NBHRN names 2026–2027 board to expand Black-led harm reduction

The National Black Harm Reduction Network has named an eight-member 2026–2027 board to strengthen governance and scale its response to overdose deaths that remain disproportionately high in Black communities. The group will help guide NBHRN’s advocacy, training and outreach as the organization expands beyond nearly 5,000 people reached so far.

Why it matters: - Black overdose deaths remain far higher than white overdose deaths in many parts of the country, even as overall drug fatalities have declined. - NBHRN is building national infrastructure for Black-led harm reduction at a time when resources, training and settlement dollars have not matched the need in Black communities. - The new board is meant to strengthen long-term governance and help NBHRN scale its role as a national hub for expertise, advocacy and technical support.

What happened: - The National Black Harm Reduction Network announced its 2026–2027 Board of Directors on July 20, 2026. - The eight-member board brings experience in public health, medicine, law, finance, policy and community organizing. - NBHRN said the board will guide the organization through a period of growth and help sustain Black-led harm reduction work over time. - The organization also said it wants to be a national resource for training, advocacy and expertise on Black harm reduction.

The details: - NBHRN was established as an independent nonprofit in 2024. - The organization describes itself as the nation’s first Black-led national harm reduction network. - Tracie M. Gardner, NBHRN’s founding executive director, said durable governance, sustainable funding and leadership pipelines are needed so Black-led harm reduction becomes permanent infrastructure. - Gardner traced the idea for NBHRN back more than three decades to Imani Woods, who believed harm reduction should be rooted in and led by the communities it serves. - Black overdose deaths rose sharply over the past decade. - Between 1999 and 2022, the Black overdose death rate increased more than sixfold. - Studies show drug use is similar among Black and white Americans, but Black people are dying at much higher rates. - Michigan highlights the disparity. - In 2023, overdose death rates in Michigan were three times higher for Black residents than for white residents. - Black people account for nearly half of all overdose deaths in the state. - In Wayne County, which includes Detroit, the Black overdose death rate is twice the white rate. - Among Black men ages 60 to 69 in Michigan, the overdose rate was highest over the five years through 2023. - Naloxone and fentanyl test kits remain unevenly distributed, and many distribution programs are designed without community input. - Gardner said Black people who use drugs face criminalization, medical mistrust and services that alienate people most in need. - Gardner linked those barriers to the Black maternal mortality crisis, family separation and the limited flow of opioid settlement funds into Black communities. - Ricky Bluthenthal, a new board member and public health researcher, said NBHRN exists to close the gap in harm reduction support and center Black leadership. - NBHRN works through four core areas: advocacy, training, technical assistance and network building. - Through advocacy, NBHRN pushes for federal and state drug policy and public health policy that reflect the realities of Black substance users. - Through training, the organization builds capacity for culturally grounded and inclusive services. - Through technical assistance, NBHRN works with organizations, health departments and community groups to strengthen programming. - Through network building, NBHRN connects Black harm reductionists and creates regional Black-led and Black-centered networks. - NBHRN says it has helped steer opioid settlement funds to Black communities. - The organization says it has reached nearly 5,000 people. - NBHRN plans to expand work into the Midwest and the South. - Its flagship program, Reclaiming Leadership, provides peer support and leadership development for harm reduction workers. - The 2026–2027 board members are Tamika Spellman, Margaret Bordeaux, Ricky Bluthenthal, Kanika Cunningham, Anthony B. Edwards, Mariah Francis, Alexis R. Posey and Stella Safo. - Board biographies are available in the organization’s announcement.

Between the lines: - The board mix suggests NBHRN is trying to pair movement leadership with institutional expertise in medicine, law and finance. - The emphasis on governance and leadership pipelines signals a shift from startup energy to durable national organization-building. - The release frames the overdose gap as a structural-racism problem, not a matter of individual behavior.

What’s next: - NBHRN expects the board to help it become the field’s go-to source for expertise, training and advocacy on Black harm reduction. - The organization is preparing to widen its geographic reach beyond current work and deepen its leadership pipeline through Reclaiming Leadership. - NBHRN says it wants the new board to help build the institutional strength needed to sustain its mission long term.

The bottom line: - NBHRN is moving from formation to scale, betting that stronger governance and Black-led leadership can help close the overdose death gap facing Black communities.