Society of Addiction Medicine and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing delivering mental health and addiction education and capacity building to health care providers. She has been involved in projects focused on educating providers about pain and opioids to curb the opioid epidemic in the US, expanding provider’s skills in treating tobacco, and integrating primary and behavioral health services in rural tribal health organizations. Lea also served in the Peace Corps in Botswana where she worked in a health clinic expanding HIV and gender-based violence prevention activities.

Education:

George Washington University
MPH Global Health- Design, Monitoring and Evaluation

Dickinson College
BA Psychology, Health Studies Certificate