Erin Artigiani received her Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology & Psychology from Wellesley College. She is Deputy Director for Policy at the University of Maryland’s Center for Substance Use, Addiction & Health Research (CESAR) where she has worked since 1997. Ms. Artigiani has 27 years of experience in substance use research and policy development.

Her current goals include educating policymakers and the public about current trends in poly substance use, supporting the use of non-stigmatizing language and using research to inform programs and policies that include a leading role for people with lived experience. She is currently Co-Investigator on several projects: the ONDCP-funded National Emergency Department Drug Surveillance (EDDS) program, the MOOR-funded Maryland EDDS project and the NIH/NIDA funded PERC project to establish a patient engagement resource center . She is PI for a DOL-funded recovery-to-work internship program in Western Maryland, Mountain Maryland Forward. She is currently working on launching two new projects: The Maryland Peer Hub (Co-PI) to provide resources and support for peer recovery specialists and the multi-site evaluation of local law enforcement diversion (COAP) programs (Co-PI). She also manages dissemination efforts for CESAR projects through resources such as the CESAResearch Network, regularly prepares reports and other products, develops grant proposals, manages contracts and subawards, and organizes and facilitates meetings with stakeholders and policymakers. 

For 6 years, she was Co-Investigator for the National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) funded by the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). For 14 years, she and the Founding Director of CESAR represented Maryland and Washington, DC, on NIDA’s predecessor to NDEWS, the national Community Epidemiology Workgroup (CEWG). She has also collaborated on the Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance project as Project Co-Director and managed a number of epidemiological workgroups and prevention strategy evaluations for Maryland and Washington, DC, including as a part of the SAMHSA funded Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and the Opioid Misuse Prevention Program (OMPP). Other former projects include serving as Co-Investigator on the Community Drug Early Warning System/Drug Early Warning Signals project, working with Bowie State University as an evaluator for their substance abuse and HIV prevention strategies, and working closely with HIDTA programs across the U.S. on the development of their Performance Measurement Program and national annual reports.