Rev. Michelle Mathis is a public health leader and ordained minister whose work lives at the intersection of faith and drug user health. As Executive Director of Olive Branch Ministry and President of Redefining Recovery, LLC, she advances risk reduction approaches rooted in dignity, compassion, and the belief that care should meet people exactly where they are.

Grounded in community and shaped by lived experience, her work bridges faith spaces, public health systems, and the realities of people navigating substance use. She is an active contributor to community-informed research, serving as a project coordinator on NIH- and FDA-funded studies and as a member of the NIH RISE Community Expert Council.

Whether in the field, the pulpit, or alongside research partners, Rev. Mathis brings a steady conviction: that love and evidence can coexist, and that both are necessary to build systems worthy of trust.