Lena M. Asmar MSW, LICSW

Lena Asmar, MSW, LICSW, is the Vice President of the Human Services Department at the New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV). In this role, she oversees a variety of programs that provide behavioral health, case management, housing, stabilization, employment, and training services to Veterans experiencing or at risk for homelessness. These programs use innovative Harm Reduction, Housing First, and Trauma Informed Care approaches to help Veterans reach their self-identified goals and move towards dignified independent living. She started at the NECHV in 2016 as the Director of the Veteran 360 Behavioral Health Programs, overseeing a team of clinicians and case managers, and was promoted into her current role.

Lena has spent the last 20 years working with the most vulnerable and marginalized populations and has held leadership positions at community-based organizations. She has spent her career compassionately providing services to people who struggle with substance use and mental health issues, homelessness, and other co-occurring conditions.

Previously, she was the Senior Director of Program Administration at the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, overseeing a variety of public health programs that provided services to to people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C. She serves as adjunct faculty at the Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work. Lena teaches and designed the online curriculum and asynchronous content for the course “Alcohol, Drugs and Social Work Practice” and provides mentorship to other faculty who teach this course.

Lena received a Master of Social Work, with a certificate in Urban Leadership, from Simmons College and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts. She has presented locally, nationally, and internationally on the topics of Harm Reduction, substance use, program evaluation, and program management. She has participated in and has held leadership positions in several professional organizations and currently is a member of the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research Veterans Engagement Stakeholders Council.