Cara Poland

Advancing Addiction Medicine

Dr. Cara Poland is a national leader in Addiction Medicine who help systems, clinicians, and policymakers eliminate stigma, strengthen care, and move from crisis to change.

Dr. Cara Poland is a board-certified addiction medicine physician, educator, advocate, and expert witness. But more than that, she’s a person who brings joy to this work.

Her mission is to reduce stigma and restore dignity to people with substance use disorders, and the clinicians who care for them. She bring over a decade of experience designing training programs, advising policymakers, leading national advocacy, and speaking across the country.

This work is personal to her. She’s cared for thousands of patients, helped systems rebuild their response to addiction, and testified in support of evidence-based laws. And she’s walked beside her own family through the devastation of addiction. She does this work in memory of her brother, Max, who died in 2012 of co-morbid mental health and addiction causes. With Max as her north star, she dedicates herself to honoring every family still fighting for care that’s rooted in humanity.