Project Team

Elizabeth D’Amico, Ph.D.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
is a Senior Behavioral and Social Scientist at RAND and a clinical psychologist who has worked with adolescents in community-based settings to prevent substance use for over 20 years. D’Amico is nationally recognized for her work developing, implementing, and evaluating motivational interviewing (MI) interventions for adolescents. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). She developed the MICUNAY and NAYSHAW programs for AI/AN youth with Dr. Dickerson and Dr. Wendy Troxel (RAND).
Daniel Dickerson, D.O, M.P.H.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
is an Alaska Native (Inupiaq) who has worked in the Native American community for many years. He is an Associate Research Psychiatrist at UCLA, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP). His research focuses on the development of substance use treatment and prevention programs for Native American youth and adults, and he is widely known for his work addressing the importance of integrating culture into programming for this population.
Carrie Johnson, Ph.D.

Dr. Johnson (Wahpeton Dakota) is involved with local, county-wide, and statewide advisory boards to increase the access to and cultural competence of services provided to Native Americans. Johnson also heads up the non-profit community-based agency, Sacred Path Indigenous Wellness Center (SPIWC). SPIWC provides support in conducting community-based participatory research in a culturally appropriate manner with American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). Johnson currently collaborates with Drs. Dickerson and D’Amico on the AI/AN MICUNAY and NAYSHAW projects.