Assistant Professor
California State University, Bakersfield
Ashleigh Herrera, Ph.D., M.S.W., L.C.S.W., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at California State University, Bakersfield. Dr. Herrera is trained as a licensed clinical social worker and has been conducting addiction research for over 10 years, with research interests focused on addiction treatment and harm reduction approaches for opioid and stimulant use disorders among persons with limited opportunity structures. She has years of experience collaborating closely with community-based, health care, and governmental organizations to design, implement, and evaluate overdose prevention strategies, naloxone distribution efforts, street medicine interventions, and harm reduction vending machines. She recently founded her own non-profit, HOPE in the Valley, to expand access to evidence-based harm reduction strategies in Central Valley California. With the support of the BKRHC, she also successfully implemented the first naloxone distribution effort during the 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count in Kern County, increasing naloxone engagment and re-engagement amongst persons experiencing homelessness. Additionally, she has collaborated with Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services to develop and implement a state-authorized syringe service program, which includes harm reduction vending machines, mobile outreach, and home delivery services, to address opioid and stimulant related morbidity and mortality in Kern County.
