Beth Rutkowski received her Master of Public Health degree, with an emphasis on epidemiology and quantitative methods, from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Public Health. She has been associated with UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) since December 2000, and currently serves as the Director of Training and Co-Director of the SAMHSA-supported Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Training Center. The majority of Ms. Rutkowski’s time is focused on the development of synchronous and asynchronous training and intensive technical assistance packages based on evidence-based substance use disorder research and targeted to the community at large. In addition, she organizes and conducts conferences and trainings throughout the Pacific Southwest region (HHS Region 9, covering AZ, CA, HI, NV, and the six U.S. Affiliated Pacific Jurisdictions) on scientifically validated interventions and topics. Ms. Rutkowski is a NIATx-certified process improvement coach, and has directed several statewide, regional, and local process improvement change project initiatives. Ms. Rutkowski has co-authored and edited numerous peer reviewed research articles, book chapters, special issues, and technical reports on treatment evaluation, research-practice partnerships, process improvement strategies for use in substance use disorder and mental health treatment programs, prescription drug misuse, the epidemiology of methamphetamine and crack cocaine abuse, synthetic drugs, process improvement strategies to improve client engagement and retention in treatment, SBIRT, HIV and substance use, medication-assisted treatment, best practices in addiction treatment, and local, national, and international drug trends.
In my role as Director of Training at UCLA ISAP and Co-Director of the PSATTC, I have 20 years of experience in designing and delivery high quality, evidence-based substance use disorder treatment curricula on a variety of topics. Specific expertise includes motivational interviewing, SBIRT, process improvement strategies, emerging drug trends, and the nexus of SUD and HIV and other STIs.