Addressing Overdose, Substance Use, Mental Health, and Pain
The Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness (N CREW) Program supports Tribes and Native American Serving Organizations (T/NASOs) to conduct locally prioritized research to address overdose, substance use, and pain, including related factors such as mental health and wellness.
N CREW was developed in direct response to priorities identified in Tribal Consultations. It is a trans-NIH research program funded through the Helping to End Addition Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative. For more information, please visit the N CREW HEAL website.
Kathy Etz – N CREW Director & Associate Director for Tribal Affairs at NIDA
(301) 402-1749
Dr. Kathy Etz serves as the Director of the N CREW Program and Associate Director for Tribal Affairs at NIDA. Previously, she held the position of Senior Advisor for Tribal Affairs in the Immediate Office of the Director at the National Institutes of Health. She also previously served as a Program Director in the Epidemiology Research Branch, where her work focused on research studies examining the developmental, social, cultural, environmental, and historical factors related to drug use as well as efforts to better share data in the social sciences. Dr. Etz joined NIDA in 1998 and has dedicated her efforts to supporting and advancing community-based research in partnership with American Indian and Alaska Native populations, emphasizing processes that respect and uphold Tribal sovereignty. Her specific research interests include wellness, substance misuse, and related factors. Dr. Etz has received numerous awards including the Phillip L Smith Award for Exceptional Contribution to Research to Benefit Native Communities from the Native Research Network, the Advances in Culture and Diversity in Prevention Science award from the Society for Prevention Research (SPR), and the Distinguished Alumni Award from UNCG’s School of Health and Human Sciences. Dr. Etz received her Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Julie Erb-Alvarez – Program Official, Scientific Program Director for N CREW
(301) 451-8271
Julie Erb-Alvarez joined NIDA in September 2024 as a Scientific Program Director for N CREW where she works closely with Native American communities and organizations to conduct community prioritized research, increase research capacity, and enhance data quality and accessibility. Julie is a Captain (CAPT) in the U.S. Public Health Service. Prior to joining NIDA, she directed the Office of Patient Engagement and Recruitment in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Division of Intramural Research in the Office of the Clinical Director at the NIH Clinical Center. Before coming to NIH in 2017, CAPT Erb-Alvarez served as the Epidemiologist for the Oklahoma City Area Indian Health Service (IHS), the Oklahoma Tribal Epidemiology Center, and the Republic of Palau Ministry of Health, Bureau of Public Health in the Pacific Islands of Micronesia. She also served as Director of Cancer Programs for the Cherokee Nation Health Services prior to her work as an epidemiologist. Julie has led epidemiologic projects on identification and adjustment of racially misclassified health data, infectious disease and syndromic surveillance, hepatitis C case identification and treatment initiation, IHS health systems data profile development, and served as the Institutional Review Board Co-chair for the Oklahoma City Area IHS. Julie is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She earned a B.S. from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, OK, and an M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health.
Steven Hafner – Program Official, Scientific Program Director for N CREW
(301) 435-4765
Steven Hafner joined NIDA in January 2024 as a Scientific Program Director for the N CREW Program. In this role, he works closely with Native American communities and organizations to conduct community prioritized research, increase research capacity, and enhance data availability and quality. Prior to joining NIDA, Steven was a Research Scientist with the Center for Human Identification (CHI) at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, TX. At CHI, Steven’s work focused primarily on violence and victimization, including missing, murdered, and trafficked persons. As a graduate student, Steven served as a contract graduate research assistant with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research, evaluation and development arm of the US Department of Justice. At NIJ, he assisted with the Tribal crime, justice and safety portfolio, working on projects related to violence and victimization, as well as research capacity building. During graduate school, he also collaborated with two tribal epidemiology centers – the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center at the Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board in Rapid City, SD and the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board in Portland, OR on projects of local priority. Steven holds his BA in Evolutionary Anthropology and German Studies from Duke University, his MA in Health Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and his ScD in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Barbara Oudekerk – Program Official, Scientific Program Director for N CREW
(301) 328-7936
Dr. Oudekerk joined NIDA in January 2021. Dr. Oudekerk is a Scientific Program Director for the N CREW Program, providing expertise in a variety of areas including intervention research and substance use prevention. Prior to joining the N CREW Program, she was a Program Officer in the Prevention Research Branch where she managed research portfolios on prevention in social services, justice, and community settings and was the Lead Project Scientist for the NIH HEAL Preventing Opioid Use Disorder Research Program. She came to NIDA from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice, where she was a social science statistician in the Victimization Statistics Unit. At BJS, Dr. Oudekerk directed the Victim Services Statistical Research Program, which included overseeing the National Census and Survey of Victim Service Providers and coordinating efforts to collect comprehensive national data on help-seeking and access to services among survivors of crime or abuse. She also managed research and produced statistical reports from the National Crime Victimization Survey on topics including juvenile crime and victimization, school crime, hate crimes, subnational crime trends, and repeat victimization. Prior to BJS, Dr. Oudekerk was an American Psychological Association Executive Branch Science Fellow, during which she spent a year working at the National Institute of Justice. She completed her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research training at the University of Virginia with a focus in community and developmental psychology.
Jaclyn Smith – Program Official, Scientific Program Director for N CREW
(301) 443-7478
Dr. Jaclyn Smith joined NIDA in April 2023 as a Scientific Program Director for the N CREW Program. She works collaboratively with Native American [i.e., American Indian (AI), Alaska Native (AN), Native Hawaiian] communities and their allies as they conduct community prioritized research to address overdose, substance use, and pain, including related factors (e.g., mental health and wellness). Dr. Smith has been honored to work alongside AI/AN communities since 2005, when she supported the development of a research agenda, informed through qualitative data collection with community members, to address crime and justice issues in AI/AN communities. She also worked on the National Institute of Justice’s National Baseline Study, a study of health, wellness, and safety of AI/AN women living in Indian Country and AN communities. Over her career, Dr. Smith has been committed to the growth and wellbeing of tribal communities. She has partnered with tribal victim service programs to enhance their research capacity, worked with states to improve victim compensation services to AI/AN victims of crime, and worked with tribal grantees to strengthen their capacity to manage the financial requirements of federal awards. Dr. Smith received a BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Texas and completed both her MA and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in the Criminology and Criminal Justice program.
Carly Marshall – Scientific Program Analyst [C]
(301) 496-2038
Carly Marshall joined NIDA in April 2023 as a Scientific Program Analyst for N CREW. She supports the program’s communication, data analysis and reporting, cross-site activities, training, and other efforts. Prior to joining N CREW, she worked at an Indigenous Public Health Institute housed within the University of Washington. In this role she focused on substance use data improvements, COVID-19 response, climate change mitigation, health systems alignment, Indigenous leadership, and capacity building projects. She is invested in Native health research and her approach is community-driven and highly collaborative. Carly holds a MPA and BS from the University of Washington and has additional work experience in ecological science and environmental policy.
Andrea Williams – Program Manager [C]
(301) 615-4540
Andrea Wiliams joined NIDA in March 2024 as a Program Manager for the N CREW Program. Prior to joining N CREW, she worked across various industries within private and government sectors as a senior project manager leading cross-functional global teams. Andrea is committed to mission-based projects and managing program initiatives to prioritize research. With a BS from Oglethorpe University and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University, Andrea possesses a robust academic foundation complemented by practical expertise in managing mission-driven projects. Equipped with a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, Andrea is adept at navigating the intricacies of project lifecycles and ensuring successful program outcomes.