Monica De’shelle brings their frontline perspective, shaped by years of direct service with individuals and families impacted by substance use and mental health disorders. Their experience spans intensive treatment and IOP settings, where they’ve supported people through different stages of their recovery journey, including the integration of medications for opioid use disorder.

Their work as a Peer Support Specialist and Community Health Worker has strengthened their commitment to meeting people where they are, reducing stigma, and creating pathways to treatment, recovery, and meaningful community connection. They are especially passionate about ensuring that people with lived and living experience have a voice in how we approach substance use, harm reduction, and opioid response. These experiences have deeply shaped their approach to this work—one grounded in compassion, dignity, collaboration, and the belief that effective systems must be responsive to the people they serve.

They are enthusiastic to help reduce stigma around opioid use disorder and MOUD, strengthen the skills and capacity of North Carolina’s opioid-focused workforce, and support communities as they work to leverage opioid settlement and abatement resources.