Speakers Bureau
SSDP Board and Staff Members Available for Speaking Engagements
Members of SSDP's speakers bureau are available for speaking engagements to your SSDP chapter or other local group. Once you request a speaker, a member of our staff will contact you to discuss your plan to compensate the speaker for travel expenses. Typical honoraria for a speaker is between $500-$1500.
Aaron Houston
Executive Director
based in Washington, DC
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Prior to joining SSDP, Aaron served as director of government relations at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Washington, D.C., where he previously served as national field director. Aaron also served as the executive director and lobbyist for the state's largest membership-based non-profit advocacy organization, and he spent three years as a staff member in the Colorado State Senate.
Aaron is frequently in the news being interviewed or quoted on marijuana and marijuana policy, and he was featured in the Showtime original documentary "In Pot We Trust."
Zara Snapp
International Liason
based in Washington, DC
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Born in Mexico, raised in the United States and working in countries such as Colombia and Argentina, Zara Snapp has personally witnessed the effects of the failed war on drugs across many borders. Prior to joining SSDP, Zara worked for diverse organizations such as the Kellogg Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, the Denver Tent City Initiative and Mi Casa Resource Center on issues of comprehensive sexuality education, housing and homelessness, judicial reform and democracy and governance programs in Latin America. Participating in programs such as From Harvard Square to the Oval Office, the Women and Public Policy Project and the White House Project, Zara has continued to demonstrate a commitment to gender equality and promoting women serving in public office.
As a national Truman Scholar and Public Service Fellow, Zara received a Masters in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. While working towards a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Denver (UCD), Zara was awarded the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award by the City of Denver and the Thomas Jefferson Award from UCD. As the international liaison for SSDP, Zara is excited to utilize her background and experiences to strengthen the international student movement and transform drug policy towards one that respects human rights, and promotes legalization and regulation. When not working on social justice issues, Zara enjoys cooking, and biking through the streets of Coyoacan with her partner and traveling to find the perfect scarf.
Stacia Cosner
Associate Director
based in Washington, DC
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Stacia got involved with drug policy when she joined the campus SSDP chapter as a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2005. The next year, she was elected President of the UMD SSDP chapter, a role she served from 2006-2008. While on campus, Stacia was elected to the University Senate , where she pushed for the equalization of judicial sanctions for marijuana and underage drinking and introduced a Good Samaritan Policy that was recently adopted by the University Senate. Under her leadership in 2006, the UMD chapter received SSDP’s “Most Outstanding Chapter” award. As a student, she received SSDP’s “Rising Star” award in 2006 and “Outstanding Student Activist” in 2007.
Also during her time as an undergrad, Stacia testified before the Maryland state legislature on several occasions regarding bills dealing with financial aid eligibility , felony voter disenfranchisement, mandatory minimum sentences, medical marijuana, Good Samaritan practices, among others.
Stacia was elected to SSDP’s national board of directors in 2006, serving her first year as Secretary and second year as Vice Chair. Prior to being hired by SSDP in June 2009, Stacia completed internships with the Institute for Humane Studies , the Marijuana Policy Project , and DRCNet (StopTheDrugWar.org ).
Devon Tackels
Regional Outreach Coordinator
based in Washington, DC
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Devon got involved with drug policy reform when he founded the SSDP chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University, as a sophomore, in 2008, and then served as President until 2011 while studying psychology and political science.
As President, Devon worked to build strong relationships with the university administration and helped create “Just Say Know”, an evidence-based drug education program that is taught in partnership by students and university health officials. He also worked to promote statewide drug policy reform by organizing, lobbying, and testifying in front of the Virginia House of Delegates in support of statewide cannabis decriminalization.
Devon was awarded the “Rising Star” activist award at our conference in 2010, and under his leadership, VCU received one of the “Outstanding Chapter” awards at the 2011 Training Conference and Lobby Day.
When Devon isn't working to reform drug policy, you can find him reading a good book, drinking tea, listening to music, or hiking up mountains.
Drew Stromberg
Regional Outreach Coordinator
based in Washington, DC
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Drew is our Regional Outreach Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions.
Drew Stromberg got involved in Students for Sensible Drug Policy in 2009 when he founded the chapter at West Virginia University. Drew presided over the WVU chapter from 2009 to 2011 and interned at the national office in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2010.
Under Drew's leadership, the WVU chapter was named the #9 college campus in the nation for drug policy reform activism in 2010 by High Times Magazine, and they were awarded the Morgan Lesko Online Activism Award in 2011 for their exemplary web presence and social media reach.
Irina Alexander
Board Member - based in Washington, DC
Eric Sterling
Board Member - based in Silver Spring, MD
Alex Kreit
Board Member - based in San Diego, CA
Alex Kreit is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Professor Kreit clerked for the Honorable M. Blane Michael on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He then worked as an associate at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco where his practice focused on securities and appellate litigation.
Professor Kreit's articles have appeared in journals including the American University Law Review, the University of Chicago Legal Forum, the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. He is author of a forthcoming casebook on drug abuse and the law, Controlled Substances: Crime, Regulation, and Policy (Carolina Academic Press, forthcoming 2012). Professor Kreit is actively involved in the community. He is currently President of the San Diego Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and from 2009 to 2010 he served as Chair of the City of San Diego’s Medical Marijuana Task Force, a position appointed by the San Diego City Council. He has been recognized as one San Diego’s Top Attorneys in the Academic Field by the San Diego Daily Transcript (2009) and one of “35 under 35” community leaders by the San Diego News Network (2010).
Shaleen Title
Board Member
based in Boston, MA
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Shaleen Title has been involved with policy reform efforts since she co-founded the University of Illinois Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter in 2002. She is an attorney and currently serves as speakers bureau director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition where she manages a global network of cops, judges, prosecutors, federal agents and corrections officials who support a legal and regulated model to control drugs. She also holds a graduate degree in accounting; she worked in the multistate tax group of Deloitte Tax analyzing and identifying tax opportunities and assisting in preparing tax compliance and reviewing tax provisions for complex multistate clients. She was the 2010 recipient of the Hunter S. Thompson young attorney award and serves as co-chair of the National Lawyers Guild Drug Policy Committee. She lives in Boston and her hobbies include Bharatanatyam (classical Indian dancing) and teaching "know your rights" and personal finance classes as a volunteer.
Kris Krane
Board Member
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Jesse Stout
Board Member
based in San Francisco, CA
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Jesse Stout will graduate from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in spring 2012. He helped start the SSDP chapters at Hastings Law and at Brown University. Before law school, Mr. Stout spent three years as a community organizer among medical marijuana patients, as the executive director of the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition. In this role, he led the legislative advocacy campaigns that resulted in the passage of the Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Act and two later amendments, all three of which overcame gubernatorial vetoes. His speaking topics include criminal defense, grassroots organizing, the legislative process, mass incarceration, drug policy, and medical marijuana.
