Catherine Cook is the Executive Director of Harm Reduction International.  

Catherine is a leading expert on harm reduction, with nearly two decades of experience shaping global policy, research and advocacy.  

Catherine joined Harm Reduction International in 2007 as Research Analyst, before being appointed Head of Research, and then Sustainable Financing Lead. Since then, she has built a groundbreaking portfolio tracking donor and government investment in harm reduction. This research and related advocacy have influenced donor discourse, strengthened national budget advocacy, and supported concrete funding and policy gains in countries. 

Catherine was responsible for conceptualising and developing HRI’s flagship project, the Global State of Harm Reduction in 2007. She also spearheaded HRI’s work calling for the redirection of funding from punitive drug control to health, rights, and community-based responses.  

Catherine has been deeply embedded in the harm reduction movement throughout her career, working closely with HRI partner organisations, publishing peer-reviewed articles and serving as Deputy Editor for the Harm Reduction Journal from 2015-2020. She has contributed to numerous advisory bodies, including UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board Civil Society Advisory Committees, helping to shape global policy and advance evidence-based harm reduction. 

Prior to joining HRI, Catherine worked at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. 

Catherine holds a BSc in Psychology from Sussex University, an M.Sc. in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Brunel University, London and a CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills. She has also completed courses in International Human Rights Law in Practice at the London School of Economics and Health Economics at Oxford University.