Richard Elliott is a lawyer and independent consultant with more than 30 years of experience and expertise in HIV, health and human rights law & policy, including more than 20 years with the HIV Legal Network, with which he continues to work as a consultant since stepping down as Executive Director in 2021. He has authored or co-authored multiple research and advocacy reports on harm reduction, drug policy and human rights for the Legal Network, at both national and international levels, including, most recently, the organization’s research report and action agenda on strengthening harm reduction for GBT2Q people who use drugs. He was among the founding members of CDPC and served many years on its steering committee, before serving as one of its inaugural directors upon its formal incorporation in 2025. He was a member of the core group that conceived and drafted the International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy and is a member of the International Advisory Committee of the International Centre for Human Rights and Drug Policy. Richard has been a consultant for the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD), UNAIDS, WHO and UNODC. He served six years on the Ministerial Council on HIV/AIDS (advising the federal Minister of Health) and as a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law. He serves on the Supervisory Board and is past president of the HIV Justice Network. Richard holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy from Queen’s University, and both a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School (York University). He was called to the bar of Ontario in 1997 and has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Fiction at the University of King’s College
