Meet Dr. Masica Jordan Alston | BIWOC Entrepeneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Masica Jordan Alston and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Masica, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I filed for Bankruptcy in 2010 and thought that later that year when I finished my doctorate degree that my life would immediately change and that the financial drought I was experiencing would end, but it did not. During that same time, I was assigned to be the POA for my father who I watched struggle with addiction over my lifetime. I would get calls from the ER in the middle of the night stating that my father was at this one or that one and I would show up. Dr. Jordan did not show up in the middle of the night, but the ponytail and sweatpants wearing Masica did and I would encounter various levels of discrimination in these systems that were supposed to help. For example, I remember a white male social worker saying “you have two strikes against you… you are Black and a woman…” My father was dying because of fires he created with his own choices, but gasoline was thrown on that fire each time we encountered racism in systems that were supposed to get help. In 2016, I took $600 (literally all of my savings) to start my company and I built a company that has reached nearly 3 million in revenue and counting… I got an advisor who was really invested in my success, and I asked him to mentor me. I did not initially have money to pay him, but I pitched my dream and he invested into me and together we have changed the world. My father died in 2018, but during his death and now my company has trained over 2000 peer recovery specialists who specialize in helping people just like my father that are in recovery.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I filed for Bankruptcy in 2010 and thought that later that year when I finiId my doctorate degree that my life would immediately change and that the financial drought I was experiencing would end, but it did not. During that same time I was assigned to be the POA for my father who I watched struggle with addiction over my lifetime. I would get calls from the ER in the middle of the night stating that my father was at this one or that one and I would show up. Dr. Jordan did not show up in the middle of the night, but the ponytail and sweat pants wearing Masica did and I would encounter various levels of discrimination in these systems that were supposed to help. For example, I remember a white male social worker saying “you have two strikes against you.. you are Black and a women…” My father was dying because of fires he created with his own choices, but gasoline was thrown on that fire each time we encountered racism in systems that were supposed to get help. In 2016, I took $600 (literally all of my savings) to start my company and I built a company that has reached nearly 3 million in revenue and counting… I got an advisor who was really invested in my success and I asked him to mentor me.. I did not initially have money to pay him, but I pitched my dream and he invested into me and together we have changed the world. My father died in 2018, but during his death and now my company has trained over 2000 peer recovery specialists who specialize in helping people just like my father that are in recovery.

I was interviewed by CNN’s Lisa Ling on the work I does to promote economic gain and entrepreneurship in marginalized communities. I was also a featured guest on American Journalist, Roland Martin’s platform and has been featured on FOX media, as well as a 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 I did with minority at-risk students can be previewed in the HBO 2010 documentary film from director Davis Guggenheim and producer Lesley Chilcott, “Waiting for Superman”. I and my companies have been featured in multiple publications like Forbes and the Washington Informer.

I am the founder of Jordan Peer Recovery. I have been on the frontline of combatting the opioid epidemic. In 2019, I 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.
Jordan Peer Recovery was my first company and as I mentioned, I started it with less than $600 and it has grown to be the largest of its kind in the US. This company and every company I started thereafter or partnered with each share one thing in common- they all focus on diversity and equality for all and they were each started because of a “pain point” I experienced.
For example, because I know the pain of economic disparities, but the power of entrepreneurship, one of the companies I continue to hold dear to my heart is Black Wall Street AVL, as a co-founder I have had the honor to create programming to help a lot of BIPOC people to start and scale successful businesses. In 2022, the company was selected out of a nation-wide search from Truist Foundation and MIT as a social solution. In 2021, the program enrolled 80 Black Businesses who collectively exceeded $1 Million in revenue. Our program not only helps solve a local problem in reducing recidivism, but also created 12 jobs in one year. This movement attracted national notoriety being featured in FORBES magazine and USA Today’s syndicate, The Tennesseean.
For example, after my father lost his battle with addiction, grandmother died during the pandemic, I lost an uncle to suicide, friends to homicide, my brother and grandfather 12 hours apart, I dedicated research and resources to helping my family and others around the globe experiencing grief and loss and founded Grief and Loss Centers of America. To date, the foundations has helped more than 750+ experiencing grief and loss.
I am also the CEO of Peerfinity, LLC, a leader in delivering personalized, 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
I am a subject matter expert on culturally responsiveness. In addition to teaching multicultural counseling for over 10 years in collegiate settings, I have had the honor of presenting on international platforms on race relations speaking on platforms with the greats, like Dr. Cornell West and I have been on the front line advocating for cultural diversity and training amongst the peer recovery and behavioral health workforces. In addition, I created a proprietary educational system for developing cultural responsiveness. This system has been used in agencies throughout the U.S. for peers and other behavioral 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 Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I like museums and Washington, DC has several of them to explore. I also like escape rooms, poetry cafes, comedy clubs, playing cards, live music and more. If I had to pick one top place to take them to, I would go to brunch at Leviticus on a Sunday for some of the best inspirational music, empowerment and healthy soulfood at 1700 E Parham Rd, Henrico, VA.

Honestly, some of the most exciting people for me are people that challenge me to think. I know it sounds weird, but I like to think (which is why I like escape rooms).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shoutout to God because God changed everything for me. I would also like to give a shoutout to my children (Jamar, Elani and Cyrus) because they remind me that I am building for generations behind me, husband (Curtis Alston) because he helps me be the best me, mother (Kathy) because she demonstrated that a woman could do anything and Drs. Alaysisa and J Hackett and Cubie Bragg because they set bars high and then showed me high to climb them, Jordan Peer Recovery because it is my “why” and Bowie State University because it was the richness of this HBCU that gave me a head start running this race before me.

Website: www.jordanpeerrecovery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanpeerrecovery/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-masica-jordan-alston-lcpc-cprs-a5610b36/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jordanpeerrecoveryjpr1723

Other: www.mygriefdoctor.com