Shelly Weizman, JD

Shelly Weizman, JD is the Associate Director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the O’Neill Institute for National and GlobalHealth Law at Georgetown University Law Center. She works on a project portfolio focused on the overdose epidemic, barriers to treatment for substance use disorders, public health approaches to drug policies and how law can promote access to treatment and support recovery.  Shelly is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown and teaches a course on Addiction & Mental Health Law and Policy.  She also facilitates the Recovery Policy Collaborative, a national network of experts in health, human rights, and policy who have lived experience with addiction.  

Shelly previously served as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Hygiene in the Office of Governor Cuomo of New York where she oversaw policy and operations related to addiction, mental health and disabilities. Prior to joining the Governor’s office, Shelly served as Policy Director for Managed Care at the New York State Office of Mental Health, where she focused on developing and implementing systemic reforms within New York’s public mental health system.  She began her legal career as a civil rights attorney at MFY Legal Services, a not-for-profit legal services organization in New York City.  

Shelly received her JD with a concentration in Health Law and Policy from Seton Hall University School of Law and her BA from the University of Houston. Before law school, she worked with adolescents in recovery and their families in Alternative Peer Groups and a therapeutic community in her hometown of Houston Texas. Shelly is a person living and thriving in long-term recovery for more than 23 years.