Jamelia (Jay) Blake

Jamelia  joined Health Promotion and Well-Being in 2022 as the graduate Gender-Based Violence Prevention Coordinator and transitioned to her current role in May 2023. Using a harm reduction lens, she educates the campus community through programming on substances and how to decrease risks that come with use. Jay also meets with students one-on-one for confidential Motivational Interviewing sessions. In these sessions, she helps students explore their alcohol, cannabis, or tobacco use, how it fits with goals and morals and how they can make changes if they want to do so.

Jay earned her Master of Social Work degree with a concentration in addiction counseling from Rutgers University in New Jersey. During grad school, she worked at her campus’ confidential sexual assault and gender-based violence prevention office. Off-campus, she did her field practicum at a residential substance-use treatment facility. These experiences and her previous year at Hopkins have made her excited to work with students in this role.

She also holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Seton Hall University where she was involved in student mental health advocacy, awareness, and outreach. In addition to substance use, gender violence, and mental health, she also has a passion for working with the LGBTQIA+ community and other groups that disproportionately experience psychosocial issues. Jay is a university-wide resource who can see all students and trainees.