The NBCC Foundation, an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), recently selected Andrew M. Medina, of Alamosa, Colorado, for the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program-Addictions Counselors (MFP-AC). As an NBCC MFP-AC Fellow, Medina will receive funding and training to support his education and facilitate his addictions counseling service to underserved minority populations.
Medina is a graduate of Globe University, in Woodbury, Minnesota, and is currently a master’s student in the clinical mental health counseling program at Adams State University.
The NBCC MFP-AC is made possible by a grant awarded to the NBCC Foundation in collaboration with the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC) by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Foundation administers the MFP-AC, including training and collaboration activities, such as webinars, that are open to all National Certified Counselors (NCCs). The goal of the program is to reduce health disparities and improve behavioral health care outcomes for racially and ethnically diverse populations by increasing the available number of culturally competent behavioral health professionals.
The NBCC Foundation MFP will distribute up to $15,000 to Medina and the other 39 master’s-level addictions counseling students selected to receive the fellowship award. Upon graduation, Medina intends to work with individuals struggling with substance use and mental health disorders. He would like to help those in his community work toward reaching their goals. Earning this fellowship will allow Medina to develop his skills as a professional counselor, to learn best practices for serving those needing assistance with substance use treatment and mental health, and to advocate for the counseling profession.
The NBCC Foundation has also awarded 20 $20,000 doctoral fellowships through the Minority Fellowship Program and 30 $10,000 master’s-level fellowships through the MFP-Mental Health Counseling-Master’s (MFP-MHC-M). The Foundation plans to open the next NBCC MFP-AC application period in fall 2019. To learn more about the NBCC MFP and its fellows, please visit http://www.nbccf.org/Programs/Fellows.
About the NBCC Foundation
The NBCC Foundation is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), based in Greensboro, North Carolina. NBCC is the nation’s premier professional certification board devoted to credentialing counselors who meet standards for the general and specialty practices of professional counseling. Currently, there are more than 65,000 board certified counselors in the United States and more than 50 countries. The Foundation’s mission is to leverage the power of counseling by strategically focusing resources for positive change.
