Full Biography of Melissa Weiksnar
Melissa Weiksnar,has been a writer, speaker, and advocate since 2010, using her daughter's story to educate students and community groups about how addiction can impact any family. In 2012 she published "Heroin's Puppet -Amy (and her disease)" and in 2014 "It's Not Gunna Be an Addiction: the Adolescent Journals of Amelia F.W. Caruso". She was also present for the 2015 local filming of "If Only."
She has formally shared with over 16,000 people, including about 10,000 in the greater Lowell area. A student at Lowell High wrote about a recent presentation [note:here are 4 quotes you could choose from]:
"Thank you so much for coming in and speaking to us. The things you talked about really opened up my eyes. I really like how you brought up the topic of weed because it is very popular and everyone says it isn't bad for you. I also liked how you reminded us that we have people who care about us, and we can go to them for help at any time. You told us that we have a bright future ahead of us and I really appreciate that."
"It was tough listening to [Amy's] story. It made me think a lot about my life and my future...I want to be something when I'm older and listening to your story will help me remember what drugs can do to you."
"Thank you for sharing [Amy's] story with us. It really made me think about my choice of friends and about trying new things."
"What happened to you made me sad, but it opened my eyes even more to how serious this can be and I thank you for it. I know to never start taking the wrong path. Also know my brain is evolving quickly so I will be more vulnerable to things like this. I'm very sorry for your loss and I don't want my mom to feel the way that you feel, so I will never start."
She has also testified for the Good Samaritan legislation which paved the way for widespread deployment of Narcan; Amy died in a treatment facility that did not carry Narcan.
Ms. Weiksnar attended Wellesley College and is a graduate ofMIT, the University of Houston, and Harvard Business School. She spent the first two decades of her career in high tech, including co-founding Synernetics Inc. In 2002 she switched to high school teaching, and most recently worked at the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Boston Children's Hospital. Ms. Weiksnar is married andhas two older children.