Vice President and COO
Dr. Salazar holds a Master’s and Doctoral degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. Since 1988, he has worked in the substance use disorder, HIV/AIDS, and mental health fields as a counselor, health educator, community organizer, researcher, and administrator. He has been the primary translator (English to Spanish) of various research studies and has co-translated The Wellness Guide published by the UC Berkeley Center for Community Wellness. He is also the co-author of Essential Spanish for Social Services, a Living Language/Random House publication. During his career Dr. Salazar has served as the Project Director/Principle Investigator (PD/PI) on various programs funded by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), CA Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS), and LA County Department of Public Health, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC) with an emphasis on delivering the full continuum of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) services ranging from prevention to medical detoxification/maintenance. He is currently the Director of SUD/MH program that serves youth in LA County and also oversees two Narcotic Treatment Programs (NTP’s) and Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) programs designed for both adults and youth. Dr. Salazar regularly conducts trainings and classes on SUD counseling and new and emerging behavioral health trends, evidence based practices (EBP’s), current research in the SUD/MH field, and provision of SUD and MH treatment services to special populations such as youth, women and older adults. Since 2014, Dr. Salazar has held a Lecturer position with the California State University of Northridge (CSUN) and has taught various healthcare leadership and public health courses, including those on SUD, to both undergraduate and graduate master’s level students. Dr. Salazar has served on various non-profit boards, private education boards, and currently serves on CSUN’s MPH Program Community Advisory Board which provides guidance and support on matters related to curriculum development.