Lisa Gessler joined DRNC in March 2019 as an attorney on DRNC’s community access team. In March 2023 she transitioned to spearhead a new initiative to increase access to medications for opioid use disorders in jail settings as part of the criminal justice team. Gessler is originally from Ohio and graduated from the University of Akron School of Law. Before law school she worked in psychology in the mental health and developmental disabilities fields. After law school she relocated to North Carolina and worked at private law firms and Legal Aid of North Carolina.