Jonathan P. Edwards

Dr. Jonathan P. Edwards is a Program Consultant for New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care, and Treatment and brings more than 25 years of experience facilitating individual and organizational change through programming and planning, clinical practice, supervision, training, and research. A licensed clinical social worker specializing in recovery-oriented care for adults experiencing mental health and substance use issues, Dr. Edwards is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) and an adjunct instructor at Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College where he has taught organizational theory, research, and professional seminar. He also consults nationally on peer support services implementation and supervision, as well as plays an integral role in advancing peer workforce development in mental health and substance use treatment settings. He is former director of peer support services at Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, NY where he supervised a large team working in five different service settings, as well as developed and facilitated support groups for family members of individuals accessing inpatient psychiatric services.

Dr. Edwards combines academic, professional, and personal experience with several decades of involvement with organizations and initiatives serving black, same-gender-loving (SGL) identified men. He has received training on anti-Black racism from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, and has organized conferences and initiatives promoting racial, health, and gender equity in his professional and community organizing roles and is integrally involved with Surviving Race: The Intersection of Injustice, Disability, and Human Rights, a grassroots organization focused on eradicating police violence against black people and individuals with disabilities. Dr. Edwards was a recipient of the SAMHSA funded Minority Fellowship through Council on Social Work Education, and has received several awards, including a behavioral health innovation award from the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, New York University Silver School of Social Work, a peer leadership award from Mental Health Empowerment Project, and the Cookie Gant and Bill Compton LGBTQIA+ Leadership Award, from The National Empowerment Center, for excellence in advocating for intersectionality and inclusion of diverse identities within the mental health peer and survivor community. Dr. Edwards also serves on the National Association of Peer Supporters (N.A.P.S.) Board, New York Peer Specialist Certification Board, and Mental Health News Education Board.

A graduate of City College (BA, industrial psychology;’03) and Hunter College School of Social Work (MSW, group work, organizational management and leadership;’08), Dr. Edwards received his M. Phil. and Ph.D. from the City University of New York Graduate Center, Social Welfare Program. His dissertation explores factors associated with job satisfaction among peer support workers in mental health treatment and recovery-oriented service settings. Dr. Edwards is co-author on three recent journal articles, The Impact of COVID-19 on Peer Support Specialists in the United States: Findings from a Cross-Sectional Online Survey, Perceptions of Supervisors of Peer Support Workers in Behavioral Health: Results from a National Survey, and National Practice Guidelines for Peer Support Specialists and Supervisors.