Guy Farina

Senior Program Manager - TASC's Center for Health and Justice

Guy Farina is a retired Detective Supervisor with a distinguished career dedicated to public safety, youth engagement, and substance use prevention. He brings decades of frontline experience addressing drug impairment, substance use disorders, and the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Farina is a nationally certified Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and Instructor, a former member of the New York State DRE Technical Advisory Panel, and the past Region One Coordinator for New York State’s DRE program. He has led critical initiatives, including Narcan training and deployment and medication drop-off programs, and has served as Hudson Valley Regional Director for the New York Gang Investigators Association. In 2016, he spearheaded the development and oversight of New York’s first law enforcement deflection program. In 2018, Farina assumed the role of Law Enforcement Liaison for Hope Not Handcuffs – Hudson Valley, a position he originated to strengthen collaboration between law enforcement and community-based deflection efforts. In addition to his law enforcement leadership, Farina holds advanced training in victim services, including certifications as a Victim Advocate, Domestic Violence Advocate, Sexual Assault Advocate, and Certified Forensic Interviewer of Child Sexual Assault Victims. He is also credentialed in victim assistance, crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, and the impact of sexual assault. From 2005 to 2023, he served as a New York State Certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Currently, Farina is a Senior Program Manager with the National Deflection Technical Assistance Center at TASC’s Center for Health and Justice, where he provides expert consulting, training, and technical assistance under the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP). Guy is the lead author of the peer-reviewed article “Preventing Substance Use-Related Crime through Deflection,” published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Human Rights & Science (JMSHRS)*, Volume 7, Issue 3.

Sessions