Carissa Brown, 25, graduated from the University of Dubuque with an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and a masters degree in management-organizational diversity and inclusion leadership with the intent of becoming a change maker.
Last November, she got a job at Dubuque County Public Health as a project coordinator. Her focus: the opioid crisis.
“I think a lot of people have one image of one person that is the stereotype of drug use,” Brown said. “With the opioid crisis, the accidental addiction to pain medication happens with people of all ages, and there is an increase of fentanyl in the drug supply.”
Fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine. Part of her work is ensuring those who need access to Naloxone (also known as Narcan) can get the medication. She also does presentations about how and when to use it. There have been 14 opioid overdoses in Dubuque County so far in 2024. There were 28 last year.
The Opioid Working Group, made up of community members with experience in helping people with substance use and opioid use disorders, aids Brown’s efforts.
Public Health Executive Director Allie White said Brown is responsible for planning for the usage of Dubuque County’s share of opioid settlement funds, which are expected to exceed $1 million.
“Carissa consistently demonstrates leadership in the workplace by undertaking projects proactively and approaching her work positively, encouraging others to do the same,” White said. “(Her) academic skillsets, combined with an authentic humanitarian mentality, make Carissa the ideal Rising Star.”
Brown meets with these stakeholders to determine how the funds should be spent, making decisions based on research.
“It gets presented to the Dubuque County Board of Health for approval, and once the Board of Health approves it, it moves to the Dubuque County Board of Supervisors, and then supervisors vote on the proposed plan we bring forward, and they have the final say of whether we can move forward with it or not,” Brown said.
A website was created to provide information on local treatment and recovery, prevention and harm reduction can be found at opioid-epidemic-outreach-dbqco.hub.arcgis.com.
“It’s kind of a hub for figuring out what’s available in the county for what you need,” she said.
Staying physically active and spending time with family make up Brown’s downtime. Her parents are Craig and Kim Brown, with siblings Ryker, Morgan, Evan and Grifen. Her boyfriend is Carlos Sanchez.
She also earned honors during her soccer career, including the UD Women’s Soccer Best Teammate of the Year and the UD Sparty Award for Female Athlete of the Year. She gives of her time coaching for UD Mini Kickers and the Dubuque Soccer Club.
Brown volunteers with Mentors in Violence Prevention and the Dubuque Eagles’ Eyes on the Future committee. Volunteer work extends to the Red Basket Project, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Live Like Jack, Manor Care and the Hope House.
“Consistent with her desire to serve her community, a summer with AmeriCorps found Carissa helping to create safe and clean learning environments for students and staff,” White said. “Other ways in which Carissa demonstrates being a role model is by helping to create an on-campus Food Share Co-Op and by planning, developing and facilitating a campus wide day of volunteering, with over 300 volunteers in the Dubuque community.”
Brown added that she strives to continue to open people’s minds (and change a few) to better understand drug addiction and treatment options.
“We’re working on putting a strategic plan together to put out in the community to help show people all the things we’re working towards in this working group: Our goals and the areas we want the money to go towards,” Brown said. “We want to stay connected with the people directly doing the work. They have so much knowledge and experience that I will never get because of their years of doing this work, and they have a pulse on what’s going on in the community.”