Masica Jordan Alston

<p>Dr. Jordan Alston graduated from the University of Maryland’s Bowie State University in 2003 with a B.S. in Sociology and in 2005 with an M.A. in counselling psychology. Thereafter, she completed a Doctorate of Education in counselling/psychology in 2010. Dr. Jordan Alston is a licensed clinical professional counsellor (LCPC) and a certified peer recovery specialist (CPRS.) In 2022, Dr. Jordan completed a certificate program in Participatory Design and Applications from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). </p></br> <p>She is the founder of Jordan Peer Recovery and a tenured professor at University of Maryland’s Bowie State University (a member institution of the University System of Maryland). She is the former Executive Director of Organizational Excellence for Volunteers of America Chesapeake and Carolinas.</p></br> <p>After her father lost his battle with addiction, her grandmother died during the pandemic, and she lost an uncle to suicide, friends to homicide, as well as her brother and grandfather 12 hours apart, she dedicated research and resources to helping her family and others around the globe experiencing grief and loss, and founded the Grief and Loss Centers of America. To date, the foundation has helped more than 750+ individuals experiencing grief and loss.</p></br> <p>Dr. Jordan Alston is also the CEO of Peerfinity, LLC, a leader in delivering personalised, culturally responsive, tech-enabled peer support to individuals diagnosed and treated for the chronic disease of addiction and mental health conditions. In addition, Peerfinity, LLC delivers a vital tele-support response to the COVID-19.</p></br> <p>Dr. Jordan Alston is a subject matter expert on cultural responsiveness. In addition to teaching multicultural counselling for over 10 years in collegiate settings, she has presented on international platforms on race relations and has been on the front line advocating for cultural diversity and training amongst the peer recovery and behavioural health workforces. In addition, she created a proprietary educational system for developing cultural responsiveness. This system has been used in agencies throughout the U.S. for peers and other behavioural health professionals. Some of those agencies include the Houston Recovery Center/Sobriety Center, Friends of Recovery-New York, The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, and the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare.</p></br> <p>Dr. Jordan Alston has been on the frontline of combatting the opioid epidemic. In 2019, Rev. Dr. Jordan Alston provided expert testimony to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on peer recovery and technologies to address the opioid epidemic. Jordan Peer Recovery has received multiple awards from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations and sub-awardee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), and the Baltimore Population Health Workforce Collaborative in training close to 1000 peers who are on the frontline of the opioid epidemic in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia.</p></br> <p>Dr. Jordan Alston is also a subject matter expert on youth mental health. Under Prince George’s County State’s Attorney, Aisha Braveboy, she served as an advisor to plan for the overhauling of the juvenile justice system. Instead of directing juvenile offenders to courtrooms and detention facilities, she aided in developing strategic plans to provide young offenders with diversion programs, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, tutoring, counselling, and mentoring. This includes the provision of Forensic Peer Specialist. </p></br> <p>She has been featured guest on American Journalist, Roland Martin’s platform and has been featured on FOX media, as well as numerous local (D.C.) talk and news shows. Dr. Jordan Alston was the former Dean of Students at the SEED Public Charter School of Washington, DC. The monumental work she did with minority at-risk students can be previewed in the HBO 2010 documentary film by director Davis Guggenheim and producer Lesley Chilcott, “Waiting for Superman”. Dr. Jordan Alston and her companies have been published multiple times in Forbes, the Washington Informer, and multiple other platforms, including research and theoretical articles on peer recovery, cultural responsiveness, and strategies for building minority communities.</p></br> <p>Dr. Jordan Alston has assisted over 50 agencies and 3 countries in developing various clinical, culturally responsive, trauma-responsive, and evidenced-based programming-including peer support programs. She has served as a Subject Matter Expert for several non-profits throughout the United States and internationally in the areas of peer recovery, evidence-based practices, research, and program evaluation. Dr. Jordan Alston has used her in-depth expertise to facilitate workshops, seminars, management training, audits and assessments to numerous organisations.</p>