Center Staff

Deborah Chassler, M.S.W.
Associate Director
Data Base Management and Training 
Deborah Chassler, Senior Research Associate, has been working in social work research at Boston University School of Social Work since 1993. As Associate Director of Data Base Management and Training, she is responsible for the implementation of federally funded evaluation projects, management of data collection activities, data analysis, supervision of graduate students, and writing for publications.  Before joining the Center, she was responsible for the implementation of several large scale projects funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Institute of Aging. Her current research interests include survey research methods with difficult-to-reach populations, and patterns of treatment utilization, e.g., access to treatment and services for vulnerable populations with a focus on HIV prevention.

Therese Fitzgerald, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Associate Director
Data Base Management and Training
Therese Fitzgerald is the Project Director for the Center's program evaluation of La Voz, an HIV/AIDS prevention, education, and substance abuse treatment program serving Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in western Massachusetts. She is a clinical social worker and a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Sociology and Social Work Ph.D. Program at Boston University. Therese has co-authored a number of articles in the areas of HIV/AIDS risk behaviors and injection drug use. Her research interests include women and substance abuse, harm reduction in social work, and substance abuse and parenting.

Lisa Sullivan, Ph.D.
Statistical Consultant
Dr. Sullivan is Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Mathematics and Statistics and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education in Public Health and serves as a consultant to the Center on Addiction Research and Services. She is also Chair of the Biostatistics Department at the Boston University School of Public Health. Lisa is co-author of a textbook entitled Introductory Applied Biostatistics, and the recipient of numerous teaching awards including the Norman A. Scotch award and the prestigious Metcalf Award, both for excellence in teaching at Boston University . Lisa is a statistician on the Framingham Heart Study working primarily in developing and disseminating cardiovascular risk functions. She is active in multidisciplinary research projects in areas such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive function, HIV/AIDS, emergency medicine, prenatal diagnosis and autism.

Angela W. Walter, M.S.W.
Research Assistant
Angela Walter graduated from the Boston University School of Social Work in May 2007 and is currently pursuing her Masters of Public Health at BU. Prior to joining the Center, Ms. Walter was a project coordinator at the Disparities Solutions Center, and Institute for Health Policy, at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her work has focused on substance abuse, health care quality improvement, leadership development, and cultural competence. Her research interests include racial and ethnic health disparities in the areas of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS among women and children.

Amanda Horowitz, B.A.
Research Assistant
Amanda Horowitz is currently enrolled in the dual degree MSW/MPH program at Boston University's School of Social Work and School of Public Health. Prior
to arriving at BU, Amanda worked as Helpline Coordinator for a national
organization with a mission to prevent child sexual abuse. Subsequently, she
served as case manager at a specialized treatment day school for adolescents
and children in Holyoke , Massachusetts . Amanda's research interests include
substance abuse treatment, increased access to health care, and issues related to social justice advocacy.

Lisa de Saxe Zerden, M.S.W.
Research Assistant
Lisa de Saxe Zerden is currently a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Social Work and Sociology program at Boston University. Lisa received her Masters in Social Work from the School of Public Policy at UCLA. Her research interests include HIV/AIDS risk-related behaviors, substance abuse, and cross-cultural prevention efforts. Lisa has conducted field work in both South Africa, her native country, and on the island of Puerto Rico.

Rebekah Gowler, B.A.
Research Assistant
Rebekah Gowler is a student in the MSW/MPH dual degree program at Boston University’s Schools of Social Work and Public Health. Before coming to BU, Rebekah served for two years as an AmeriCorps member with the National Association of Community Health Center’s Community HealthCorps program in New York City. After her stint as a volunteer, she was the director of the NY/NJ HIPPYCorps, an AmeriCorps initiative of HIPPY USA (a home-based early childhood education program). Rebekah’s research interests include harm reduction services, anti-poverty programs and policies, health disparities, and reproductive health, including HIV/AIDS.