Brookline Public Health and Human Services Hires Laila McGeorge as Coalition Coordinator to Lead Substance Use Prevention in Town

BROOKLINE — Public Health and Human Services Director Sigalle Reiss is pleased to announce the hiring of Laila McGeorge as the Substance Use Prevention Coalition Coordinator for the Town of Brookline. 

In her role as Coalition Coordinator, McGeorge will oversee the daily operations of the Brookline Coalition Advocating Substance Awareness (B-CASA), facilitate communication and collaboration within the coalition and broader community, conduct community outreach, and manage the coalition’s online presence.

McGeorge comes to Brookline with a wealth of experience in prevention and coalition coordination. Prior to this role, McGeorge was a coalition coordinator for a Drug Free Communities (DFC) federally-funded substance use prevention coalition in southern Connecticut.

While completing her master’s degrees in social work and public health studies McGeorge interned at the CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in their Prevention division. During this internship, she spearheaded the creation of a data dashboard for tobacco compliance inspections and developed mental health promotion curriculum for school-aged youth.

McGeorge was also a regional vape prevention coordinator for Southwestern CT, coordinating with 14 towns in the region to prevent and treat nicotine use for youth and young adults aged 12-21. 

“I am excited to continue my passion for substance use prevention and community organizing with B-CASA as coalition coordinator,” said McGeorge. “I’m thrilled to work with the Brookline community in developing evidenced-based strategies to support substance use prevention and health promotion for Brookline youth, parents, and community members.”

B-CASA was founded in 2003 by a collaboration of community leaders working on substance use prevention in the Town of Brookline. B-CASA was a recipient of the five-year federal Drug Free Communities grant administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Due to the end of DFC funding and the shift in leadership and staff over the past twenty years, B-CASA is now looking to the future by dedicating McGeorge to its coordination.

“Laila is a wonderful addition to our substance use prevention team. We are confident she will enhance our ability to engage with the community on data-driven, evidence-based prevention strategies to reduce youth substance use and improve health outcomes,” said Director Reiss.

About B-CASA

B-CASA is a program within the broader Behavioral Health Intervention and Prevention Programs (B-HIP) within the Public Health & Human Services Department, which provides violence and substance use prevention, education, harm reduction and early intervention services to enhance the health and well-being of Brookline residents, students, and parents.