Malika Lamont is the Director for VOCAL-WA and Washington LEAD Technical Support Director at PDA.
Malika is also the Co-Founder/Care Model Designer and Director of Harm Reduction Practices of the Olympia Bupe Clinic and Capital Recovery Center. She has worked to address social determinants of health for over 20 years. Some of that work was done as a licensed Adolescent Counselor and Family Care Coordinator. At the Washington Initiative for Supported Employment, Malika worked as a personal agent for people with developmental disabilities, and at the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Department, she led the Syringe Exchange Program and HIV prevention services and served as an Education and Outreach Specialist.
Currently, she co-chairs the Thurston/Mason Safety Net Council, tri-chairs the Just Access to Health, and is a planning member with the ADAI at the University of Washington. She is a founding member of the Washington Association of Syringe Service Programs, Full Circle United, Black Leaders for Action and Solidarity Thurston (BLAST). Malika participates in organizing with Decriminalize Nature Seattle, and is also involved in other movements for social good.
Malika helped start the Olympia Free Clinic, is a former board member of Behavioral Health Resources, and is the Past Chair for the Thurston Asset Building Coalition, and was a member of the inaugural Reimagining Public Safety Work Group with the City of Olympia (2020-2022). She works with marginalized populations to increase health and improve social conditions, by being a foster parent, advocating for people and intentionally choosing positions that can create change. Malika presents as a subject matter expert for organizations, to students working to become health care professionals, and in other academic settings.
She volunteers with her daughter in the community as a member of the Washington Substance Use Recovery Services Advisory Committee and is a co-chair for the Washington State Recovery Workgroup. She does street outreach as her schedule permits with Emma Goldman Youth Homeless Outreach Project (EGYHOP).
In September 2019, Malika received a Community Champion Award from Molina Healthcare of WA. This award is given to people whose leadership, volunteerism and public advocacy embody the spirit of service and community. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Xavier University of Louisiana as well as a Master of Public Administration degree with a focus in Public Health Policy and Nonprofit Management from The Evergreen State College.
Malika’s drive to engage in this work comes from the impacts of the drug war and other forms of systemic violence on her family, loved ones, and community. She really wants to write post-colonial love stories with happy endings, but there is work to do, dismantling harmful systems and restoring impacted communities.