Researchers' Profiles

Beth A. Rutkowski, M.P.H.

Beth A. Rutkowski, M.P.H.

Principal Investigator/Director of Training and Epidemiologist

Beth A. Rutkowski, MPH, received her Master of Public Health degree, with an emphasis on epidemiology and quantitative methods, from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Public Health. She has been associated with UCLA Integrated Substance Use and Addiction Programs (ISAP) since December 2000, and currently serves as the Director of Training, Co-Director of the SAMHSA-funded Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and Co-Principal Investigator of Training and Implementation Support for the Recovery Incentives Program: California’s Contingency Management Benefit, HEART Demonstration: Montana’s Contingency Management Program, and Reinforcing Recovery for New York Contingency Management Program. Ms. Rutkowski leads the development of synchronous and asynchronous training and intensive technical assistance activities and products and based on evidence-based substance use disorder treatment interventions and recovery approaches, and organizes and conducts conferences and trainings throughout the Pacific Southwest region (HHS Region 9, covering AZ, CA, HI, NV, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of Palau, and Republic of the Marshall Islands). She has co-authored and edited dozens of peer reviewed research articles, book chapters, special issues, technical reports, and training curricula on a variety of topics relating to the treatment of substance use and behavioral health disorders.

  • University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ, M.P.H., Epidemiology and Quantitative Methods, 2000
  • The College of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ, B.S., Biology,1998
  • Development of Training and Technology Transfer Initiatives for the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Workforce
  • Contingency Management Approaches for the Treatment of Stimulant Use Disorder
  • Process Improvement Strategies (e.g., NIATx Model)
  • Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
  • Motivational Interviewing Approaches
  • Compassionate Care for People Who Use Alcohol and Drugs/Stigma Reduction
  • The Intersection of Substance Use and HIV/AIDS
  • Substance Use Epidemiology
  • Emerging Drugs
  • Chaple, M. J., Becker, S., Freese, T. E., Hartzler, B., Martin, R., Molfenter, T., & Rutkowski, B. A. (2026). If you build it, they will stay! Sustaining evidence-based practices for the treatment of substance use disorders through investment in workforce development. Frontiers in Public Health, 14, 1939991. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1939991
  • Hartzler, B., Brunner, M., Fokuo, J. K., Ostacher, M. J., Pagano, A., Rutkowski, B. A., Vest, R. A., & Masson, C. L. (In Press). There and back again: Continuing efforts via regional partnerships to promote workforce awareness of scientific advancements in addiction care. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2026.209905
  • Armenta-Belen, K., Rey, L-D., Severns, J., Dickerson, D., Hedrick, V., Miele, G., Bhakta, M., Rutkowski, B., Freese, T., & The Guiding Coalition of Traditional Healers and Knowledge Keepers. (2026). Cultural Guideposts of Health: A crisis response evaluation framework for California's diverse Indigenous communities. Journal of Public Health Research, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/22799036251410263
  • Knudsen, H. K., Gotham, H. J., Solinger, E., Swan, E., Brinker, J., Patel, S. V., Tueller, S. J., Bradshaw, M., Mungo, J., Philbrick, S., Donohoe, T., Freese, T. E., Rutkowski, B. A., Roosa, M., Speck, K. J., & Garner, B. (2025). Dissemination of an evidence-based motivational interviewing brief intervention for substance use disorders to HIV service organizations across the United States: protocol for a national-level cluster-randomized adaptive parallel-groups superiority experiment. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20(85). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-025-00612-8
  • Mendoza, N. S., Santana, M., Tekle, W., Shafer, M. S., Mommaerts, K., Freese, T. E., & Rutkowski, B. A. (2025). Enhancing support for student well-being: Substance use resources and policy approaches in community colleges. Journal of American College Health, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2025.2519373
  • Urada, D., Padwa, H., Antonini, V. Tsoi, C., Gregorio, L., Freese, T., Rutkowski, B., Rawson, R., Lee, A. N., Bass, B., Khurana, D., Loya, C., Cooper, M., Gilbert, M., & Zakher, E. (2025). Evaluation of the recovery incentives program: California's contingency management benefit. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 267(S). https://doi.org/j.drugalcdep.2024.112298
  • Freese, T. E., Rutkowski, B. A., Peck, J. A., Padwa, H., Thompson, C., Datrice, A., Simmons, J., Cooper, M., Loya, C., Trupiano, D., & Rawson, R. A. (2024). California's Recovery Incentives Program: Implementation strategies. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 167, 209513. https://doi.org/j.josat.2024.209513
  • Pusnik, A., Hartzler, B., Vjorn, O., Rutkowski, B. A., Chaple, M., Becker, S., Freese, T., Nichols, M., & Molfenter, T. (2024). Comparison of use rates of telehealth services for substance use disorder during and following COVID-19 safety distancing recommendations: Two cross-sectional surveys. JMIR Mental Health, 11, e52363. https://doi.org/10.2196/52363.
  • Freese, T. E., Rutkowski, B. A., Peck, J. A., Urada, D., Clark, H. W., Nigusse Bland, A., Friedman, J., & Rawson, R. A. (2023). Recovery incentives program: California's contingency management benefit. Preventive Medicine, 176, 107703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107703
  • Shafer, M. S., Oh, H., Sturtevant, H., Freese, T., & Rutkowski, B. (2023). Patterns and predictors of sustained training and technical assistance engagement amoung addiction treatment and affiliated providers. Journal of Behavorial Health Services and Research. https://doi.org/10/1007/s11414-023-09854-3.
  • Powell, K. G., Chaple, M.J., Henry, M., Morton, C., Becker, S. J., Gotham, H. J., Hagle, H. N., Halle, A. C., Krom, L. J., Martin, R., Molfenter, T. D., Roget, N., Rutkowski, B. A., Velez-Echevarria, I. I., Yanez, R., & Cross-Technology Transfer Center (TTC) Workgroup on Virtual Learning. (2022). Virtual training and technical assistance: A shift in behavioral health workforce access and perceptions of services during emergency restrictions. BMC Medical Education, 22, 575.
  • Rutkowski, B. A. (2019). Specific disciplines addressing substance use: AMERSA in the 21st century. Substance Abuse, 40(4), 392-395.
  • Rutkowski, B. A., Gallon, S., Rawson, R. A., Freese, T. E., Bruehl, A., Crevecoeur-MacPhail, D., Sugita, W., Molfenter, T. & Cotter, F. (2010). Improving client engagement and retention in treatment: The Los Angeles County experience. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 39 (1), 78-86.
  • Rutkowski, B. A. & Maxwell, J. C. (2009). Epidemiology of methamphetamine use – A global perspective. In: J. Roll, R. Rawson, & W. Ling (Eds.) Methamphetamine Addiction: From Basic Science to Treatment. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
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