Her Story
About Carla
Carla Sofronski serves as founder and advocate for PA Harm Reduction Network, a role she has held for the past five years. She brings roughly 20 years of experience in advocacy work focused on substance use disorders. In this capacity, she organizes communities throughout Pennsylvania to educate on harm reduction strategies and advocates at the state level on drug policy to combat the overdose crisis. Her professional background is rooted in lived experience from within the systems she seeks to improve, rather than formal advanced degrees such as a PhD or master's. A notable achievement includes her contribution to passing drug checking legislation in Pennsylvania in 2022. Sofronski attributes her success to determination and a belief that all human beings deserve respect and dignity, values that also guide her emphasis on compassion, kindness, and empathy in her work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Carla
01What do you attribute your success to?
It's really determination and believing in something that you know is right that motivates me. I believe that all human beings deserve respect and dignity. I'm willing to go the extra mile to make sure that folks are. I can't stand by and do nothing.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My mentor, Clarice Bailey, would say, you have to meet people where they are and not where you wish they were. That's where the change actually happens. Another favorite saying: Don't wait for permission to do the right thing. Especially when lives are on the line.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Being in leadership positions can be extremely challenging, especially in the advocacy space, and you constantly feel like you are not going anywhere, you're not accomplishing anything. The truth is, is that you have to celebrate the small wins because those are the ones that will keep your motivation going.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges are fighting a large force, and stigma is the biggest challenge to overcome. People die because they're ashamed away from help. Funding is an obstacle - grassroots advocacy work does not get funding easily. Burnout is real in this space because the work is very grief-heavy.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Compassion and kindness goes a long way. Empathy.
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