Louise Vincent

Louise Mae Beale Vincent (March 15, 1976 – August 31, 2025) was an American harm reduction activist. She founded or worked with multiple groups in the Greensboro, North Carolina area, such as the Urban Survivors Union.

Early life Vincent was born in 1976 and grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she lived most of her life. She experienced substance use at a young age and would later speak candidly about how her lived experience informed her understanding of drug policy, stigma, and harm reduction. Vincent often described her early years as marked by instability and social marginalization, factors that would later inform her work building peer-run support systems for people who use drugs. After treatment and pursuing recovery, she earned a Master of Public Health degree, combining her personal experience with formal training in public health. Vincent published several academic papers during her Masters. , just days before her collaborator was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship.