Karla Lopez

Supervising Attorney, CHAMP

Joined CSS: 2018

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Departments & Programs

Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP)

Bio

Karla Lopez is the Supervising Attorney of Community Health Access to Addiction and Mental Healthcare Project (CHAMP), New York State’s health insurance ombudsman program for people who need substance use disorder and mental health care. Karla led the launch of CHAMP in 2018 and manages its staff and network of partner organizations around the state.

Prior to joining CSS, Karla was a Senior Staff Attorney at the Legal Action Center, a non-profit law and policy organization that fights discrimination against people with substance use disorders, HIV/AIDS, and criminal records. Karla has written and trained widely on laws requiring parity in substance use disorder and mental health benefits, and the federal regulations governing the confidentiality of substance use disorder treatment information.

Before law school, Karla worked on criminal justice reform at the Open Society Institute and Policy Center. Karla received her B.A. from Bard College and her J.D. Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar.