Naomi is the Executive Director of Harm Reduction International. She is an expert on harm reduction and drug policy, bringing two decades of international work experience at the intersection of law, HIV, human rights and public health. 

Naomi previously worked for the Open Society Foundations, leading a portfolio of funding and policy engagement that supported civil society to challenge the negative impact of drug policy on access to controlled medicines, and strengthen access to justice for people who use drugs.

Between 2009 and 2014, Naomi worked in a regional capacity for the HIV and Health Law Program at the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), posted in Indonesia, Nepal and Uganda. In partnership with local organisations in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea, Naomi implemented programmes advancing the rights of populations vulnerable to HIV via legal services and national human rights mechanisms. Naomi spent the first five years of her career practising law in Australia, in the private sector and as a pro bono legal adviser at community centres.

Naomi is a member of the Global Fund Technical Review Panel for Human Rights and Gender, a member of the Strategic Coordination Group to the UN on HIV and Drug Use, and a member of the World Health Organization Guidelines Group on ‘Ensuring Balance in National Policies on Controlled Substances.’

Naomi sits on the board of trustees for Cranstoun and for Food Behind Bars; in 2022 she is a Visiting Fellow at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Global Health Centre.

Naomi writes on harm reduction, public health and human rights and has been published in the Lancet, Health and Human Rights, Project Syndicate, Devex, and others. Naomi has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland and a Masters in International and Community Development from Deakin University.