Gisela Rots, a public health expert and highly skilled trainer, leads programs that improve outcomes for vulnerable populations through the use of evidence-based strategies. She specializes in substance misuse prevention, youth risk prevention, and building resilience. For over 15 years, she has managed award-winning training programs, integrated trauma-informed approaches into prevention, designed successful social marketing campaigns, advised state agencies and community coalitions, and developed cross-sector partnerships to improve services.

Rots translates research into practice to address implementation hurdles across community, social, demographic, and environmental contexts. She is the director of the Center for Strategic Prevention Support (CSPS) and consults for Prevention Solution at EDC. She also leads an effort to address the needs of children experiencing opioid misuse in their homes.

Rots received a BA in Political Science-International Relations from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MS in Gender and Social Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a Certified Prevention Specialist and holds a certification in Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery from the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma.