Two weeks ago, we welcomed two new interns to support our team in the creation of our daughter office in Vienna.

Beatrix Vas ‘19 – Global Development Intern

Beatrix is primarily responsible for developing and implementing strategies to grow the capacity of the Global Program and assess new opportunities for growth & expansion.

Beatrix holds a Master of Public Administration from Central European University, where she specialized in Security and Media and Communications. Her research interests include the securitization of substance use and interventions to reduce violence, with a focus on bridging academia and policymaking, along with activism.

Beatrix founded Students for Sensible Drug Policy Budapest in 2019, is an International Working Group Member of YouthRISE, and has worked with the Rights Reporter Foundation on covering issues specific to Hungary and Central-Eastern Europe. Her work focuses on full-spectrum harm reduction, peer-to-peer drug education, international drug policy reform, and youth advocacy.

Ruby Rose Lawlor ‘17 – Global Programs Intern

Ruby will focus on developing and implementing training and workshops for the Global Network, particularly the African Network. Ruby will also support Global Team members in the process of opening our Vienna office by taking on some of their programmatic tasks.

Ruby is a drug policy reform and full-spectrum harm reduction activist with a background in grassroots youth activism. She has been a student member of SSDP since 2017 in the University College Cork chapter in Ireland, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in International Development. Ruby has been assisting in the development of the Global Program recently, particularly in its Outreach and Membership Structure Working Group. She is the Vice-Chair of SSDP’s International Organizing Committee, and an International Working Group Member for YouthRISE.

Having interned in The Human Rights Centre Uganda last year, and learning about the Uganda Harm Reduction Network in the country, Ruby is returning to Uganda to work with them, integrating her expertise in international development with her work in drug policy reform and harm reduction.