Reviews 1 — Prevention Corps

Apply by January 26th to serve with our AmeriCorps Member class in February.

The Prevention Corps’ mission is to provide proactive, community-focused solutions in opioid education, awareness, and stigma reduction.

Members' specific position descriptions can differ greatly depending on their host site, but all engage in community education and harm reduction efforts through coordinating and directly providing training in the use of Narcan, a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose emergency, and leading presentations on stigma reduction, recovery, and Connecticut’s opioid epidemic.

2022-2023 Members

Katrina Burmeister

THE HUB
Katrina is a senior at Fairfield University studying finance and politics. She is from Stamford, CT, and plans to attend graduate school. Katrina decided to serve with Prevention Corps because she is interested in creating policies that are going to improve communities. In her free time, Katrina enjoys exercising and going to the beach.
Kayla Champagne

WESTERN CT COALITION
Studying public health at Sacred Heart University, Kayla is from Massachusetts and just began her Masters in Public Health. Kayla’s passion for mental health called her to serve with Prevention Corps and contribute to reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health. Kayla also has a bunny named Jimmy.
Johannes Eisenberg

ALLIANCE FOR PREVENTION & WELLNESS
After graduating from UConn in 2022 with a BS in Molecular & Cellular Biology, Johannes chose to return to Prevention Corps for a second term of service. Along with serving, Johannes is working as an EMT and mentoring undergraduates in a chemical engineering and cellular biology laboratory.
Alisha Encarnacion

NORWALK COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Born and raised in the Bronx, Alisha moved to Stratford when she was 12. She is studying Criminal Justice at Housatonic Community College. Alisha joined Prevention Corps because she wanted to do something that was bigger than herself and make change that could positively affect everyone. In her free time, Alisha plays three instruments.
Ben Fitzgerald

POSITIVE DIRECTIONS
Ben is a Norwalk local and is excited to serve during a gap year from his sophomore year at Boston College. As a philosophy major, Ben was drawn to Prevention Corps because of his interest in community work and mental health. When he isn’t serving, Ben likes reading sci-fi and fantasy while cuddling his two shih-tzu terriers.
Maxx Gianni

AMPLIFY
Having lived across CT and MA, Maxx is glad to be giving back to local communities. They chose to serve because they have watched substance misuse harm those they love. Maxx hopes to be part of the solution and support others through difficult times. To wind down, Maxx patches clothes and has loved sewing since they were a kid.
Jackie Gonzalez

LIBRERATION PROGRAMS
Originally from Florida, Jackie is currently a Criminal Justice major at Housatonic and will be transferring to the University of New Haven for Criminal Justice and Forensic Science. She wanted to serve with Prevention Corps because her own family was once in a position where they needed help; Jackie is now in a position where she can be the person helping others. Jackie can also lick her elbow.
Lauren McCall

WATERBURY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Despite being born in Cheshire, Lauren has lived most of her life in Meriden. Lauren studies public health at Southern Connecticut State University, which is where they heard about Prevention Corps. Lauren hopes to work with vulnerable populations and make at least one person’s life better than it was before. Lauren has a pet cockatiel named Albert whose favorite activity is chewing paper and cardboard.
Yolanda Martinez

BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
A long-time resident of Bridgeport, Yolanda retired in 2016 after working 25 years for the federal government. She chose to serve with Prevention Corps as a way to fill her days and have an impact on her community. Prevention Corps provides ample opportunities to reach that goal within the Bridgeport Education System during Yolanda’s second term of service.

2021-2022 Members

Conor Burke

WESTERN CT COALITION
During his service term, Conor was a huge asset in communication with 47 town zoning officials, a first selectman, and local pharmacies. Conor instructed 150 community members in naloxone usage and served on the committee for the first job fair for recently incarcerated individuals in Western CT, but his largest project was the design and implementation of the Stella the Starfish campaign for CT’s National Prevention Week.
Johannes Eisenberg

ALLIANCE FOR PREVENTION AND WELLNESS
Johannes created infographics on the safe disposal of prescription drugs as well as local data on teen substance use to better inform the community during his service term. Johannes’ largest project involved hands-on research into underaged e-cigarette usage across 9 towns in the businesses that sell e-cigarettes.
Jeriel Goss

BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
During his service term, Jeriel built trust with the students at Bassick High School in order to give them a safe, friendly adult. Jeriel’s proudest moments from his service term were when students came to him and showed they had listened to and internalized all of the information he shared on the importance of mental health and the risks of misusing substances. It was “one of the most satisfying moments ever”.
Malachi Hill

CPEN INC
Malachi served at CPEN, which converted an undeveloped space used for selling substances into a flourishing green space and community center for the neighborhood. During his service term, Malachi was responsible for bringing volunteers and partners to the site as well as working in the gardens at CPEN.
Yolanda Martinez

BRIDGEPORT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
During her service term at Bassick High School, Yolanda aimed to bring mental health awareness and drug prevention to classrooms and to collect data that would help understand the students’ and school’s needs. Yolanda served in the high school and created a drug prevention program template that could be applied to other high schools in the area.
Anna Shelden

THE HUB
Anna frequented wellness fairs and tabling events to promote her host site and Prevention Corps as well as providing resources on mental health and opioid misuse prevention. During her service term, Anna enjoyed creating infographics about the opioid epidemic and supporting someone with Substance Use Disorder.