Isabel Plakas is attending Goucher College’s one-year pre-med post-bacc program before attending medical school at the University of Chicago in the fall of 2026. As a Mitchell Scholar, she studied Addiction Recovery at Trinity College Dublin, where she worked at Merchant’s Quay Dublin. A resident of New York City, she earned a master’s degree in Nursing from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Her undergraduate degree in Psychology is from Bryn Mawr College. Isabel spent years working as a harm reduction specialist in Philadelphia, Spain, Boston, and Baltimore. She is the recipient of a Nursing Scholar Award from the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and was recognized by Boston Medical Center for developing harm-reduction programming at a novel transitional shelter that also served as a 24/7 overdose-monitoring unit. She increased accessibility of medical care for people experiencing homelessness in Boston by running a mobile medical clinic and engaged young people with substance use disorder by developing a novel delivery service. Working at Boston Hope, a 1,000-bed medical center for unsheltered individuals recovering from COVID, she prevented overdose fatalities during a period when people were more isolated than usual. She served as Co-President of Nursing Students for Harm Reduction at Hopkins. Isabel also volunteered for No One Dies Alone, an organization that helps to provide a dignified death to individuals who have no family or close friends to be with them at the end of life. 

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